Can a defendant who has pleaded guilty or no contest to a charge obtain a certificate of probable cause from the trial?

We must dismiss the appeal. A defendant who has pleaded guilty or no contest to a charge may not obtain appellate review of the validity of his plea unless he complies with section 1237.5 by obtaining a certificate of probable cause from the trial court. (People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1084, 1088.) "Such a defendant may obtain review solely of so-called 'noncertificate' issues, that is, postplea questions not challenging his plea's validity and/or questions involving a search or seizure whose lawfulness was contested pursuant to section 1538.5," if the notice of appeal states noncertificate grounds. (Ibid.) Appellant did not obtain a certificate of probable cause, nor did he list any noncertificate issues in his notice of appeal. He also did not submit a brief or letter on appeal stating any such challenge, and we have not identified any noncertificate issue warranting appellate review. As a result, appellant's failure to obtain a certificate of probable cause from the trial court is fatal to his appeal and requires its dismissal. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b); People v. Mendez, supra, 19 Cal.4th at pp. 1095-1096.)