Does a reduction of a criminal conviction to a criminal charge under the Three Strikes law affect a defendant's qualification as a strike?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Inzunza, E070521 (Cal. App. 2019):

Park (2013) 56 Cal.4th 782, 802-803 [where the defendant pled guilty to a felony offense upon which the court imposed sentence, the court's later reduction of the offense to a misdemeanor did not affect the offense's qualification as a strike under the Three Strikes law].) "By this language, lawmakers made clear their intent to bring within the reach of the Three Strikes law a defendant whose wobbler was reduced to a misdemeanor after the time of initial sentencing. [Citations.]" (People v. Park, supra, at p. 794, italics added.)

"[A] felony is automatically converted to a misdemeanor 'after a judgment imposing a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison.' [Citation.]" (People v. Glee (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 99, 102, fn. omitted.) "[S]ummary probation is not authorized in felony cases. A grant of informal or summary probation is a 'conditional sentence.' [Citations.] Conditional sentences are authorized only in misdemeanor cases. [Citations.]" (Id. at p. 104.)

Here, defendant pled guilty to felony criminal threats and acknowledged the conviction was a strike offense. On the same day, the court sentenced defendant to formal, felony probation. Thus, because both defendant's prior conviction and the initial sentencing for that offense were for a felony offense, the offense qualified as a prior serious felony strike conviction. The fact that defendant was later sentenced to summary probation, while reducing the offense to a misdemeanor at that time for other purposes, did not affect the qualification of defendant's prior offense as a prior serious felony strike conviction. (People v. Park, supra, 56 Cal.4th at pp. 802-803 [where the defendant pled guilty to a felony offense upon which the court imposed sentence, the court's later

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