Does dismissal of a felony count under section 1203.4, subdivision (a)(1) of the California Criminal Code Act preclude the felony from later being designated a misdemeanor under section 1170.18?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Tidwell, 200 Cal.Rptr.3d 567, 246 Cal.App.4th 212 (Cal. App. 2016):

Whether dismissal of a felony count under section 1203.4 precludes the felony from later being designated a misdemeanor under section 1170.18 presents a question of statutory interpretation. Matters of statutory interpretation are questions of law subject to de novo review. (People v. Simmons (2012) 210 Cal.App.4th 778, 790, 148 Cal.Rptr.3d 554.) " When construing a statute, a court seeks to determine and give effect to the intent of the enacting legislative body. [Citation.] "We first examine the words themselves because the statutory language is generally the most reliable indicator of legislative intent. [Citation.] The words of the statute should be given their ordinary and usual meaning and should be construed in their statutory context." [Citation.] If the plain, commonsense meaning of the statute's words is unambiguous, the plain meaning controls. " (People v. King (2006) 38 Cal.4th 617, 622, 42 Cal.Rptr.3d 743, 133 P.3d 636.)

As relevant here, section 1203.4, subdivision (a) provides that a court shall grant relief under the statute to a defendant who has fulfilled the conditions of probation for the entire period, or has been discharged. In either of those two scenarios, the defendant is entitled as a matter of right to the authorized relief. (People v. Guillen (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 975, 991, 160 Cal.Rptr.3d 589.) The specified relief includes, in pertinent part, that the defendant "shall ... be permitted ... to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or, if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court shall set aside the verdict of guilty," and "the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusations or information against the defendant ...." ( 1203.4, subd. (a)(1).) With certain

[246 Cal.App.4th 217]

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