California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Mejia, H046316 (Cal. App. 2019):
On appeal, this court concluded that the sentence was unauthorized because the trial court had applied the wrong version of section 288, subdivision (b)(1) in sentencing defendant on counts 3 and 4. As we explained then, between January 1, 2005 and September 8, 2010, violations of section 288, subdivision (b)(1) were punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years. (Stats. 2004, ch. 823, 7, pp. 6294-6295.) Since September 9, 2010, violations of section 288, subdivision (b)(1) have been punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for five, eight, or 10 years. (Stats. 2010, ch. 219, 7, pp. 1009-1010, eff. Sept. 9, 2010; People v. Soto (2011) 51 Cal.4th 229, 237, fn. 4.) The court improperly applied former section 288, subdivision (b)(1) to counts 3 and 4 (involving conduct that occurred between November 24, 2010 and November 23, 2011) and sentenced defendant to a middle term of six years on those counts. This court vacated the sentence and remanded for a new
Page 3
sentencing hearing to allow the trial court to exercise its discretion in fashioning an aggregate sentence.
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.