People v. Doron CA4/1

Filed 7/7/25 P. v. Doron CA4/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, D084487

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. SCD280854)

KARL WILLIAM DORON,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Howard H. Shore, Judge. Affirmed as modified. Lopas Law Group and Matthew A. Lopas for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Charles C. Ragland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher P. Beesley, Supervising Deputy Attorney General and Michael D. Butera, Deputy Attorney General for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Karl William Doron appeals from an order granting him Penal Code

section 1001.361 pretrial mental health diversion following this court’s

remand in his prior appeal, People v. Doron (2023) 95 Cal.App.5th 1.2 In Doron, we held in accordance with People v. Frahs (2020) 9 Cal.5th 618 (Frahs) and People v. Braden (2023) 14 Cal.5th 791 (Braden) that section 1001.36—which had been amended during the pendency of Doron’s appeal— applied retroactively to Doron’s nonfinal judgment. (Doron, at pp. 4, 6-7.) Because the superior court had not applied the statute’s new evidentiary burdens, we “revers[ed] the [trial court’s] order denying Doron’s motion for mental health diversion and remand[ed] the matter with directions that the trial court conduct a new hearing to consider his application for mental health diversion under section 1001.36 as amended by Senate Bill No. 1223.” (Id. at pp. 10-11.) In granting diversion following remand, the trial court in May 2024 recalled its previously imposed sentence under section 1172.1, subdivision (a)(1), “maintain[ed]” Doron’s guilty plea, and stayed his sentencing pending successful completion of mental health diversion. In this appeal, Doron contends the court erred by maintaining the judgment and his conviction despite granting section 1001.36 diversion; that he should have been returned to a pre-plea position in compliance with our