People v. Skaggs

Filed 8/14/25 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A170942 v. CHRISTOPHER SKAGGS, (Mendocino County Super. Ct. No. SCUK-CRPA- Defendant and Appellant. 2020-36932-1)

Christopher Skaggs filed a nonstatutory motion to dismiss his parole revocation petition on due process grounds, which the trial court construed as a Penal Code1 section 1385 motion and denied on the basis that such a motion was procedurally improper. The court then revoked Skaggs’s parole, sentenced him to 90 days in jail, and ordered his parole term to terminate upon release. On appeal, Skaggs challenges the court’s denial of the motion to dismiss and subsequent parole revocation. We dismiss the appeal as moot as we cannot afford Skaggs any effective relief. However, we exercise our discretion to resolve the issue of whether the trial court erred in failing to consider the motion to dismiss and conclude the court improperly determined it could not entertain the motion to dismiss.

1 All further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

BACKGROUND In 2013, Skaggs pled guilty to two felony violations of the Vehicle Code (Veh. Code, §§ 2800.3, 2800.4) in Mendocino County. In accordance with his negotiated plea, Skaggs was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison. In February 2019, Skaggs was released on parole. On December 15, 2020, the Mendocino County District Attorney filed a petition for revocation of parole alleging Skaggs engaged in new criminal conduct, as well as a criminal complaint based on the same conduct. After Skaggs failed to appear for hearings on those matters on December 28, 2020, and January 7, 2021, bench warrants were issued. On January 29, 2021, Skaggs was arrested in Lake County on the outstanding bench warrants and additional criminal charges stemming from activities in Lake County. Skaggs was convicted of the Lake County offenses and sentenced in May 2021 to three years and eight months in prison. Skaggs made demands to the Mendocino County District Attorney in June and July 2021 to be brought back to Mendocino County to address the parole revocation proceeding and the related criminal action. In September 2021, Skaggs moved to dismiss both the parole revocation petition and the criminal case pursuant to section 1381, which provides in relevant part that incarcerated defendants with state charges pending against them may demand to be brought to trial on the pending charges and, if the case is not brought to trial within 90 days of giving appropriate notice, may seek dismissal of the case. On November 2, 2021, the trial court dismissed the Mendocino County criminal complaint pursuant to section 1381. However, the court declined to