People v. Enochs

62 Cal.App.3d 42 (1976) 133 Cal. Rptr. 363 THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

JACK EDWARD ENOCHS, Defendant and Appellant.

Docket No. 14350. Court of Appeals of California, Appellate Department, Superior Court, Los Angeles.

September 15, 1976. [43] COUNSEL

Jack Edward Enochs, in pro. per., for Defendant and Appellant.

Burt Pines, City Attorney, and Ward G. McConnell, Deputy City Attorney, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

OPINION

MARSHALL, P.J.

Defendant was charged with violation of section 22348, subdivision (a) of the Vehicle Code; he pleaded nolo contendere and then made an explanation, following which he asked that he be permitted to attend traffic school. Defendant contends that the court would not permit him to attend because he gave his explanation before asking for traffic school.

The trial court declared in its certified statement that the "custom" in arraignment court is to inform defendants that if they wish to attend traffic school, they must state such desire before they give any explanation of their conduct.[1] According to the settled statement, if an [44] explanation is given before defendant requests traffic school, he will be denied the right to attend the school. (1) To grant or refuse a request for traffic school on such an arbitrary basis is a clear abuse of discretion by the trial court. Such discretion must be "governed by legal rules to do justice according to law." (See Ex Parte Hoge (1874) 48 Cal. 3, 5 quoted with approval in In re Podesto (1976) 15 Cal.3d 921, 933 [127 Cal. Rptr. 97, 544 P.2d 1297].) A decision based on the order in which a defendant made his requests is not one grounded in "legal rules to do justice according to law."