People v. Mesa

California Court of Appeal Nov 6, 1985 No. F004990Published

Before: Brown (g.A.)

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Holding. The superior court did not err in denying a motion to withdraw a guilty plea without remanding to the magistrate, as the statutory requirement for such a remand is conditioned upon the filing of a written motion, which the defendant failed to provide.

Issues

Whether the superior court acted in excess of its jurisdiction by failing to remand the defendant's oral motion to withdraw a guilty plea to the magistrate who accepted the plea.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“the obligation to refer the motion to withdraw to the judge who accepted the plea is conditioned upon a written motion.”

“Having no grounds to set aside the plea and having suffered no prejudice, there is no justification in this case for making an exception to the requirement of a written motion.”

Opinion

BROWN (G. A.), P. J.

Pursuant to a plea bargain, defendant, Manuel Mesa, pled guilty to felony burglary (Pen. Code, §§ 459/460). The plea was entered before a magistrate as set forth in Penal Code section 859a, subdivision (a). The plea bargain provided appellant would not be sentenced to more than two years in prison, the mitigated term. The magistrate certified the case to the superior court and set the sentencing for November 30, 1983. On November 8, 1984,

defendant appeared with counsel before the superior court for sentencing. Before sentence was pronounced, defendant orally moved to withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that he did not commit the crime. The public defender, appearing for the defendant, indicated his office found no legal ground for a change of plea. After questioning appellant regarding his plea, the court stated: “[T]he Court finds no good cause for withdrawal of the plea, and denies the motion, denies a remand to the lower court.” The court thereafter sentenced defendant to

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state prison for two years in accordance with the plea agreement. A timely notice of appeal was filed, and the superior court issued a certificate of probable cause.

Penal Code section 859a, subdivision (a), provides in relevant part: “If the defendant subsequently files a written motion to withdraw the plea under Section 1018, the motion shall be heard and determined by the court before which the plea was entered.”

Appellant contends that the superior court acted in excess of its jurisdiction when it failed to remand the case to the municipal court for a hearing on defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea.

The legislative history of this statutory requirement demonstrates that the legislative purpose of the provision is to require the motion to withdraw a plea to be heard by the judge who accepted the plea and is therefore most familiar with the circumstances. However, by the clear and unequivocal wording of the statute, the obligation to refer the motion to withdraw to the judge who accepted the plea is conditioned upon a

People v. Mesa

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BROWN (G. A.), P. J.

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