People v. DeJongh CA2/4

Filed 1/23/14 P. v. DeJongh CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

THE PEOPLE, B245146

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BA332537) v.

JENNIFER DeJONGH and GEORGE DeJONGH,

Defendants and Appellants.

APPEALS from judgments of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Robert J. Perry, Judge. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings. The Severo Law Firm and Michael V. Severo for Defendants and Appellants. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Assistant Attorney General, Eric E. Reynolds and Allison H. Chung, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Pursuant to a plea bargain negotiated by counsel, defendants Jennifer DeJongh and George DeJongh pled nolo contendere to several counts of child custody deprivation. (§ 278.5, subd. (a).)1 The trial court, as part of the plea bargain, issued a certificate of probable cause to permit defendants to appeal its denial of their common law motion to dismiss. In this appeal, defendants attempt to pursue that contention. We do not reach its merits because we conclude that the contention does not survive their pleas. Because defendants’ pleas were, in part, based upon the trial court’s illusory promise that they could prosecute this appeal, we reverse the judgments and remand the case to the trial court to permit defendants to withdraw their pleas.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The People jointly charged each defendant with three counts of child custody deprivation based upon the following facts. Defendant Jennifer DeJongh is the mother of three minor children. She and the children’s father (Brian Miller, Sr.) entered into a settlement in the family law court providing for visitation between the children and their paternal grandparents. Defendant Jennifer DeJongh failed to comply with the order. Instead, she took the children to Mexico with her husband defendant George DeJongh. Several years later, defendants were arrested with the children at the United States-Mexican border. The theory of the prosecution’s case is that defendants’ actions deprived the paternal grandparents of their visitation rights. At the preliminary hearing, defendants argued, among other things, that no crime had been committed because