People v. Lopez CA4/3

Filed 1/13/15 P. v. Lopez CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G048835

v. (Super. Ct. No. 10HF0236)

VALENTIN CORONA LOPEZ, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Orange County, Carla Singer, Judge. Affirmed. Christopher Nalls, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Assistant Attorney General, Randall D. Einhorn and Peter Quon, Jr., Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

Midway through trial, defendant Valentin Corona Lopez pleaded guilty to two counts of committing a lewd act on a child under the age of 14 (Pen. Code, § 288, subd. (a); all further statutory references are to this code), and admitted allegations there were multiple victims and that both counts involved substantial sexual conduct. The court sentenced him to two concurrent prison terms of 15 years to life. The trial court denied defendant’s request for a certificate of probable cause. Nevertheless, in his appeal, defendant asks us to examine the Pitchess (Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 cal.3d 531) records to determine if the trial court erred in denying discovery. In light of the guilty plea and the failure to obtain a certificate of probable cause, we cannot consider this issue on appeal. Defendant’s second appellate claim, which is reviewable, is that his sentence violates the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. We reject this claim and affirm the judgment.