People v. Williams CA5

Filed 4/14/15 P. v. Williams CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F067610 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. F10904220) v.

TERRY KENT WILLIAMS, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Fresno County. James M. Petrucelli, Judge. Robert L.S. Angres, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Dane R. Gillette, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Carlos A. Martinez and Wanda Hill Rouzan, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

The statutes enacted following the passage of Proposition 36, also known as the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, afford certain inmates serving indeterminate life sentences under California’s “Three Strikes” law the opportunity to be resentenced to a lesser term. (Teal v. Superior Court (2014) 60 Cal.4th 595, 596-597.) Those individuals whose life sentences are based upon a third strike conviction for a non-serious and/or non-violent felony may file a petition for resentencing with the trial court that entered the judgment of conviction in their case. (Pen. Code,1 § 1170.126, subd. (b).) Assuming they have exercised their rights under section 1170.126 in a timely manner, eligible petitioners are entitled to resentencing unless the trial court determines that a recall of their sentence would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. (Id., subd. (f).) In January 2013, appellant Terry Kent Williams filed a petition for resentencing in the Fresno County Superior Court pursuant to section 1170.126. He was then serving an indeterminate life sentence based on a 2010 felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance (Health & Saf. Code, § 11350, subd. (a)), which constituted his third strike. Williams’ petition was not heard until June 20, 2013. On that date, the trial court granted the People’s motion to continue the matter for an extended period of time to allow for further evaluation of Williams’ performance in various rehabilitative programs that were available to him in the prison system. The People had originally requested a continuance of two years, but the trial court set a new hearing date of June 19, 2014, thereby effectively deferring its ruling on the petition for at least one year. Although Williams did not object to the continuance at the time of the hearing, he filed the present appeal on grounds that the trial court’s order exceeded its jurisdictional authority.2