People v. Rivera CA2/5

Filed 3/9/16 P. v. Rivera CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B263809

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. VA119142) v.

VIRGINIA DEL CARMEN RIVERA,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, Michael A. Cowell, Judge. Affirmed. Law Office of Zulu Ali, Zulu Ali for Defendant and Appellant. Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General, Gerald A. Engler, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Paul M. Roadarmel, Jr. and Steven D. Matthews, Supervising Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION On June 14, 2011, defendant and appellant Virginia Del Carmen Rivera pled no contest to perjury and was granted three years of probation. On January 27, 2015, defendant filed a motion to withdraw her plea arguing she was not, prior to her plea, properly advised of the immigration consequences it carried. The trial court denied the motion and defendant appeals that order. Because the record demonstrates the advisements given to defendant prior to the entry of her plea were in compliance with Penal Code section 1016.5, subdivision (a),1 we affirm the trial court’s order.

BACKGROUND At the time defendant entered her plea she signed a waiver of rights form, and specifically initialed a paragraph contained therein, which read as follows: “I understand that if I am not a citizen of the United States, I must expect my plea of guilty or no contest will result in my deportation, exclusion from admission or reentry to the United States, and denial of naturalization and amnesty.” Defendant also acknowledged in the form that she discussed the paragraphs initialed with her attorney and, by initialing those paragraphs, she represented she understood and agreed with the contents contained therein. After defendant submitted the waiver of rights form to the court, the prosecutor orally advised her of certain consequences of her plea. In pertinent part, the prosecutor stated, “If you are not a citizen of the United States, a plea to this charge will result in your deportation, denial of naturalization and denial of re-entry into the country.” Despite these consequences defendant indicated she still wished to enter her plea. In her motion to withdraw the plea, defendant pointed out she was taken into federal custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2011 and her application