People v. Maya

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. MISAEL VENCES MAYA, Defendant and Appellant.

S255371

Second Appellate District, Division Six B290589

Ventura County Superior Court 2010031209

April 9, 2020

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye authored the opinion of the Court, in which Justices Chin, Corrigan, Liu, Cuéllar, Kruger, and Groban concurred.

PEOPLE v. MAYA S255371

Opinion of the Court by Cantil-Sakauye, C. J.

A person convicted of a misdemeanor is entitled to expungement of that conviction if, among other things, the person lives “an honest and upright life” during a specified period after judgment. (Pen. Code, § 1203.4a, subd. (a) (section 1203.4a(a)).) We hold that a person may live such a life even if that person has been in custody since completing the sentence imposed for the misdemeanor. I. BACKGROUND A. Trial Court Misael Vences Maya pleaded guilty to driving under the influence (with several such convictions prior) and felony possession of a controlled substance. The trial court sentenced him to prison without probation. Maya completed his term of imprisonment in 2012 and has been in federal immigration custody ever since. While in immigration custody, Maya successfully applied to have the felony possession conviction reduced to a misdemeanor. (See Pen. Code, § 1170.18, subds. (f), (g); all undesignated citations refer to this code.) Maya then sought expungement of the misdemeanor conviction under section 1203.4a(a), which contains the “honest and upright life” requirement mentioned above. Among other things, he contended that he had obeyed all laws since being convicted and had participated in fire camp and Alcoholics Anonymous. The district attorney opposed the request, arguing

PEOPLE v. MAYA Opinion of the Court by Cantil-Sakauye, C. J.

in part that “[o]f course he’s had an upstanding life because he’s been a prisoner in state prison”; “there has been no period where he successfully or satisfactorily completed probation or even the post[-]custody release because he was directly into federal custody. So there’s been no period even to evaluate.” The trial court denied the request, stating that “[b]eing in custody for substantial periods of time” is not equivalent to living “an honest and upright life.” Maya moved for reconsideration. The trial court denied the motion. Among other things, the court observed that “[t]here’s been no opportunity by the Court or probation or by parole officials to determine whether [Maya] leads a law-abiding life when out of custody.” The court did not discuss Maya’s participation in fire camp or Alcoholics Anonymous. B. Court of Appeal Maya complained on appeal that the trial court “did not believe custodial time could qualify as honest and upright living for expungement purposes.” A divided panel of the Court of Appeal affirmed, rejecting the premise “that a trial court considering an expungement motion may consider custodial behavior in assessing ‘an honest and upright life.’ ” (People v. Maya (2019) 33 Cal.App.5th 266, 270 (Maya).) Justice Tangeman dissented. He interpreted the relevant statutory text to permit consideration of time spent in custody. (Maya, supra, 33 Cal.App.5th at p. 272 (dis. opn. of Tangeman, J.).) We granted review to resolve the narrow question whether conduct while in custody can satisfy the honest and upright life requirement.