People v. Jarach CA1/1

Filed 11/30/21 P. v. Jarach CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A161582 v. LAWRENCE JARACH, (Alameda County Super. Ct. No. 617468) Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant pled no contest to one count of felony corporal injury to a relationship partner under Penal Code1 section 273.5. The trial court suspended sentence and imposed a probation term of five years pursuant to the parties’ plea agreement. The plea bargain allowed the court to consider reduction of the felony to a misdemeanor after three years if defendant performed well on probation. After more than three years on probation, the trial court reduced the felony conviction to a misdemeanor under section 17, subdivision (b), but refused to terminate defendant’s probation term. On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred for two reasons. First, defendant contends the trial court should have enforced the parties’ plea bargain, which defendant argues incorporated a promise to reduce the

All statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise 1

indicated.

probation term to three years if defendant was successful on probation. Alternatively, defendant contends Assembly Bill No. 1950 (2019–2020 Reg. Sess.) (Assembly Bill 1950) applies retroactively to his nonfinal conviction and provides his probation term may not be longer than four years. The Attorney General concedes that Assembly Bill 1950 applies retroactively to defendant’s case. We agree with the parties and other California appellate courts that Assembly Bill 1950 applies retroactively to defendant’s nonfinal conviction. For reasons we discuss below, we conclude defendant’s term of probation must be reduced to three years. I. BACKGROUND Because the facts underlying defendant’s conviction are irrelevant to the issues on appeal, we do not discuss them. The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged defendant with infliction of corporal injury to a relationship partner (§ 273.5, subd. (a); count 1) with an enhancement for personal infliction of great bodily injury (§ 12022.7, subd. (e)). Defendant pled no contest to count 1 in exchange for dismissal of the enhancement, placement on probation for five years with six months of county jail custody, and the prosecution’s promise not to oppose reduction of count 1 to a misdemeanor if defendant completed his three years of probation successfully.2 On April 6, 2017, the trial court suspended sentence and placed defendant on formal probation for five years.