People v. Battle CA1/3

Filed 12/29/21 P. v. Battle CA1/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A161581 v. NOAH BATTLE, (Solano County Super. Ct. No. FCR261974) Defendant and Appellant.

Noah Battle appeals from a postjudgment order requiring him to pay $4,426.65 in restitution for his victim’s medical and mental health counseling expenses. (Pen. Code, §§ 1202.4, subd. (f), 1202.46.) Battle argues the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to award restitution because he had completed his prison sentence. He also contends a portion of the victim’s counseling expenses were not the result of his criminal conduct. We disagree and affirm.1

Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. We 1

incorporate by reference our unpublished decision in Battle’s appeal from the conviction, People v. Battle (Aug. 30, 2012, A132037, review den. Nov. 14, 2012, S205862). By separate order filed this date, we deny Battle’s petition for writ of habeas corpus (case No. A163852).

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BACKGROUND In December 2008, Battle repeatedly stabbed his then girlfriend, Danielle W. — who was also the mother of his child — with a 10-inch knife while their baby was in the next room. Danielle bled profusely from stab wounds in her chest, throat, and ear. She was airlifted to a hospital; later she endured several surgeries. After the incident, Danielle received speech and physical therapy. A portion of her face is permanently paralyzed. In 2010, a jury convicted Battle of corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant and assault with a deadly weapon by means likely to produce great bodily injury. The jury also found true a great bodily injury enhancement. The trial court sentenced Battle to 10 years in state prison and reserved jurisdiction over restitution. This court affirmed the conviction. (People v. Battle, supra, A132037.) Battle was released from prison in 2018. In November 2019, the prosecution moved to “order or modify restitution” pursuant to section 1202.46. The prosecution asserted the California Victim Compensation Board (Board) paid $4,426.65 for medical and mental health counseling expenses incurred by Danielle from 2012 to 2019. Of that amount, $3,969 was for counseling sessions conducted in 2012, and from 2015 to 2019. Defense counsel requested — and received — several continuances to prepare for the restitution hearing. At the December 2020 hearing, the trial court admitted certified copies of bills submitted to, and paid by, the Board on Danielle’s behalf for her medical and mental health counseling expenses. Defense counsel did not object to the court’s jurisdiction, nor offer any evidence. Instead, counsel argued the counseling sessions held from 2015 to 2019 were not “reasonably related to the underlining [sic] offense because they’re so distant in time to when the incident occurred.” The prosecutor