People v. Porche CA3

Filed 1/14/22 P. v. Porche CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (San Joaquin) ----

THE PEOPLE, C091519

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. MAN-CR-FDV-2017- v. 0010817)

JOSEPH LAWRENCE PORCHE,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to seal certain arrest records pursuant to Penal Code section 851.91. 1 He argues the trial court erred in refusing to seal the records of two domestic violence arrests that occurred on dates different than a third illegal eavesdropping charge made in the same information to which he ultimately pleaded no contest. We disagree. Nothing in section 851.91 or its legislative history suggests that the law was meant to allow a defendant to seal charges

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.

1

dismissed as part of a no contest plea to one of several charges in a pending information. Accordingly, we will affirm the trial court’s order. BACKGROUND As explained in our unpublished decision upholding the judgment in defendant’s previous appeal, “the People filed an information collectively charging defendant with felony corporal injury on a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a)–count 1), dissuading a witness from prosecuting a crime (§ 136.1, subd. (b)(2)–count 2), and misdemeanor corporal injury on a spouse (§ 273.5, subd. (a)–count 3).” (People v. Porche (Oct. 25, 2019, C087804) [nonpub. opn.].) These charges arose from incidents alleged to have occurred between July 1 and August 1, 2017.2 On July 20, 2018, the day on which defendant’s trial on the felony information was to start, defendant struck a plea deal. The People agreed to amend the information so that count 1 would allege a misdemeanor violation of section 632 (surreptitious recording of private conversations), defendant would plead no contest to count 1 and receive three years’ informal probation. The deal also provided that the criminal protective order for the victim would remain in place but would be modifiable by the family court. All remaining charges would be dismissed in the interests of justice. The stipulated factual basis for the plea identified July 28, 2017, as the day of the illicit recording. Defendant was sentenced in accordance with the plea agreement, and we upheld the judgment on appeal. On January 18, 2019, defendant petitioned to seal the records of his two domestic violence arrests pursuant to section 851.91. On October 7, 2019, he filed a motion under section 851.8 to seal and destroy the same records. On October 17, 2019, defendant moved to terminate his informal probation.