People v. Palm CA3

Filed 10/18/22 P. v. Palm CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 (Butte) ----

THE PEOPLE, C095566

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 21CF05606)

v.

CLIFFORD ALBERT PALM III,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Clifford Albert Palm III appeals from the judgment entered following his no contest plea to committing battery with serious injury and suffering a prior serious or violent felony conviction. Defendant contends, and the People agree, that the three- year parole period imposed was unauthorized and must be reduced to a two-year parole period. We agree and modify the judgment.

1

BACKGROUND 1 In October 2021, defendant “headbutted” the front desk person of a chapel, causing a large cut above the victim’s eye. Defendant pleaded no contest to committing battery with serious injury (Pen. Code, § 243, subd. (d));2 his plea included a Harvey3 waiver and the trial court dismissed the prior conviction allegation. Defendant’s executed plea form indicated that he would be subject to a three-year parole term. At defendant’s November 2021 sentencing, the trial court imposed a three-year prison term and ordered defendant be on parole for three years following his release from custody. Defendant did not object to the parole term pronouncement. DISCUSSION Defendant contends the three-year parole period imposed by the trial was unauthorized and the parole term must be reduced to two years. Although defendant did not object to the imposition of the three-year parole term in the trial court, we may correct an unauthorized sentence on appeal despite the failure to object. (People v. Scott (1994) 9 Cal.4th 331, 354.) A sentence is unauthorized if “it could not lawfully be imposed under any circumstance in the particular case.” (Ibid.) Effective August 6, 2020, section 3000.01, with exceptions inapplicable here, provides that prison inmates subject to parole who have been sentenced to a determinate term and will be released on or after July 1, 2020, shall be released on parole for a period of two years. (§ 3000.01, subds. (a), (b)(1) & (d).)