People v. Orozco CA6

Filed 10/18/23 P. v. Orozco CA6 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, H050315 (Santa Clara County Plaintiff and Respondent, Super. Ct. No. CC259377)

v.

CARLOS MANUEL OROZCO,

Defendant and Appellant.

More than 20 years ago, in August 2002, Carlos Manuel Orozco was charged with four felony counts of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended or revoked license. Early the next year, Orozco pleaded guilty to one of the DUI counts as well as the misdemeanor count, and he was placed on probation, which he successfully completed. Orozco, who is not a United States citizen, now wants to apply for permanent adjustment of his immigration status and believes that his DUI conviction may prevent him from doing so. He therefore moved to vacate his 2003 convictions under Penal Code section 1473.7. (Subsequent statutory references are to the Penal Code.) This provision allows individuals who have completed their sentences to move to vacate their convictions based on a “prejudicial error damaging the moving party’s ability to meaningfully understand . . . the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a conviction or sentence.” (§ 1473.7, subd. (a)(1).) The trial court denied Orozco’s motion, and Orozco now appeals.

We conclude that Orozco is not entitled to relief under section 1473.7 because he has not shown a reasonable probability that he would have rejected the plea bargain that he accepted if he had understood its immigration consequences. We therefore affirm the denial of Orozco’s motion. I. Background Because there was no preliminary examination or trial in connection with the 2003 criminal proceedings, we draw the facts underlying those proceedings from the probation officer’s report. On August 20, 2002, while driving with a suspended license, Orozco rear ended a vehicle stopped at a red light, damaging the vehicle and injuring the driver, the driver’s brother, and the driver’s child. Orozco was arrested, and a blood sample taken from him showed a blood alcohol level of 0.21 percent, far above the legal limit. Orozco later admitted to the probation officer that he had consumed “at least 12 beers” on the night of the accident and was drunk at the time. On August 23, 2002, the Santa Clara County District Attorney filed a complaint charging Orozco with four felony DUI counts: driving under the influence and causing injury (Veh. Code, § 23153, subd. (a)), driving under the influence and causing injury with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent (id., § 23153, subd. (b)), driving under the influence with three or more prior convictions (id., §§ 23152, 23550, subd. (b)), and driving under the influence with three or more prior convictions and a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent (id., §§ 23152, 23550, subd. (a).) Orozco also was charged with a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended or revoked license. (Id., § 14601.1, subd. (a).) On January 2, 2003, pursuant to a plea agreement, Orozco pleaded no contest to the second DUI count (driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent) and the misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended or revoked license. In March 2003, the trial court dismissed the remaining DUI counts and imposed three years of probation. Although in October 2005 the