People v. Navarra

Defendant was convicted on September 24, 2014, and sentenced on February 20, 2015. Her notice of appeal was filed on February 20, 2015. On November 8, 2016, while defendant's appeal was pending, voters enacted Proposition 57. It went into

The provisions of Proposition 57 affecting only juvenile offenders contain no express statement regarding retroactivity. Defendant seeks support for her claim of retroactive application in the fact the Act contains no savings clause; the specified purposes of the Act, quoted ante ; uncodified section 5 of the Act, which says the Act "shall be broadly construed to accomplish its purposes" (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec., supra , text of Prop. 57, § 5, p. 145); and uncodified section 9 of the Act, which says the Act "shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes" (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec., supra , text of Prop. 57, § 9, p. 146). Our Supreme Court, however, has "been cautious not to infer the voters' or the Legislature's intent on the subject of prospective versus retrospective operation from 'vague phrases' [citation] and 'broad, general language' [citation] in statutes, initiative measures and ballot pamphlets." ( Californians For Disability Rights v. Mervyn's, LLC (2006) 39 Cal.4th 223 , 229-230, 46 Cal.Rptr.3d 57 , 138 P.3d 207 .) "Accordingly, we will not attempt to infer from the ambiguous general language of Proposition [57] whether the voters intended the measure to apply to ... cases [that are not yet final]. Instead we will employ the ordinary presumptions and rules of statutory construction commonly used to decide such matters when a statute is silent." ( Id . at p. 230, 46 Cal.Rptr.3d 57 , 138 P.3d 207 .)

" '[A] statute that is ambiguous with respect to retroactive application is construed ... to be unambiguously prospective. [Citations.]' " (

The state high court noted the "limited role Estrada properly plays in our jurisprudence of prospective versus retrospective operation" ( Brown , supra , 54 Cal.4th at p. 324, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824 , 278 P.3d 1182 ), and found Estrada 's statement about the rule of construction codified in Penal Code section 3 not being a "straitjacket" ( Estrada , supra , 63 Cal.2d at p. 746, 48 Cal.Rptr. 172 , 408 P.2d 948 ), if applied broadly and literally, would "endanger the default rule of prospective operation" ( Brown , at p. 324, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824 , 278 P.3d 1182 ). The court concluded: " Estrada is today properly understood, not as weakening or modifying the default rule of prospective operation codified in [Penal Code] section 3, but rather as informing the rule's application in a specific context by articulating the reasonable presumption that a legislative act mitigating the punishment for a particular criminal offense is intended to apply to all nonfinal judgments. [Citation.]" ( Ibid ., italics added.) The court rejected the argument Estrada should be understood to apply to any statute that reduced punishment in any manner, noting "the rule and logic of Estrada is specifically directed to a statute that represents ' "a legislative mitigation of the penalty for a particular crime " ' [citation]." ( Brown , at p. 325, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824 , 278 P.3d 1182 , original italics.)

Brown concerned the application of a change in the rate at which prisoners in local custody could earn conduct credits ( Brown , supra , 54 Cal.4th at pp. 317-318, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824 , 278 P.3d 1182 ), a very different situation than we confront here. Nevertheless, we cannot just blithely write off, on that ground, a pronouncement by our state's highest court that limits the holding in one of that court's prior cases. That the state Supreme Court did not intend this limitation to apply only in the circumstances presented in Brown is clearly demonstrated by the fact it cited to a discussion of the default rule of prospective application, and rejection of a broad interpretation of Estrada , contained in Evangelatos v. Superior Court (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1188 , 1207-1209, 246 Cal.Rptr. 629 , 753 P.2d 585 , a civil case. ( Brown , at pp. 324-325, 142 Cal.Rptr.3d 824 , 278 P.3d 1182 .) The Supreme Court's application of the limitation on Estrada in two such disparate scenarios

distinctive attributes of youth.' [Citation.] Even if a court considers a child's age before sentencing him or her to a lifetime in prison, that sentence still violates the Eighth Amendment for a child whose crime reflects ' "unfortunate yet transient immaturity." ' [Citations.] Because Miller determined that sentencing a child to life without parole is excessive for all but ' "the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflects irreparable corruption," ' [citations] it rendered life without parole an unconstitutional penalty for 'a class of defendants because of their status'-that is, juvenile offenders whose crimes reflect the transient immaturity of youth. [Citation.] As a result, Miller announced a substantive rule of constitutional law. Like other substantive rules, Miller is retroactive because it ' "necessarily carr[ies] a significant risk that a defendant" '-here, the vast majority of juvenile offenders-" 'faces a punishment that the law cannot impose upon him.' " [Citations.]" ( Montgomery , supra , 577 U.S. at pp. ---- - ----, 136 S.Ct. at pp. 733-734.)

Defendant reasons: "Proposition 57 helps to effectuate the substantive rule of constitutional law established by Miller , by creating a presumption that juvenile offenders be treated within the juvenile system with its focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. The requirement of a juvenile transfer hearing which considers the juvenile's amenability to rehabilitation is necessary to effectuate the Miller mandate that juvenile LWOP be rare. Thus, under Montgomery , Proposition 57 requiring a juvenile transfer hearing must be retroactively applied to juvenile offenders

The judgment is affirmed.

WE CONCUR:

POOCHIGIAN, J.

MEEHAN, J.

In ascertaining whether a statute should be applied retroactively, the intent of the electorate, or the Legislature, "is the 'paramount' consideration." ( People v. Nasalga (1996) 12 Cal.4th 784 , 792, 50 Cal.Rptr.2d 88 , 910 P.2d 1380 (plur. opn. of Werdegar, J.); see People v. Conley (2016) 63 Cal.4th 646 , 656, 203 Cal.Rptr.3d 622 , 373 P.3d 435 .) " ' "In interpreting a voter initiative" ' such as Proposition [57], ' "we apply the same principles that govern statutory construction. [Citation.] Thus, [1] 'we turn first to the language of the statute, giving the words their ordinary meaning.' [Citation.] [2] The statutory language must also be construed in the context of the statute as a whole and the overall statutory scheme [in light of the electorate's intent]. [Citation.] [3] When the language is ambiguous, 'we refer to other indicia of the voters' intent, particularly the analyses and arguments contained in the official ballot pamphlet.' " ' [Citation.] 'In other words, our "task is simply to interpret and apply the initiative's language so as to effectuate the electorate's intent." ' [Citation.]" ( Arroyo , supra , 62 Cal.4th at p. 593, 197 Cal.Rptr.3d 122 , 364 P.3d 168 .)

"It is well settled that a new statute is presumed to operate prospectively absent an express declaration of retrospectivity or a clear indication that the electorate, or the Legislature, intended otherwise. [Citations.]" ( Tapia , supra , 53 Cal.3d at p. 287, 279 Cal.Rptr. 592 , 807 P.2d 434 .) While the Welfare and Institutions Code does not contain a statutory codification of this principle (cf., e.g., Code Civ. Proc., § 3, Pen. Code, § 3 ), the California Supreme Court has made clear such

Estrada dealt with a situation in which, at the time of the petitioner's offense (escape without force or violence), the applicable statutes mandated a sentence of at least one year's imprisonment, to commence from the time the prisoner would have been discharged otherwise, with no grant of parole until service of at least two calendar years from the date of the escapee's return to prison after conviction. After the petitioner committed the crime, but before his conviction and sentence, the statutes were amended to provide for a

We recognize significant differences exist between juvenile and adult offender laws, and that "[t]he former seeks to rehabilitate, while the latter seeks to punish." ( In re Julian R. (2009) 47 Cal.4th 487 , 496, 97 Cal.Rptr.3d 790 , 213 P.3d 125 .) We also recognize "the certification of a juvenile offender to an adult court has been ... characterized as 'the worst punishment the juvenile system is empowered to inflict.' [Citation.]" ( Ramona R. v. Superior Court (1985) 37 Cal.3d 802 , 810, 210 Cal.Rptr. 204 , 693 P.2d 789 .) Proposition 57 has the potential to reduce the range of permissible punishment-including that applicable to the offenses of which defendant was convicted-for a class of offenders. Nevertheless, no provision of Proposition 57 mitigates the penalty for a particular criminal offense. Accordingly, Estrada does not overcome the strong presumption of prospective-only application.

As previously noted, the portions of Proposition 57 applicable only to juvenile offenders contain no express retroactivity provision. By contrast, the Act expressly renders the provisions relating to eligibility for parole consideration retroactive by making them applicable to "[a]ny person convicted ... and sentenced." ( Cal. Const., art. I, § 32, subd. (a)(1); see People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261 , 278, 202 Cal.Rptr.3d 496 , 370 P.3d 1053 [discussing retroactivity of youth offender parole hearings under Pen. Code, § 3051 ].) Moreover, section 707, subdivision (a)(1), as amended by the Act, mandates that any motion to transfer the minor from juvenile court to criminal court " must be made prior to the attachment of jeopardy ." (Italics added.)

"The voters are presumed to have been aware of existing law at the time an initiative was enacted. [Citations.]" ( Juan G. , supra , 209 Cal.App.4th at p. 1494, 147 Cal.Rptr.3d 816 .) In addition, we generally assume voters considered the entire text of a proposal submitted to them for enactment. (See People v. Valencia (2017) 3 Cal.5th 347 , 369, 220 Cal.Rptr.3d 230 , 397 P.3d 936 .) This being the case, logic dictates that had voters intended the juvenile offender provisions of Proposition 57 to apply to such offenders who were already tried, convicted, and sentenced, the enactment would have included an express provision to that effect, as did the parole eligibility portions of the Act.

When interpreting a legislative enactment, " '[w]e must ... avoid a construction that would produce absurd consequences, which we presume the

Nonetheless, defendant asserts retroactivity is required under Montgomery , supra , 577 U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 718 . That case confronted the question "whether Miller 's prohibition on mandatory life without parole for juvenile offenders ... announce[d] a new substantive rule that, under the Constitution, must be retroactive." ( Id . at p. ----, 136 S.Ct. at p. 732.) The high court explained that a procedural rule (which generally is not retroactive) " 'regulate[s] only the manner of determining the defendant's culpability.' [Citation.] A substantive rule, in contrast, forbids 'criminal punishment of certain primary conduct' or prohibits 'a certain category of punishment for a class of defendants because of their status or offense.' [Citations.]" ( Ibid . ) In finding Miller announced a substantive rule required to be given retroactive effect, the court explained:

" Miller requires that before sentencing a juvenile to life without parole, the sentencing judge take into account 'how children are different, and how those differences counsel against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison.' [Citation.] The Court recognized that a sentencer might encounter the rare juvenile offender who exhibits such irretrievable depravity that rehabilitation is impossible and life without parole is justified. But in light of 'children's diminished culpability and heightened capacity for change,' Miller made clear that 'appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to this harshest possible penalty will be uncommon.' [Citation.]

" Miller , then, did more than require a sentencer to consider a juvenile offender's youth before imposing life without parole; it established that the penological justifications for life without parole collapse in light of 'the

In our view, neither Miller nor Montgomery suggests a juvenile offender is constitutionally entitled to an opportunity to be adjudicated in the juvenile court system. Our state Supreme Court has concluded there is no such constitutional right ( Manduley , supra , 27 Cal.4th at pp. 564-565, 117 Cal.Rptr.2d 168 , 41 P.3d 3 , 27 Cal.4th 887A at pp. 564-565 ), and nothing in the United States Supreme Court's more recent pronouncements causes us to doubt that conclusion.

Here, the trial court clearly had in mind that the overriding question at sentencing was whether, in light of all the Miller factors and those to be considered under Penal Code section 190.3 and the California Rules of Court, defendant was the rare juvenile offender whose crime reflected irreparable corruption resulting in permanent incorrigibility, rather than transient immaturity. Thus, the trial court fully evaluated defendant's amenability to rehabilitation, simply not in the context of a fitness/transfer hearing. The trial court expressly found defendant could not be rehabilitated and that LWOP was the appropriate sentence. Neither Miller nor Montgomery entitles defendant to anything more.