People v. Lara
Annotate this CaseDefendant pled no contest to one count of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. Based on a negotiated disposition, the trial court sentenced Defendant to two years' incarceration. The question arose whether Defendant's prior conviction for burglary, which the trial court had stricken, nevertheless disqualified him from receiving day-for-day presentence conduct credits under Cal. Penal Code former 4019. Former section 4019 allowed prisoners in local custody to earn conduct credits against their term of confinement for work and good behavior. The possibility of early release, however, was withheld from prisoners who had a prior conviction for a serious or violent felony. The court concluded it had no power to disregard the prior conviction for purposes of credits and award 116 days of conduct credits rather than the 232 to which Defendant would otherwise have been entitled. The court of appeal reversed the judgment as to credits. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Cal. Penal Code 1385, which permits a court in furtherance of justice to order an action to be dismissed, does not authorize a court to disregard the historical facts that disqualify a local prisoner from earning day-for-day conduct credits under former section 4019.
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