California v. Varner
Annotate this CaseIn July 2014, prior to the passage of Proposition 47, defendant-appellant James Varner entered a guilty plea to a felony violation of receiving stolen property, specifically a 1986 Yamaha M300 motorcycle. Defendant filed a petition to recall his sentence stating that his felony conviction should be reduced to a misdemeanor. The trial court denied his Petition on the grounds that his conviction was not eligible for resentencing under Proposition 47. Defendant claimed on appeal the trial court erred by finding his conviction did not qualify for resentencing under Proposition 47 because: (1) Proposition 47 redefined all theft-related offenses with the value of the property under $950 as misdemeanors; and (2) if the Court of Appeal found Penal Code section 496d (the section under which defendant was convicted) was not affected by Proposition 47, the omission from Proposition 47 violated his equal protection rights under the state and federal Constitutions. The Court of Appeal affirmed: a conviction for receiving a stolen motor vehicle in violation of section 496d was not an eligible offense under Proposition 47. Defendant also did not show an equal protection violation.
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