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People v. Han

California Court of Appeals, Sixth District
Mar 24, 2010
No. H034668 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2010)

Opinion


THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. XIAO HAN, Defendant and Appellant. H034668 California Court of Appeal, Sixth District March 24, 2010

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

Santa Clara County Super. Ct. No. CC9915653

Duffy, J.

In June 1999, defendant Xiao Han pleaded no contest to two felonies, false imprisonment and sexual assault. The court placed defendant on probation and ordered him to serve 364 days in county jail. In July 2009, defendant filed a motion with the court that was captioned “Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus[;] Motion to Vacate the Judgment Pursuant to Penal Code Section 1016.5” (the motion). The motion was denied, and defendant filed a timely appeal. We will affirm the judgment.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The record does not provide any information from which to summarize the factual background concerning the offenses of which defendant was convicted.

A felony complaint was filed on January 21, 1999, alleging one count of felony false imprisonment (Pen. Code, §§ 236/237; count 1), and one count of misdemeanor sexual battery (§ 243.4, subd. (d); count 2). The alleged acts occurred on January 16, 1999. On motion of the District Attorney, the complaint was thereafter amended to add a third felony count of assault with intent to commit rape (§ 220). On June 4, 1999, defendant pleaded no contest to the two felony counts on the condition that he would receive a county jail term of 364 days. Before accepting the plea, defendant was apprised of the rights he was giving up as a result of his no contest plea and concerning the consequences of that plea. The court found a factual basis for the plea. Further, the court ordered the matter be referred to superior court. On January 28, 2000, the court placed defendant on three years’ probation and imposed certain conditions, including the condition that defendant serve 364 days in county jail. The court further struck count 2.

Further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated.

We note that, after the court denied a motion by defendant to withdraw his plea, he filed a prior appeal. In an opinion filed in October 2001, we rejected defendant’s claim that the court erred in denying that motion and also rejected defendant’s claim that his trial counsel was ineffective in advising him of the immigration consequences of his plea. Pursuant to Evidence Code sections 452, subdivision (d) and 459, subdivision (a), we take judicial notice of our prior opinion. (People v. Han (Oct. 23, 2001, H021244) [nonpub. opn.] review den. Jan. 23, 2002.)

On July 22, 2009, defendant filed the motion. The court denied the motion on August 7, 2009, concluding that (1) to the extent defendant was invoking section 1016.5, that motion was denied because the record reflected that he was fully apprised of the immigration consequences of entering a no contest plea; and (2) to the extent defendant was seeking habeas corpus relief, the court had no jurisdiction because defendant was neither in actual or constructive custody. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal from the order denying the motion.

There was some question as to the appealability of the order. Although a trial court’s denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus is not reviewable by appeal (People v. Garrett (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 1419, 1421-1422), an order denying a motion under section 1016.5 is appealable (People v. Totari (2002) 28 Cal.4th 876, 886-887 (Totari)). Since defendant’s motion in part sought to vacate the judgment pursuant to section 1016.5, and the court treated the motion in part as such, we find that the order from which the appeal is taken, insofar as it denied defendant relief under section 1016.5, is appealable. (Totari, at pp. 886-887.)

DISCUSSION

We appointed counsel to represent defendant in this court. Appointed counsel filed an opening brief which stated the case and requested that this court independently review the record on appeal. In its brief, appointed counsel argued no specific issues on their merits; however, he identified “the following issue... to assist the court in conducting its independent review of the record: [¶] The motion to vacate judgment should have been granted because the superior court failed to provide additional time upon request for appellant to consider the immigration consequences of his plea. (See § 1016.5, subds. (b) & (d); Totari, supra, 28 Cal.4th at p. 884; In re Resendiz (2001) 25 Cal.4th 230, 253 (lead opn.).)” We notified defendant of his right to submit written argument on his own behalf within 30 days. We thereafter received defendant’s supplemental brief, filed December 22, 2009.

We have reviewed the entire record pursuant to People v. Wende (1979) 25 Cal.3d 436. Based upon that review—including a review of the issue identified in the opening brief and the matters argued in the supplemental brief—we have concluded that there is no arguable issue on appeal.

DISPOSITION

The judgment is affirmed.

WE CONCUR: Bamattre-Manoukian, Acting P.J., Mihara, J.


Summaries of

People v. Han

California Court of Appeals, Sixth District
Mar 24, 2010
No. H034668 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2010)
Case details for

People v. Han

Case Details

Full title:THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. XIAO HAN, Defendant and Appellant.

Court:California Court of Appeals, Sixth District

Date published: Mar 24, 2010

Citations

No. H034668 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 24, 2010)