Sentencing

Admissible evidence

“A probation report is required following every felony conviction in this state. [Citation.] [California Rules of Court, r]ule 4.411.5 details the contents of presentence reports, and contemplates that police reports will be used to prepare crime summaries contained therein. (Rule 4.411.5(a)(7)(i).) Defendants are required by statute to have an opportunity to review and challenge inaccuracies in the presentence report. [Citations.] [Defendant] does not contend he failed to receive such an opportunity in the underlying criminal prosecution. [¶] Superior courts consider and rely upon hearsay statements contained in a presentence report to determine whether to place a defendant on probation, and to evaluate his [or her] level of culpability when selecting an appropriate sentence. [Citations.]” (People v. Otto (2001) 26 Cal.4th 200, 212, 109 Cal.Rptr.2d 327, 26 P.3d 1061 (Otto ).) “A sentencing judge ‘may, consistently with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, consider responsible unsworn or ‘out-of-court’ information relative to the circumstances of the crime and to the convicted person's life and characteristics.’ [Citation.]” (People v. Arbuckle (1978) 22 Cal.3d 749, 754, 150 Cal.Rptr. 778, 587 P.2d 220.) The court may also consider and rely upon hearsay statements contained in a probation report, including the police reports used to prepare the crime summaries contained in the report. (Otto, at p. 212, 109 Cal.Rptr.2d 327, 26 P.3d 1061.)

By stating in section 1204 that mitigating evidence must be presented through “the testimony of witnesses examined in open court” rather than verbal representations, the Legislature has declared that a criminal defendant wishing to make an oral statement to the court in mitigation of punishment must do so through testimony given under oath.6 (A defendant may also provide an unsworn written statement either by submitting the statement to the probation officer for inclusion in the probation report (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 4.411.5(a)(4)), if one is prepared; or by including such a statement in a “written report” filed by the defense that “presents a study of his background and personality and suggests a rehabilitation program” (§ 1204).) People v. Evans (2008) 44 Cal.4th 590, 598

Granting probation

“The sentencing court has broad discretion to determine whether an eligible defendant is suitable for probation....” (People v. Welch (1993) 5 Cal.4th 228, 233, 19 Cal.Rptr.2d 520, 851 P.2d 802.)

“The decision to grant or deny probation requires consideration of all the facts and circumstances of the case. [Citation.]” (People v. Birmingham (1990) 217 Cal.App.3d 180, 185, 265 Cal.Rptr. 780.)

In deciding whether to grant or deny probation, a trial court may also consider additional criteria not listed in the rules provided those criteria are reasonably related to that decision. (Rule 4.408(a).) A trial court is generally required to state its reasons for denying probation and imposing a prison sentence, including any additional reasons considered pursuant to rule 4.408. (Rule 4.406(b)(2); rule 4.408(a).) Unless the record affirmatively shows otherwise, a trial court is deemed to have considered all relevant criteria in deciding whether to grant or deny probation or in making any other discretionary sentencing choice. (Rule 4.409.) 67 “The circumstances utilized by the trial court to support its sentencing choice need only be established by a preponderance **27 of the evidence. [Citations.]” (People v. Leung (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 482, 506, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 290.) Accordingly, in determining whether a trial court abused its discretion by denying probation, we consider, in part, whether there is sufficient, or substantial, evidence to support the court's finding that a particular factor was applicable. (Id. at pp. 506–507, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 290.)

People v. Weaver (2007) 149 Cal.App.4th 1301, 1313 disapproved of by People v. Cook (2015) 60 Cal.4th 922 on other grounds

Presumptive ineligible

There is likewise broad discretion to determine whether a given case is “unusual” and entitles the defendant to probation in the interests of justice. (People v. Superior Court (Du ) (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 822, 831, 7 Cal.Rptr.2d 177.

A VC20001 hit-and-run is not "a deadly weapon," to make one presumptively eligible under PC1203(e)(2). (People v. Nuno (2018) 26 Cal.App.5th 43.)

And it does not apply the criteria in rule 4.414 to determine whether to grant probation unless it first finds any statutory presumption against probation is rebutted. (Rule 4.413(b); **584 People v. Superior Court (Dorsey ) (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1216, 1229, 58 Cal.Rptr.2d 165.)

Statement of reasons

“Generally speaking, the trial court must state reasons for granting or denying probation.” (People v. Lesnick (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 637, 644.)

"At an initial sentencing hearing, when the court has the discretion to grant probation, the decision to grant probation is a sentence choice which requires a statement of reasons." (§ 1170, subd. (c); Cal. Rules of Court, rule 405(f)Court, rule 405(f). (People v. Hawthorne (1991) 226 Cal.App.3d 789, 792.)

"The denial of probation, in and of itself, is not a sentence choice requiring a statement of reasons. (People v. Gopal (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 524, 547–549, 217 Cal.Rptr. 487, cert. den. 476 U.S. 1105, 106 S.Ct. 1949, 90 L.Ed.2d 359; People v. Crouch (1982) 131 Cal.App.3d 902, 904, 182 Cal.Rptr. 701.) The rationale is that the denial of probation is not the ultimate disposition of the case, but rather is part and parcel of the concomitant decision to sentence to state prison, and that is the sentence choice which requires a statement of reasons. (People v. Butler (1980) 107 Cal.App.3d 251, 254–255, 165 Cal.Rptr. 709; accord People v. Golliver, supra, 219 Cal.App.3d at p. 1616, fn. 2, 269 Cal.Rptr. 191.) (People v. Hawthorne (1991) 226 Cal.App.3d 789, 792, fn. 2)

But it need not provide reasons for declining to find a case “unusual” so as to rebut any presumptive ineligibility for probation. (People v. Lesnick (1987) 189 Cal.App.3d 637, 644.)

Misdemeanor sentencing

"A trial court in a misdemeanor case may properly look for guidance to what the rules consider to be aggravating and mitigating." (People v. Faber (2017) 15 Cal.App.5th Supp. 41, 48.)

Sentencing error

Failing to state reasons

Rule 4.403

People v. Dixon (1993) 20 Cal.App.4th 1029, 1037, found it reversible error, when failing to state reasons for consecutive sentences.

Sentencing can't just incorporate by reference, such as just the probation report. People v. Pierce (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 1317; People v. Fernandez (1990) 226 Cal.App.3d 669; People v. Deloach (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 323; People v. Davis (1980) 103 Cal.App.3d 270; People v. Turner (1978) 87 Cal.App.3d 244

Rules of Court

Rule 4.410 General objectives in sentencing

(a) General objectives of sentencing include:

(1) Protecting society;

(2) Punishing the defendant;

(3) Encouraging the defendant to lead a law-abiding life in the future and deterring him or her from future offenses;

(4) Deterring others from criminal conduct by demonstrating its consequences;

(5) Preventing the defendant from committing new crimes by isolating him or her for the period of incarceration;

(6) Securing restitution for the victims of crime;

(7) Achieving uniformity in sentencing; and

(8) Increasing public safety by reducing recidivism through community-based corrections programs and evidence-based practices.

(b) Because in some instances these objectives may suggest inconsistent dispositions, the sentencing judge must consider which objectives are of primary importance in the particular case. The sentencing judge should be guided by statutory statements of policy, the criteria in these rules, and any other facts and circumstances relevant to the case.

Rule 4.413. Grant of probation when defendant is presumptively ineligible for probation

(a) Consideration of eligibility The court must determine whether the defendant is eligible for probation. In most cases, the defendant is presumptively eligible for probation; in some cases, the defendant is presumptively ineligible; and in some cases, probation is not allowed.

(b) Probation in cases when defendant is presumptively ineligible If the defendant comes under a statutory provision prohibiting probation “except in unusual cases where the interests of justice would best be served,” or a substantially equivalent provision, the court should apply the criteria in

(c) to evaluate whether the statutory limitation on probation is overcome; and if it is, the court should then apply the criteria in rule 4.414 to decide whether to grant probation.

(c) Factors overcoming the presumption of ineligibility The following factors may indicate the existence of an unusual case in which probation may be granted if otherwise appropriate:

(1) Factors relating to basis for limitation on probation A factor or circumstance indicating that the basis for the statutory limitation on probation, although technically present, is not fully applicable to the case, including:

(A) The factor or circumstance giving rise to the limitation on probation is, in this case, substantially less serious than the circumstances typically present in other cases involving the same probation limitation, and the defendant has no recent record of committing similar crimes or crimes of violence; and

(B) The current offense is less serious than a prior felony conviction that is the cause of the limitation on probation, and the defendant has been free from incarceration and serious violation of the law for a substantial time before the current offense.

(2) Factors limiting defendant's culpability A factor or circumstance not amounting to a defense, but reducing the defendant's culpability for the offense, including:

(A) The defendant participated in the crime under circumstances of great provocation, coercion, or duress not amounting to a defense, and the defendant has no recent record of committing crimes of violence;

(B) The crime was committed because of a mental condition not amounting to a defense, and there is a high likelihood that the defendant would respond favorably to mental health care and treatment that would be required as a condition of probation; and

(C) The defendant is youthful or aged, and has no significant record of prior criminal offenses.

(3) Results of risk/needs assessment

Along with all other relevant information in the case, the court may consider the results of a risk/needs assessment of the defendant, if one was performed. The weight of a risk/needs assessment is for the court to consider in its sentencing discretion.