People v. Burke

Summary

The California Court of Appeal held that amendments to Penal Code section 1385 enacted by Senate Bill No. 81, which require courts to give great weight to specified mitigating factors when considering dismissal of enhancements, do not apply to prior strike convictions under the Three Strikes law. The court affirmed the judgment after finding no arguable error warranting a more favorable disposition. It directed the trial court to correct the abstract of judgment by removing fines and fees that were not imposed in the oral pronouncement of judgment.

Holdings

1. Section 1385, subdivision (c)'s provisions governing dismissal of an enhancement do not apply to a prior strike conviction because the Three Strikes law is an alternative sentencing scheme, not a sentence enhancement.
2. The oral pronouncement controls over the inconsistent abstract of judgment, and the abstract must be corrected to strike the fines, fees, and assessments that the trial court waived.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Senate Bill No. 81's amendments to Penal Code section 1385, subdivision (c), which require consideration and substantial weight for specified mitigating factors when deciding whether to dismiss an enhancement, apply to a prior strike conviction under the Three Strikes law.
2. Whether the abstract of judgment should be corrected when it lists fines, fees, and assessments that the trial court did not orally impose and expressly waived.

Disposition

affirmed