People v. Arevalo

Arevalo, then 18, was placed on probation after pleading no contest to felony continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years old. He waived some custody credits he had accrued while in jail, leaving him with 183 credits for time served and 182 credits for good behavior (Penal Code 4019). A “Johnson waiver” permits a court to grant probation while ensuring that the defendant will serve additional time for any violations. The court mistakenly indicated that Arevalo would be entitled to 365 days of credits if eventually sentenced to prison. Arevalo later admitted to violating his probation. The court sentenced him to six years in prison. Section 4019 governs the calculation of conduct credits when a defendant convicted of a violent felony is placed on probation, but section 2933.1(c) governs if the defendant is later sentenced to prison; it limits such credits to 15 percent of actual time served--27 days for Arevalo. The court of appeal affirmed. Even if the Johnson waiver was not knowing and intelligent, Arevalo could not reasonably contend that he would have declined probation by not entering the Johnson waiver had he understood that his conduct credits might be recalculated. Courts should explain section 2933.1(c) when placing defendants convicted of violent felonies on probation and accepting Johnson waivers, but Arevalo did not show prejudice. View "People v. Arevalo" on Justia Law