California v. Wright

In exchange for a stipulated 11-year sentence and the dismissal of other counts, Justin Michael Wright pleaded guilty to transporting a controlled substance. He also admitted having a strike prior and one prior conviction for a violation of Health & Safety Code section 11351.5, thereby triggering the imposition of a three-year enhancement under section 11370.2(a). In a written plea agreement, Wright waived his right to appeal, including among other things, "any sentence stipulated herein." The court sentenced Wright to the stipulated 11-year prison term, which consisted of the four-year midterm doubled for the strike prior, plus a three-year enhancement under 11370.2(a). In October 2017 the Governor signed Senate Bill No. 180, which amended section 11370.2, effective January 1, 2018, to limit the scope of the enhancement to apply only to prior convictions for a violation of section 11380.2. Wright appealed, contending the ameliorative provision of the amended section 11370.2 applied retroactively because he case was not yet final, and the Court of Appeal should have vacated the now-inapplicable three-year enhancement. The Court of Appeal concluded Wright did not waive the right to appeal future sentencing error based on a change in the law of which he was unaware at the time he entered his plea. Accordingly, Wright's conviction was affirmed, but his sentence was reversed and the case remanded to the trial court with directions to strike the section 11370.2(a) enhancement and to resentence Wright accordingly. View "California v. Wright" on Justia Law