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Filed 6/28/21 P. v. Peterson CA1/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for 

publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or 

ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115. 

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

THE PEOPLE,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

TRICIA ELIZABETH PETERSON,

Defendant and Appellant.

 A159762

 (Contra Costa County

 Super. Ct. No. 5-190998-5)

Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant Tricia Elizabeth Peterson

pleaded no contest to one count of assault by means of force likely to produce 

great bodily injury. She appeals following the denial of her motion to 

withdraw her plea. We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Incident Giving Rise to the Charges

In April 2018, defendant’s 18-year-old daughter was living at home 

with defendant. Defendant kicked her daughter out of the house; the next 

day, they had an altercation when the girl returned to the house and would 

not give defendant a house key. Defendant hit her daughter with an open 

hand and with a wooden and metal piece of a coat rack. At some point during 

the conflict, defendant’s 11-year-old son came downstairs with a hammer

yelling at his sister not to “hurt mommy,” and defendant took the hammer 

from the boy. Defendant’s daughter left the house through the front door. 
2

Defendant followed her and grabbed her backpack. Defendant and her 

daughter struggled over the girl’s backpack; during the struggle, defendant

hit her daughter on the head with the hammer. 

Defendant’s daughter suffered lacerations and contusions, and she bled

so much that she could not see for a few minutes due to blood in her eyes. 

She spent one night in the hospital.1 

Information and Not Guilty Plea

In June 2019, the Contra Costa County District Attorney filed an 

information charging defendant with two counts of felony assault with a 

deadly weapon (Pen. Code,2 § 245, subd. (a)(1); counts 1 [assault with a 

hammer]) and 2 [assault with a coat rack]) and one count of misdemeanor 

willful harm to a child (§ 273a, subd. (b); count 3). As to counts 1 and 2, it 

was alleged defendant was exempt from serving any sentence in local custody 

under section 1170. 

Defendant, represented by attorney Krista Della-Piana of the Public 

Defender’s Office, entered a plea of not guilty. A pretrial conference was held 

July 22, 2019. 

First Marsden Motion

At a hearing on August 26, 2019, defense counsel asked the court to set 

a jury trial. After the court set a trial date (in October 2019), defendant 

1 The preceding facts are based on the preliminary hearing, at which 

defendant’s daughter testified. The prosecution played short surveillance 

video clips that showed defendant outside the house hitting her daughter

with the hammer, the piece of coat rack in her hands, and her daughter with 

blood on her clothes. 

2 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code. 
3

requested a Marsden hearing.3 The court (Hon. Patricia Scanlon) conducted 

a Marsden hearing during which both defendant and Della-Piana described

their interactions working together. The court denied defendant’s request to 

replace counsel.

4 

Plea Agreement Reached After Start of Jury Selection

On October 23, 2019, a jury trial began with the court (Hon. John C. 

Cope) ruling on the parties’ motions in limine. The next day, trial continued 

with jury selection. 

On October 28, 2019, the third day of trial, the parties reached a 

negotiated disposition. Outside the presence of the prospective jurors, 

defense counsel told the court, “Ms. Peterson has expressed that she would 

like to accept this offer rather than do a trial. She filled out a plea form. She 

is very emotional right now. This is a difficult process.” Defense counsel 

asked to “do the plea today and put over sentencing to a day Ms. Peterson is 

feeling a little bit better.” The court agreed that sentencing could occur later. 

3 A Marsden motion (People v. Marsden (1970) 2 Cal.3d 118) refers to a 

defendant’s request for new counsel on the ground appointed counsel is 

providing ineffective assistance. (People v. Smith (2003) 30 Cal.4th 581, 604.) 

When a defendant makes a Marsden motion, “the trial court must permit the 

defendant to explain the basis of [her] contention and to relate specific 

instances of inadequate performance. A defendant is entitled to relief if the 

record clearly shows that the appointed counsel is not providing adequate 

representation or that defendant and counsel have become embroiled in such 

an irreconcilable conflict that ineffective representation is likely to result.” 

(Ibid.) 

4 Defendant’s appellate counsel reports he has been unable to confirm 

that the sealed reporter’s transcript of the Marsden hearing held on August 

26, 2019, was forwarded to this court. We confirm that the transcript is part 

of the record on appeal. 
4

Under the parties’ agreement, defendant would plead no contest to 

assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury (§ 245, subd. 

(a)(4); amended count 4), she would receive formal probation for three years 

on the condition she serve 270 days in jail, and the prosecution would dismiss 

counts 1 through 3. 

Defendant and her counsel signed a four-page felony advisement of 

rights, waiver and plea form. With defendant present in open court, defense 

counsel explained the terms of the agreement to the court, and, pursuant to 

the agreement, the prosecutor moved to amend the information to add count 

4, a felony violation of section 245, subdivision (a)(4). 

Judge Cope then addressed defendant, “Ms. Peterson, you’ve heard us 

talking today. . . . [T]he Court has been led to believe there’s going to be a 

resolution in this matter and that you’re going to plead guilty or no contest to 

Count 4. . . . [A]t this point I’m going to grant the People’s request to amend 

to add that count so that it’s there. [¶] Is that what you want to do, ma’am? I 

mean, that’s a tough question. [¶] Is that what you’ve decided to do?” 

Defendant responded, “Yes, your Honor.” The judge held up the signed 

plea form and confirmed with defendant that she had gone over the form with 

her attorney, that she had initialed and signed the form, and that she 

understood what was on the form. 

The court read the new charge, “So, Ms. Peterson, it’s alleged in Count 

4 of the information that was just amended today that you did commit a 

felony violation of Penal Code Section 245(a)(4), assault with force likely to 

produce great bodily injury committed as follows: [¶] On or about April 25th, 

2018, in the County of Contra Costa County, State of California, the crime of 

assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, in violation of Penal 

Code Section 245(a)(4), a felony was committed, in that you did willfully and 
5

unlawfully commit an assault upon [defendant’s daughter] with force likely to 

produce great bodily injury. [¶] What is your plea to that?” 

Defendant responded, “No contest.” The court accepted the plea. 

Defendant’s Motion to Withdraw Plea

On November 13, 2019, the date scheduled for sentencing, defendant 

indicated she wanted to withdraw her plea, and the court set a briefing 

schedule for such a motion.

5 

On November 22, 2019, the court received a “Notice of Motion and 

Motion to Dismiss Pending Criminal Charges and Notice of Motion and 

Motion to Withdraw Plea Bargain” prepared by defendant without the 

assistance of defense counsel. Defendant’s cousin, an inmate at California 

State Prison, Corcoran, signed the proof of service and separately attested 

that he was submitting the motion on behalf of defendant, but that he was 

not acting as her counsel and was not a lawyer. 

The asserted grounds for the motion were (1) insufficiency of the 

evidence of the offense and (2) changes to sentencing law.6 

5 The appellate record does not include reporter’s transcripts for the 

hearing on November 13, 2019. The minute order for the November 13 

hearing notes, “Counsel to prepare motion to withdraw by 12/2” and “People 

to the prepare response by 12/5.” 

6 In a declaration accompanying the motion to withdraw plea, 

defendant stated she was arrested and prosecuted without probable cause as 

there was insufficient evidence presented at the preliminary hearing that she 

intentionally inflicted harm to her child. (Assault, however, is a general 

intent crime; it does not require a specific intent to cause injury.) (In re B.M. 

(2018) 6 Cal.5th 528, 533.) 

Defendant further declared that her daughter’s testimony during the 

preliminary hearing “was the result of Threat and direct Intimidation by the 

prosecution which caused [her] daughter to make mis-statement’s [sic] as she 

was not permitted to fully disclose the facts and evidence due to the 
6

Second Marsden Motion

On December 9, 2019, the parties appeared for another hearing. 

Deputy public defender Michelle Dawson appeared for defense counsel DellaPiana. 

The court stated the matter was set for sentencing and, also, “we put 

the matter over for today in case the parties wanted to explore the possibility 

of filing a motion to withdraw a plea by counsel.” The court noted it 

“receive[d] a motion from Ms. Peterson herself,” despite her representation by 

counsel. 

The court asked Dawson whether there was “any legal reason why 

sentencing should not occur” that day. Dawson responded, “No, your Honor. 

We are not able to file a motion to withdraw the plea. There’s no legal basis 

for that motion. However, I know Ms. Peterson is still interested in 

withdrawing her plea.” 

prosecution mistreatment of an minor child who’s foreign to the judicial 

system.” Defendant did not describe any alleged mistreatment or threats by 

the prosecution, and none is evidenced from the preliminary hearing 

transcript. Defendant’s daughter was 19 years old at the time of the 

preliminary hearing. 

Defendant also cited Assembly Bill No. 1618, which added section 

1016.8 (provisions in plea bargains requiring waiver of future benefits of 

future changes in the law that occur after the date of the plea are not 

knowing and intelligent and are void against public policy), and Assembly 

Bill No. 2867, which amended section 1473.7. At the time defendant filed her 

motion, section 1473.7 permitted a person no longer imprisoned to move to 

vacate a conviction based on (1) prejudicial error that damaged the movant’s 

ability to knowingly accept adverse immigration consequences of a plea or

(2) newly discovered evidence of actual innocence. (Former § 1473.7, subd. 

(a), as amended by Stats. 2018, ch. 825, § 2.) Defendant, however, did not 

claim either that she was unaware of immigration consequences of her plea 

or that she had newly discovered evidence of actual innocence. 
7

Judge Cope told defendant he had read her briefing but she had an 

attorney and “if you have an argument to make now, you should tell your 

attorney and she could present the argument in court.” Defendant said she 

had not spoken to anyone since the prior hearing. The judge responded that 

defendant was “trying to frustrate the system.” Defendant claimed she did 

not understand, but Judge Cope found her claim disingenuous, telling her,

“You understand exactly what you’re doing. You’ve demonstrated your 

ability to understand before. You’ve had this case on many times. I am not 

going to allow you to delay it any further.” 

Defense counsel Dawson suggested defendant would like to make a 

Marsden motion. The court immediately scheduled and then held a Marsden

hearing later that day. 

Court Rulings 

On December 20, 2019, the court decided the second Marsden motion 

and motion to withdraw plea. 

The court denied the Marsden motion, explaining, “There’s insufficient 

reason to discharge the attorney representing Ms. Peterson. There’s clearly 

the ability to communicate effectively and work together. There’s no bias or 

prejudice or any problems there that Ms. Peterson’s not happy. But there’s 

no legal reason to make a change in that regard. So that motion is denied. 

The court then denied defendant’s motion to withdraw her plea. 

“[W]hile I normally do not consider motions prepared by a party when they’re 

represented, I require the motions to be filed by the attorney that represents 

the party. I did reconsider Ms. Peterson’s notice of motion and motion to 

dismiss and motion to withdraw her plea, and that motion or those motions 

are denied. There’s no legal reason to set aside the plea bargain or the plea 

that was entered.” 
8

The court “reaffirm[ed] the findings previously made on October 28th, 

2019, that the defendant expressly, voluntarily, knowingly and 

understandably and intelligently waived her rights and entered her plea, 

that the defendant freely and voluntarily made an understanding of the 

consequences thereof of that plea.” Judge Cope stated, “I accepted the plea 

on that day, and that plea stands.” 

The court then sentenced defendant in accordance with the plea 

agreement. 

Notice of Appeal and Certificate of Probable Cause 

On December 30, 2019, defense counsel submitted a notice of appeal on 

defendant’s behalf that stated the appeal challenged the validity of the plea. 

Counsel requested a certificate of probable cause explaining, “Ms. Peterson 

would like to appeal the denial of her Marsden motion and her request to 

withdraw her no contest plea.” The request for a certificate of probable cause 

was denied. 

In February 2020, defendant, representing herself, filed an amended 

notice of appeal and request for a certificate of probable cause. She 

handwrote the following as grounds for challenging the legality of her nocontest plea: 

“(1) District attorney did not honor plea deal as was described to me by 

my public defender before I signed the plea waiver form and changed my 

plea. The Public defender did not adequately desc[r]ibe/inform any 

possibility of the plea not being withdrawn and promised the trial would be 

forwarded if the District attorney [illegible – possibly ‘adjust [illegible or 

scratched out] term’]” 

“(2) My public attorney did not honor her promise to withdraw the plea 

if the district attorney did not honor our understanding: 270 days would be 
9

cut in half and converted to community service and after 3 months of 

successful probation the felony would be converted to a misdemeanor, and not 

jeopardize my families housing and job prospects. 

“(3) Ineffective assistance of counsel throughout the case and denial of 

Marsden motions. 

“(4) Public defender’s office asked for trial continuance that defeated 

my right to a speedy trial. I was not allowed to rec[ei]ve/see the defense 

information. I was not allowed to see or agree to the original appeal notice or 

the Request for Certificate of probable cause which limited the grounds of 

appeal.” 

The court granted defendant’s request for a certificate of probable 

cause. 

DISCUSSION

Defendant contends the denial of her motion to withdraw her plea was 

an abuse of discretion that denied her the right to effective assistance of 

counsel. We are not persuaded.7

A. Motion to Withdraw Plea 

1. Applicable Law and Standard of Review

“[A]t any time before judgment,” a trial court may permit a defendant 

to withdraw a guilty plea “for a good cause shown.” (§ 1018.) “ ‘Mistake, 

ignorance or any other factor overcoming the exercise of free judgment’ ” 

constitutes good cause to withdraw a plea. (People v. Patterson (2017) 2 

Cal.5th 885, 894.) On the other hand, “[t]he fact that [a defendant] may have 

7 In her opening brief, defendant also argued certain assessments 

imposed by the trial court should be stricken because there was no hearing on 

ability to pay; in her reply, she reports the trial court has granted her motion 

to strike the assessments. We agree with defendant that the assessments 

issue is now moot. 
10

been persuaded, or was reluctant, to accept the plea is not sufficient to 

warrant the plea being withdrawn. [Citation.] ‘Guilty pleas resulting from a 

bargain should not be set aside lightly and finality of proceedings should be 

encouraged.’ ” (People v. Ravaux (2006) 142 Cal.App.4th 914, 919 (Ravaux).) 

A defendant seeking to withdraw her plea must show good cause by 

clear and convincing evidence. (People v. Wharton (1991) 53 Cal.3d 522, 585.) 

“A decision to deny a motion to withdraw a guilty plea ‘ “rests in the 

sound discretion of the trial court” ’ and is final unless the defendant can 

show a clear abuse of that discretion.” (People v. Fairbank (1997) 16 Cal.4th 

1223, 1254.) “Moreover, a reviewing court must adopt the trial court’s factual 

findings if substantial evidence supports them.” (Ibid.) “In ruling on a motion 

to withdraw a plea, the trial court may take into account the defendant’s 

credibility and his or her interest in the outcome of the proceedings. 

[Citation.] We will defer to a trial court’s credibility determinations that are 

supported by substantial evidence.” (People v. Dillard (2017) 8 Cal.App.5th 

657, 665.) “[W]e assume a judgment is correct and the defendant bears the 

burden of demonstrating otherwise.” (People v. Thompson (2016) 1 Cal.5th 

1043, 1097, fn. 11.) 

2. Defendant Has Failed to Show Abuse of Discretion

At the outset, we note that defendant’s recitation of “relevant facts” in 

her appellate briefing is generally unsupported by the record.8 She cites her 

8 For example, defendant states, “Appellant rejected term number 18, 

as listed on the plea agreement, because it provided that she would serve ‘270 

days in county jail.’ (CT 128.)” Her only citation for this statement is to a 

page of the plea form itself, which shows the exact opposite of what she 

states. The plea form provides, “I understand that as a condition of probation 

I will serve 270 days in the Contra Costa County Jail,” and defendant’s 

initials are next to this statement. Thus, the record citation defendant 
11

request for a certificate of probable cause (which she submitted to the court in 

February 2020) as if the certificate request constitutes facts in evidence, but 

this document was not part of the evidentiary record when the trial court 

made its rulings on December 20, 2019. Defendant’s appellate arguments, 

likewise, are premised on claims she wrote in her request for a certificate of 

probable cause. But these claims were not the basis of her motion to 

withdraw plea; nor are they reflected in her statements to the court during 

the second Marsden hearing. 

Considering the record that actually was before the court when it 

denied defendant’s motion to withdraw her plea, we cannot say the trial court 

abused its discretion. 

First, in her written motion to withdraw, defendant (1) claimed her 

daughter was intimidated by the prosecution at the preliminary hearing 

without supporting evidence and (2) cited changes to the law that did not

appear to apply to her (see fn. 6, ante). On appeal, defendant does not argue 

there is merit to either of the two points raised in her written motion. She 

appears to have abandoned these grounds. 

Second, during the second Marsden hearing on December 9, 2019, 

defendant indicated to the court that defense counsel told her she would not 

have to serve time in jail under the plea agreement. The plea form that 

defendant initialed and signed, however, provided she would serve 270 days 

in jail. Judge Cope, who presided at the second Marsden hearing, was the 

same judge who had accepted defendant’s no-contest plea on October 28, 

provides for the factual statement that she rejected a term of the plea 

agreement shows, to the contrary, that she agreed to that term. Defendant’s 

statement, “Based on Ms. Della-Piana’s promises and assurances, [she] 

signed the written plea waiver form,” is not supported by any citation to the 

record. 
12

2019, after confirming that defendant initialed and signed the form and that 

she understood what was on the form. One of the terms was, “Except for 

what is promised to me in open court ON THE RECORD I have not been 

promised or offered anything by anyone (including my attorney) that causes 

me to enter a guilty/no contest plea.” Defendant initialed this term. 

In denying defendant’s motion to withdraw her plea, the trial court 

reaffirmed its finding (made when the plea was accepted) that defendant 

voluntarily and intelligently entered her plea. The court specifically found 

that defendant understood the consequences of the plea. Implicitly, 

therefore, the court believed defendant’s statements of October 28, 2019, that 

she understood the terms of the written plea form and rejected her

inconsistent statement made at the second Marsden hearing on December 9, 

2019, which suggested that defendant believed there was a different, 

unwritten plea agreement that contradicted the terms of the written plea 

form. Substantial evidence (namely, the signed plea form, defendant’s 

statements of October 28, 2019, and the court’s observations of defendant)

supports the trial court’s credibility findings. (See Ravaux, supra, 142 

Cal.App.4th at p. 918 [trial court’s “own recollection of the previous hearing”

at which the defendant entered a plea was substantial evidence that the 

defendant knowingly and intelligently entered the plea].) 

In short, defendant has not demonstrated the trial court abused its 

discretion in denying her motion to withdraw her plea. 

B. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Defendant argues she “received ineffective assistance of counsel when 

she was misadvised and coerced to sign a written plea waiver form that did 

not accurately reflect the terms of the agreement as communicated by her 

counsel.” 
13

A defendant “is entitled to effective assistance of counsel in 

determining whether to accept or reject a plea bargain.” (People v. Archer

(2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 693, 707.) To prevail on a claim of ineffective 

assistance on appeal, a defendant must show (1) her counsel’s performance 

was deficient and (2) the deficient performance caused her prejudice. (People 

v. Breslin (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1409, 1418.) To demonstrate prejudice in 

the context of a plea agreement, a defendant claiming she was misadvised 

must show there is a reasonable probability that, but for trial counsel’s 

ineffective assistance, she would not have entered the plea. (See Archer, 

supra, 230 Cal.App.4th at p. 706 [an appellant claiming the trial court 

misadvised him about the consequences of a plea must show he would not 

have entered the plea but for the alleged error]; Breslin, supra, 205 

Cal.App.4th at p. 1419 [an appellant claiming ineffective assistance must 

show she would not have entered the plea but for her counsel’s error].) 

However, a defendant’s statement that she would not have accepted a plea 

bargain with competent representation “ ‘is insufficient in and of itself to 

sustain the defendant’s burden of proof as to prejudice, and must be 

corroborated independently by objective evidence. A contrary holding would 

lead to an unchecked flow of easily fabricated claims.’ ” (Breslin, at p. 1421.) 

Here, defendant fails to present objective evidence to corroborate her 

current claim that she would not have entered the no-contest plea but for 

defense counsel’s ineffective assistance. As the Attorney General points out, 

defendant’s written motion raised completely different arguments for 

withdrawing the plea and never indicated that defense counsel misadvised 

her in connection with her plea. (This, in turn, could suggest defendant came 

up with her current claim only after she filed her motion to withdraw in 

November 2019.) 
14

Nor does the record convince us that defense counsel coerced defendant

into entering a plea. Trial had already started and jury selection was 

underway. The fact that defense counsel observed that defendant was

“emotional” on the day she entered her plea, and defendant’s uncorroborated 

assertion that defense counsel told her to “hurry” before she entered the plea 

do not compel a finding of coercion or duress.9 This is all defendant has to go 

on. To the contrary, we conclude the trial court’s finding that defendant 

entered her plea voluntarily was supported by substantial sufficient evidence 

(namely, defendant’s signature and initials on the plea form, her 

confirmation to the court that she understood the terms of the plea 

agreement, and the court’s observations of defendant at various stages of the 

proceedings). 

Finally, we reject defendant’s argument that her Sixth Amendment 

right to assistance of counsel was violated “when [her] lawyer argued against 

[her] motion to withdraw her plea.” Rather, we agree with the Attorney 

General that defense counsel did not argue directly against her motion to 

withdraw her plea. Defense counsel stated only that she was “not able to file 

a motion to withdraw the plea” because there was “no legal basis for that 

motion.” Appointed counsel is not required to bring a meritless motion to 

9 Even where a defendant is “reluctant or ‘unwilling’ to change his plea, 

such state of mind is not synon[y]mous with an involuntary act. Lawyers . . .

often persuade clients to act upon advice which is unwillingly or reluctantly 

accepted. . . . [T]hat such advice is . . . reluctantly acted upon is not a ‘. . . 

factor overreaching defendant’s free and clear judgment.’ ” (People v. Urfer

(1979) 94 Cal.App.3d 887, 892, fn. omitted.) “Nothing in the record indicates 

[defendant] was under any more or less pressure than every other defendant 

faced with serious felony charges and the offer of a plea bargain.” (People v. 

Huricks (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1201, 1208 [rejecting the “claim that [the 

appellant’s] family pressured him into the plea” amounted to duress].)
15

withdraw a plea. (People v. Brown (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 1469, 1472–1473.) 

We cannot say defense counsel’s failure to file a motion to withdraw 

amounted to denial of assistance of counsel.10 

DISPOSITION

The judgment is affirmed.

10 To the extent defendant’s Sixth Amendment claim may be 

understood as an implicit claim that the trial court erred in denying her 

second Marsden motion, defendant has failed to demonstrate abuse of 

discretion. (See People v. Smith, supra, 30 Cal.4th at p. 604 [“The court does 

not abuse its discretion in denying [a Marsden] motion unless the defendant 

has shown that a failure to replace counsel would substantially impair the 

defendant’s right to assistance of counsel”].) Defendant has not established, 

for example, that she would have been able to file a successful motion to 

withdraw her plea had the court appointed new counsel in response to her 

second Marsden motion. 
16

_________________________

Miller, J.

WE CONCUR:

_________________________

Richman, Acting P.J.

_________________________

Stewart, J.

A159762, People v. Peterson