Opinion ID: 2607900
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Petitioner Harrell's Appeal Rights

Text: (29a) Petitioner Harrell raises a contention which is not related to those concerning prisoners' rights which we have treated above. He urges that he was denied the right to appeal from the judgment of conviction upon which his imprisonment is based. On December 19, 1966, petitioner Harrell, who was represented by retained counsel, pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary (Pen. Code, § 459); the court found that the crime was of the second degree. On April 10, 1967, he again appeared with retained counsel and was sentenced to state prison for the term prescribed by law but with the minimum term specified at six months. [37] On April 20, 1967, petitioner Harrell, whose relationship with his retained counsel had apparently been terminated at sentencing, executed and delivered to prison authorities a handwritten notice of appeal in propria persona. Failing to receive any notification or acknowledgment that his appeal had been filed, petitioner on June 12, 1967, filed in the trial court a petition in propria persona seeking to obtain such notification or acknowledgment and also requesting the clerk to proceed with preparation of the record on appeal. The petition was denied by the trial court on the ground that petitioner had failed to comply with section 1237.5 of the Penal Code, which provides in general that no appeal can be taken from a judgment of conviction upon a plea of guilty unless a certificate of probable cause for such appeal has been filed by the trial court. [38] On June 21, 1967, petitioner filed a statement and motion for certificate of probable cause pursuant to section 1237.5. This motion was denied, as were two subsequent motions of identical purport. In support of these motions petitioner alleged inter alia that a motion to withdraw his guilty plea (Pen. Code, § 1018) had been improperly denied; that the sentence had resulted from an unkept plea bargain; and that he had not been given sufficient time to study the probation report prior to sentencing. (30) It is clear that petitioner's notice of appeal, which was executed and delivered to prison authorities on the tenth day after judgment, was timely filed. ( People v. Rapp (1966) 64 Cal.2d 643, 646 [51 Cal. Rptr. 247, 414 P.2d 375], and cases there cited.) (29b) Moreover, the allegations contained in petitioner's unsuccessful applications for a certificate of probable cause clearly indicate that he sought review on appeal not of the validity of the guilty plea itself, but of proceedings occurring subsequent to the entry of the plea. The requirements of section 1237.5 of the Penal Code were therefore inapplicable. ( People v. Ward (1967) 66 Cal.2d 571, 574 [58 Cal. Rptr. 313, 426 P.2d 881]; People v. Delles (1968) 69 Cal.2d 906, 909-910 [73 Cal. Rptr. 389, 447 P.2d 629].) The clerk of the superior court in which the notice of appeal was filed should therefore be directed to prepare the record on appeal. [39] The foregoing conclusion renders it unnecessary that we consider petitioner Harrell's additional contention that he was entitled to have counsel appointed to assist him in perfecting his appeal.