Can a defendant appeal his conviction for sexual assault against a judge's finding that the issue raised in his notice of appeal concerns the determination of guilt or innocence or is not reviewable under section 1237.5?

The issue raised in defendant's notice of appeal concerns the determination of guilt or innocence or is not reviewable under Penal Code section 1237.5. As set forth above, defendant requested a certificate of probable cause to appeal, but his request was denied by the trial court. "[W]here, as here, a certificate of probable cause has been denied, the appeal is not operative and the denial of the certificate must be reviewed by writ of mandate." (People v. Castelan (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 1185, 1188.) Here, defendant did not challenge the denial by way of writ of mandate, so he is precluded from obtaining review on the merits of issues challenging the legality of the proceedings and/or the validity of his plea. (See People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1084, 1096-1097.) Moreover, because the crux of defendant's issue concerns his 2000 conviction, it is untimely.

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Pursuant to the mandate of People v. Kelly (2006) 40 Cal.4th 106, we have conducted an independent review of the record and find no arguable issues.

The judgment is affirmed.