Does a defendant need to obtain a certificate of probable cause from the trial court before appealing a conviction from a guilty plea?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Niebla, D075037 (Cal. App. 2020):
A defendant must obtain a certificate of probable cause from the trial court before appealing a conviction from a guilty plea if the appeal challenges the validity of the plea. ( 1237.53; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b)4; People v. Mendez (1999) 19 Cal.4th
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1084, 1088 (Mendez) A certificate of probable cause is not needed to challenge issues that arose after the plea was entered and that do not challenge the plea's validity. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.304(b)(4).) A challenge to a stipulated sentence that was agreed to as part of a negotiated deal "attacks an integral part of the plea [and] is, in substance, a challenge to the validity of the plea" that requires a certificate of probable cause. (People v. Panizzon (1996) 13 Cal.4th 68, 73, 86.)
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