Does the term "unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle" in Proposition 47 apply to motor vehicle theft?

To construe Proposition 47 to include unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle would violate the cardinal rule of statutory construction. " ' "When statutory language is clear and unambiguous, there is no need for construction and courts should not indulge in it." [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Hendrix (1997) 16 Cal.4th 508, 512.) Here, Proposition 47 lists a specific series of crimes that qualify for reduction to a misdemeanor separated with the conjunction "or" and ending with the phrase "as those sections have been amended or added by this act." ( 1170.18, subd. (a).) That list does not include Vehicle Code section 10851. The legislative inclusion of certain crimes necessarily excludes others. (People v. Lewis (1993) 21 Cal.App.4th 243, 247.)

While section 490.2 provides, "[n]otwithstanding Section 487 or any other provision of law defining grand theft," this statement does not bring the crime of unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle within Proposition 47 because Vehicle Code section 10851 does not describe a form of grand theft. The crime of unlawfully driving or taking a vehicle " 'proscribes a wide range of conduct.' [Citation.] A person can violate [Vehicle Code] section 10851[, subdivision] (a) 'either by taking a vehicle with the intent to steal it or by driving it with the intent only to temporarily deprive its owner of possession (i.e., joyriding).' [Citations.]" (People v. Garza (2005) 35 Cal.4th 866,

Page 6