People v. Arriaga: No Certificate of Probable Cause Needed to Attack Denial of Motion to Withdraw Plea

Catching up a bit on recent cases, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 2) held on December 1 in People v. Arriaga, B225443, that no certificate of probable cause is needed to appeal the denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea.  The court writes

In [People v.] Totari [(2002) 28 Cal.4th 876], the court recognized that “section 1237, subdivision (b), literally permits an appeal from any postjudgment order that affects the ‘substantial rights’ of the defendant,” subject only to the limitation that “ordinarily, no appeal lies from an order denying a motion to vacate a judgment of conviction on a ground which could have been reviewed on appeal from the judgment.” (Totari, supra, 28 Cal.4th at p. 882, citing People v. Thomas (1959) 52 Cal.2d 521, 527.) The court held, however, that the limitation does not apply to an appeal from an order denying a statutory motion to vacate, such as a section 1016.5 motion. (Totari, at pp. 886-887.) It follows from Totari’s reasoning that section 1237, subdivision (b) literally applies to the denial of a section 1016.5 motion, thus permitting an appeal that is not limited by section 1237.5. We conclude that no certificate of probable cause was required to perfect this appeal.