When a defendant is convicted of a crime for which sentence could be imposed under Penal Code section 1170 and the court orders that he or she be committed to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice under Welfare and Institutions Code section 1731.5, the order of commitment must specify the term of imprisonment to which the defendant would have been sentenced. The term is determined as provided by Penal Code sections 1170 and 1170.1 and these rules, as though a sentence of imprisonment were to be imposed.
Cal. R. Ct. 4.453
Advisory Committee Comment
Commitments to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly Youth Authority) cannot exceed the maximum possible incarceration in an adult institution for the same crime. (See People v. Olivas (1976) 17 Cal.3d 236.)
Under the indeterminate sentencing law, the receiving institution knew, as a matter of law from the record of the conviction, the maximum potential period of imprisonment for the crime of which the defendant was convicted.
Under the Uniform Determinate Sentencing Act, the court’s discretion as to length of term leaves doubt as to the maximum term when only the record of convictions is present.
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