Penal Code § 2933.1 limits specified credits for a person convicted of a violent felony listed in § 667.5(c). It caps statutory worktime credit and, separately, conduct credit for qualifying local confinement before state-prison placement. It does not by itself tell you that every person must serve 85% of an entire sentence. Check the actual conviction, custody period, credit category and current CDCR rules before relying on a time-served estimate.
Which conviction brings the limit into play?
Subdivision (a) of § 2933.1 applies to a person convicted of a felony listed in § 667.5(c), not simply a person arrested for one or given an informal “violent” label. The statute’s exact operative excerpt says such a person “shall accrue no more than 15 percent of worktime credit.” This is an excerpt of subdivision (a), not the complete section. Subdivision (b) says the limit does not displace a separate statutory minimum-parole period or make a person eligible for credits otherwise barred by law. Subdivision (d) limits the law to qualifying offenses committed on or after its operative date. People v. Camba held that date was September 21, 1994.
The current offense matters. In People v. Thomas, the California Supreme Court held that a life sentence arising only from Three Strikes recidivist status did not make an otherwise nonviolent current felony a life-punishable violent offense under § 667.5(c)(7) for the § 2933.1 presentence limit. A prior strike, a long sentence and a currently listed violent-felony conviction are not interchangeable facts. That holding does not resolve every other credit restriction in a Three Strikes case.
Keep four credit questions separate
| Credit question | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Actual days in qualifying custody | § 2900.5 addresses credit for qualifying custody time. Compare booking and release dates with the proposed court calculation. These are actual days, not a 15% conduct-credit award. |
| Conduct credit before CDCR placement | § 2933.1(c) caps qualifying local-jail conduct credit at 15% of the actual period of confinement for a person specified in subdivision (a). Confirm what period and conviction the sentencing worksheet uses. |
| Statutory prison worktime provision | § 2933.1(a)–(b) states the worktime limit and preserves other parole or no-credit laws. Multiple or concurrent terms can change the analysis; In re Reeves addressed a longer concurrent nonviolent term after the violent term ended. |
| Current CDCR prison credits | CDCR’s in-prison credit guidance describes Proposition 57 Good Conduct Credit and separate program credits. Its ordinary A1 violent-offense Good Conduct Credit rate is listed as 33.3%, with other workgroup rules. CDCR determines the applicable classification and calculation; do not substitute a rate from a different credit period. |
The statutory and CDCR descriptions concern different credit authorities and time periods. CDCR also explains that credits can affect an earliest possible release or minimum eligible parole date differently from other parole dates. Neither a 15% excerpt nor an agency rate table is a complete calculation for a particular judgment. (CDCR credit guidance; CDCR Good Conduct Credits FAQ)
What should you bring to the sentencing discussion?
Identify the offense date and exact conviction or proposed plea count, including the subdivision and any § 667.5(c) category said to apply. Bring the complaint or information, plea terms or verdict, probation report, jail booking and release dates, the proposed credit worksheet, and any sentencing minute order or abstract already issued. Ask counsel to separate actual custody days from local conduct credit and from later prison-credit treatment. If several terms run together, the sequence and controlling term matter; Reeves rejected both a permanent 15% limit on a completed violent term’s longer concurrent nonviolent term and an unrestricted nonviolent rate while the violent term was still being served. (In re Reeves)
The firm’s sentencing advocacy guide provides background for preparing the sentencing discussion.
If a presentencing plea or credit calculation cites § 2933.1, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review the actual case papers and discuss the sentencing choice. Contact the firm or call (800) 755-5174.