P. v. Cortes
Ernesto Arana Cortes pleaded no contest to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 (Pen. Code, § 288.5[1]; count 11) on the condition that the other 10 counts, all of which alleged sexual abuse of the same victim, would be dismissed. The court sentenced him to the upper 16-year term. On appeal, he challenges his sentence, arguing that his attorney provided ineffective assistance and that the court committed errors in denying probation and imposing the upper term. We will affirm the judgment.
Cortes has also filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which we have ordered considered together with the appeal. In that petition, he asserts that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance because he did not advise Cortes that he would be deported for conviction of violating section 288.5. The Attorney General has filed an informal response to the petition, and Cortes has filed a reply to that response. We conclude that the petition states a prima facie case for relief and issue an order to show cause, returnable in the superior court, why the petition should not be granted.
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