P. v. Kossak CA4/3
Following a jury conviction for transportation of over 28.5 grams of marijuana (Health & Saf. Code, § 11360, subd. (a)), defendant Gregory John Kossak was given a suspended sentence and placed on three years of formal felony probation. He contends that his conviction must be reversed due to a legislative amendment to section 11360, made after he was sentenced and prior to his conviction becoming final, which limits criminal transportation to that done with an intent to sell. The Attorney General concedes that the amended statute applies, but argues that the conviction may nevertheless be affirmed under the harmless error standard. Without deciding whether application of state and/or federal harmless error principles is proper in a case such as this, we conclude reversal is warranted because we cannot say that the error was harmless under either standard.
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