The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Ruben Phillip Franco, Defendant and Appellant.

Summary

The court held that, for purposes of Proposition 47's misdemeanor threshold, the value of a forged check containing a stated amount is the amount written on the check. Because the defendant's forged check was made out for $1,500, it exceeded the $950 threshold and remained punishable as a felony. The court affirmed the Court of Appeal and rejected the intrinsic-paper-value and actual-market-worth approaches.