City of Seattle v. Quezada

142 Wash. App. 43
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 3, 2007
DocketNos. 58336-1-I; 58710-2-I
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 142 Wash. App. 43 (City of Seattle v. Quezada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Seattle v. Quezada, 142 Wash. App. 43 (Wash. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

¶1 — In unrelated prosecutions, the trial court found Jesus Quezada and Scott Winebrenner guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) after revoking their deferred prosecutions. Under RCW 46.61.5055, the court is required to impose an enhanced sentence for DUI based on the number of statutorily designated “prior offenses” occurring “within seven years” of the defendant’s arrest for the current offense. We conclude that under the plain meaning of the term, “within seven years” designates the period both before and after the arrest for the current offense. We [46]*46further conclude that the revoked deferred prosecution for the current offense does not count as a prior offense for sentencing purposes. Because the superior court miscalculated the defendant’s prior offenses in each of these cases, we reverse both decisions and remand for resentencing.

Becker, J.

[46]*46 FACTS

Jesus Quezada

¶2 Jesus Quezada was convicted of DUI in 2001. In 2003, following a second charge of DUI arising from an arrest in 2002, he entered into a deferred prosecution in Seattle Municipal Court. See RCW 10.05.010. In 2005, after a third charge of DUI, Quezada pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

¶3 Based on the reckless driving conviction, the trial court revoked Quezada’s 2003 deferred prosecution and found him guilty of DUI. At sentencing, the city of Seattle argued that because Quezada had an alcohol concentration of at least 0.15 and “two or more” prior DUI offenses, the court was required to impose an enhanced minimum sentence that included 120 days in jail and 150 days of home monitoring. See RCW 46.61.5055(3)(b). The trial court rejected this argument, concluding that the 2001 DUI was Quezada’s sole prior offense, which mandated an enhanced minimum sentence including 45 days in jail and 90 days of electronic home monitoring. See RCW 46.61.5055(2)(b).

¶4 On RALJ appeal, the superior court affirmed the determination that Quezada had only one prior offense.1 We granted the city’s motion for discretionary review.

Scott Winebrenner

¶5 Scott Winebrenner was charged with DUI in 2001 and entered into a deferred prosecution. In 2005, after being charged with a second DUI, Winebrenner pleaded guilty to reckless driving. In December 2005, based on [47]*47the reckless driving conviction, the trial court revoked Winebrenner’s 2001 deferred prosecution and found him guilty of DUI. At sentencing, the city of Seattle argued that both the 2001 deferred prosecution and the 2005 reckless driving conviction constituted prior offenses for purposes of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions. The trial court concluded that Winebrenner had no prior offenses.

¶6 On RALJ appeal, the superior court reversed, agreeing with the city that RCW 46.61.5055 required the inclusion of both the 2001 deferred prosecution and the 2005 reckless driving conviction as prior offenses for purposes of sentence enhancement. We granted Winebrenner’s motion for discretionary review and linked Winebrenner’s and Quezada’s appeals for disposition.

DECISION

City of Seattle v. Quezada

¶7 The city contends the sentencing court erred when it determined that Quezada’s 2001 DUI conviction was his sole prior offense at the time of the 2005 DUI. We agree that under RCW 46.61.5055, the court was required to count both the 2001 DUI and the 2005 reckless driving convictions as prior offenses. But we reject the city’s claim that the revoked 2003 deferred prosecution for the current offense constituted a third prior offense.2

¶8 In order to address the issues raised in these appeals, we must construe the terms “prior offense” and “within seven years” as used throughout RCW 46.61.5055. We review issues of statutory construction de novo. State v. Hahn, 83 Wn. App. 825, 831, 924 P.2d 392 (1996). Our duty is “to ascertain and give effect to the intent and purpose of the Legislature.” Hahn, 83 Wn. App. at 831. But when statutory language is plain and unambiguous, the legislative intent is clear and no further construction is permitted. [48]*48State v. J.P., 149 Wn.2d 444, 450, 69 P.3d 318 (2003). A statute is not ambiguous merely because different interpretations are conceivable. State v. Leyda, 157 Wn.2d 335, 352, 138 P.3d 610 (2006). Over the years, the legislature has provided increasingly detailed instructions to implement its intent for sentencing those who commit DUI offenses.

¶9 Immediately before imposing sentence for a DUI conviction, the sentencing court must verify the defendant’s current criminal history and driving record, including all previous convictions and orders of deferred prosecution. RCW 46.61.513(1), (3). RCW 46.61.5055 then directs the court to impose increasingly severe minimum penalties for the DUI conviction based on the number of the defendant’s “prior offenses” that occurred “within seven years.” Significantly, the legislature has defined both of these terms.

¶10 A “prior offense” for purposes of DUI sentencing is one of the convictions specified in former RCW 46.61-.5055(12)(a) (2004),3 including DUI convictions and certain [49]*49convictions resulting from an initial charge of DUI, such as Quezada’s 2005 reckless driving conviction. See former RCW 46.61.5055(12)(a)(v). Under the circumstances, the legislature’s definition of “prior offense” could not be clearer, and its application to the issues raised in these appeals leaves no room for further construction.

¶11 The legislature’s definition of “within seven years” is equally clear. “Within seven years” means that “the arrest for a prior offense occurred within seven years of the arrest for the current offense.” Former RCW 46.61.5055(12)(b).

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Related

State v. Smith
246 P.3d 812 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2010)
City of Seattle v. Winebrenner
219 P.3d 686 (Washington Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Anderson
151 Wash. App. 396 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
142 Wash. App. 43, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-seattle-v-quezada-washctapp-2007.