Hafelfinger v. District Court In & For the Eighth Judicial District

674 P.2d 375, 1984 Colo. LEXIS 469
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJanuary 9, 1984
DocketNo. 83SA382
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 674 P.2d 375 (Hafelfinger v. District Court In & For the Eighth Judicial District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hafelfinger v. District Court In & For the Eighth Judicial District, 674 P.2d 375, 1984 Colo. LEXIS 469 (Colo. 1984).

Opinion

NEIGHBORS, Justice.

In this original proceeding filed pursuant to C.A.R. 21, the .petitioner, Robert Hafel-finger, seeks relief in the nature of mandamus and prohibition requiring Judge John A. Price and the District Court for Larimer County (respondent) to consider granting him a personal recognizance bond pursuant to section 16-4-105, C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl. Vol. 8 & 1982 Supp.). The respondent ruled that the petitioner was ineligible for a personal recognizance bond because he had a record of a felony conviction within the ■ past five years and the district attorney did not consent to such a bond. We issued a rule to show cause which we now discharge.

I.

According to the record, on October 21, 1981, the petitioner entered a plea of guilty to a felony charge of dispensing a dangerous drug. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the District Court for the Eighth Judicial [376]*376District accepted the petitioner’s guilty plea and granted him a deferred judgment and sentence for two years pursuant to section 16-7-403, C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl.Yol. 8).

In July 1983, the petitioner was charged with distributing a counterfeit controlled substance1 and theft by deception2 in connection with an incident which allegedly occurred on April 21,1983. Bail was set in the amount of $2,500. The petitioner was unable to post bail. Therefore, he filed a motion for bond reduction or for a personal recognizance bond. The respondent held a hearing on the petitioner’s motion on August 4,1983. The district attorney objected to granting a personal recognizance bond. The respondent denied the petitioner’s motion because of “the refusal of the district attorney to consent to an alteration of the bond, based upon the fact that there was a prior conviction [of a felony] within five years.” The “prior conviction” to which the district judge referred was the petitioner’s 1981 plea of guilty and the resulting deferred sentence.

II.

The petitioner’s only argument in this original proceeding is that the respondent erred in refusing to grant a personal recognizance bond based on his prior guilty plea. He claims that a plea of guilty which results in a deferred sentence is not a conviction within the meaning of section 16-4-105(l)(n), C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl.Vol. 8 & 1982 Supp.). We disagree.

Section 16-4-105 states in pertinent part:

“Selection by judge of the amount of bail and type of bond — criteria. (1) In determining the amount of bail and the type of bond to be furnished by the defendant, the judge fixing the same shall consider and be governed by the following criteria:
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“(n) Unless the district attorney consents, no person shall be released on personal recognizance if he has a record of conviction of a class 1 misdemeanor within two years, or a felony within five years, prior to the release hearing.”

The determination of whether a guilty plea to a felony accompanied by the granting of a deferred sentence comes within the purview of this statute, and thus may be considered by the trial court judge in making the bond decision, is dependent upon the meaning of the word “conviction.” The term “conviction” may be interpreted differently depending upon the statute in which it is used and the issue in a particular case. See, e.g., Jeffrey v. District Court, 626 P.2d 631 (Colo.1981) (a plea of guilty followed by a deferred sentence and judgment is a conviction for purposes of implicating the double jeopardy clause); People v. Jacquez, 196 Colo. 569, 588 P.2d 871 (1979) (see exhaustive recitation of cases cited in n. 2).

In the context of the bail bond statute, a plea of guilty, when accepted by the court which grants a deferred judgment and sentence, constitutes a conviction. The statute which authorizes the granting of a deferred sentence states:

“Deferred sentencing of defendant. (1) In any case in which the defendant has entered a plea of guilty, the court accepting the plea has the power, with the written consent of the defendant and his attorney of record and the district attorney, to continue the case for a period not to exceed two years from the date of entry of such plea for the purpose of entering judgment and sentence upon such plea of guilty. During such time, the court may place the defendant under the supervision of the probation department.”

Section 16-7-403(1), C.R.S.1973'(1978 Repl. Vol. 8). The statute mandates that the [377]*377trial court accept the defendant’s guilty plea before granting a deferred sentence. Section 16-7-206(3), C.R.S.1973 (1978 Repl.Vol. 8), provides:

“(3) The acceptance by the court of a plea of guilty acts as a waiver by the defendant of the right to trial by jury on all issues including the determination of the penalty to be assessed, and the acceptance of such plea also acts as a conviction for the offense.”

(Emphasis added.) When the statutes governing bail bonds [section 16-4-105(l)(n) ], deferred sentences [section 16-7-403(1)], and pleas of guilty [section 16-7-206(3)], are read together; the only reasonable interpretation is that a plea of guilty upon which a deferred sentence is granted constitutes a conviction.

We have held that in construing the word “conviction,” the key factor to be considered is the legislative intent behind the use of the word in the statute involved. Jacquez, 196 Colo. at 571 n. 2, 588 P.2d at 873 n. 2. The United States Supreme Court, relying upon congressional intent and purpose, recently held that a defendant had been “convicted” for purposes of title IV of the Gun Control Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and (h)(1) (1976 Ed. & Supp. V) (which makes it a crime for anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year to ship, transport, or receive any firearm), when he entered a plea of guilty, received a deferred sentence, and was placed on probation, even though the record of the conviction was expunged under state law following a successfully-served term of probation. Dickerson v. New Banner Institute, Inc., - U.S. -, 103 S.Ct. 986, 74 L.Ed.2d 845 (1983).3 The Court stated:

“In some circumstances, we have considered a guilty plea alone enough to constitute a ‘conviction’: ‘A plea of guilty differs in purpose and effect from a mere admission or an extrajudicial confession; it is itself a conviction. Like a verdict of a jury it is conclusive. More is not required; the court has nothing to do but give judgment and sentence.’ Kercheval v. United States, 274 U.S. 220, 223, 47 S.Ct. 582, 583, 71 L.Ed. 1009 (1927).”

103 S.Ct. at 991. The Court reasoned that this result was in accord with the congressional intent of prohibiting the possession of firearms by persons who might be expected to misuse them.

Similarly, the interpretation of “conviction”.

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Hafelfinger v. DIST. CT. FOR EIGHTH JUD. DIST.
674 P.2d 375 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
674 P.2d 375, 1984 Colo. LEXIS 469, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hafelfinger-v-district-court-in-for-the-eighth-judicial-district-colo-1984.