Peo v. Bobian

Colorado Court of Appeals·Decided May 7, 2026·No. 24CA1327·Unpublished

Opinion

24CA1327 Peo v Bobian 05-07-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

Court of Appeals No. 24CA1327 El Paso County District Court No. 14CR1322 Honorable Jessica Curtis, Judge

The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Michael Conrad Bobian, Defendant-Appellant.

ORDER AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS

Division II

Opinion by JUDGE KUHN

Fox, J., concurs

Sullivan, J., concurs in part and dissents in part

NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e)

Announced May 7, 2026

Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Brock J. Swanson, First Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee

Janet Kinniry, Alternate Defense Counsel, Gardner, Colorado, for Defendant- Appellant

¶1 Defendant, Michael Conrad Bobian, appeals the postconviction court’s order denying his Crim. P. 35(c) motion for postconviction relief after an evidentiary hearing. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand the case for further proceedings.

I. Background

¶2 T.D. gave her two children, four-year-old P.D. and six-year-old C.D., to Bobian for an overnight visit. When Bobian did not return the children, T.D. spoke with Bobian. He said that he was not bringing the children back because P.D. had been touched inappropriately. T.D. contacted the police, who obtained and executed an arrest warrant at Bobian’s home, where officers found the children unharmed.

¶3 The prosecution charged Bobian with two counts of second degree kidnapping, one for each child. See § 18-3-302(2), C.R.S. 2025. The prosecution later amended the complaint to add three habitual criminal counts for prior felony convictions. See § 18-1.3-801(2), C.R.S. 2025. Bobian pleaded not guilty and proceeded to a jury trial.

¶4 Bobian asked the trial court to instruct the jury on a choice of evils affirmative defense, asserting that P.D. had alleged sexual

abuse by T.D.’s boyfriend and that Bobian had not returned the children because he was concerned about their safety. See § 18-1-702, C.R.S. 2025 (defining the choice of evils affirmative defense). The court agreed to give a choice of evils instruction with respect to P.D., but it declined to give one regarding C.D. because C.D. had not alleged any sexual abuse. After hearing the evidence, the jury acquitted Bobian on the charge of kidnapping P.D., but it found him guilty of kidnapping C.D. The court then adjudicated Bobian a habitual criminal and, after conducting an abbreviated proportionality review, sentenced him to twenty-four years in prison.

¶5 Bobian appealed and asserted, among other things, that the trial court erred by denying him an extended proportionality review of his sentence. A division of this court rejected his appellate contentions, affirming the judgment and sentence. See People v. Bobian, (Colo. App. No. 16CA1999, Nov. 7, 2019) (not published pursuant to C.A.R. 35(e)).

¶6 Bobian then filed a timely pro se Rule 35(c) motion. The postconviction court appointed counsel for Bobian, and counsel

filed a supplemental motion. After holding an evidentiary hearing, the court denied Bobian’s Rule 35(c) claims in a written order.

II. Analysis

¶7 Bobian contends that the postconviction court erred when it denied his Rule 35(c) motion. Specifically, he asserts that the postconviction court erred by not (1) granting him a new proportionality review or finding that his appellate counsel should have raised new supreme court precedent as part of his appeal; (2) finding that his counsel was ineffective for failing to convey a plea offer to him; and (3) finding that his counsel was ineffective for certain actions taken before and during trial. We agree in part.

A. Standard of Review and Applicable Law

¶8 We review the denial of a Rule 35(c) motion after a hearing as a mixed question of fact and law. People v. Corson, 2016 CO 33,

¶ 25. We defer to the postconviction court’s factual findings if supported by the record, but we review de novo the court’s ultimate conclusions on performance and prejudice. People v. Sharp, 2019 COA 133, ¶ 12. The court determines the weight and credibility to give witness testimony in a Rule 35(c) hearing. People v. Hardin, 2016 COA 175, ¶ 39. Accordingly, “[w]here the evidence in the

record supports the findings and holding of the postconviction court that presided over an evidentiary hearing, the judgment will not be disturbed on review.” People v. Wardell, 2020 COA 47, ¶ 27.

¶9 To succeed on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the defendant must establish that (1) counsel’s performance was deficient, meaning it fell below an objective standard of reasonableness; and (2) counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced the defendant, meaning that a reasonable probability exists that, but for counsel’s deficient performance, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-96 (1984); Dunlap v. People, 173 P.3d 1054, 1062-63 (Colo. 2007); see also People v. Long, 126 P.3d 284, 286 (Colo. App. 2005) (“To demonstrate [ineffective assistance of appellate counsel], the defendant must show a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he or she would have prevailed on the appeal.”). A postconviction court may reject an ineffective assistance claim if the defendant fails to establish either deficient performance or prejudice. See People v. Aguilar, 2012 COA 181, ¶ 9.

B. Proportionality Review and Ineffectiveness Under Wells-Yates

¶ 10 Bobian asserts that the postconviction court erred by denying his request for a new proportionality review in light of Wells-Yates v. People, 2019 CO 90M. In the alternative, Bobian asserts that the court erred by denying his claim that his appellate attorney was ineffective in his direct appeal for failing to file a notice of supplemental authority, a request for supplemental briefing, or a petition for rehearing after the supreme court announced Wells- Yates. We disagree with his first contention, but we agree with the second.

¶ 11 The Eighth Amendment protects defendants from sentences that are grossly disproportionate to the crime committed. Id. at ¶ 5. Accordingly, a defendant is entitled, on request, to a proportionality review of a sentence under the habitual criminal statute. McDonald v. People, 2024 CO 75, ¶ 11. In the first stage — an abbreviated proportionality review — a court considers the gravity or seriousness of the offense in relation to the harshness of the penalty. Wells-Yates, ¶¶ 10-11. If the abbreviated review gives rise to an inference of gross disproportionality, then the court will

“proceed to the second stage, known as an extended proportionality review.” McDonald, ¶ 14.

¶ 12 In Wells-Yates, the supreme court clarified existing law on proportionality reviews. Among other things, the supreme court explained that when conducting an abbreviated proportionality review “the court must consider each triggering offense and the predicate offenses together and determine whether, in combination, they are so lacking in gravity or seriousness as to raise an inference that the sentence imposed on that triggering offense is grossly disproportionate.” Wells-Yates, ¶ 2. The supreme court also held that, “in determining the gravity or seriousness of the triggering offense and the predicate offenses, the court should consider any relevant legislative amendments enacted after the dates of those offenses, even if the amendments do not apply retroactively.” Id.

¶ 13 In this case, the trial court adjudicated Bobian a habitual criminal and sentenced him to twenty-four years in prison based on three prior convictions: (1) attempted criminal trespass in 2001; (2) criminal mischief in 2002; and (3) attempted theft of $500 to $15,000 in 2006. After an abbreviated proportionality review, the court determined that Bobian’s sentence did not give rise to an

inference of gross disproportionality and declined to conduct an extended proportionality review.

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