People ex rel. D.S.

2012 COA 199, 292 P.3d 1210, 2012 WL 5457438, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1841
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 8, 2012
DocketNo. 11CA2518
StatusPublished

This text of 2012 COA 199 (People ex rel. D.S.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People ex rel. D.S., 2012 COA 199, 292 P.3d 1210, 2012 WL 5457438, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1841 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge LICHTENSTEIN.

T1 Juvenile, D.S., appeals the district court's revocation of his deferred adjudication. We affirm.

I. Background and Procedural History

T2 In 2009, D.S. pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child. As part of his plea agreement, D.S. and the prosecution stipulated to a two-year deferred adjudication requiring a sex offender treatment program and other probationary conditions. The day before this two-year period expired, D.S.'s probation officer filed to revoke the deferred adjudication. In response, D.S. moved to dismiss the case, asserting that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction The district court denied D.S.'s motion. D.S. then admitted to violating the conditions of his deferred adjudication, and the court revoked the adjudication and imposed a sentence of two years probation.

{3 Thereafter, D.S. petitioned for review in the Colorado Supreme Court pursuant to C.A.R. 21. The court denied his petition, and this appeal followed.

II. Standard of Review

{4 Whether a district court has subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law reviewed de novo. People v. Efferson, 122 P.3d 1038, 1040 (Colo.App.2005). Similarly, questions of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo. MT. v. People, 2012 CO 11, ¶ 8, 269 P.3d 1219, 1221.

III Discussion

T5 On appeal, D.S. does not dispute the basis for the revocation of his deferred adjudication. Rather, he contends that the district court lost jurisdiction over his deferred adjudication because it did not find good cause to extend the adjudication beyond one year, as required by the juvenile deferred adjudication statute. Consequently, he argues, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to revoke his deferred adjudication. We disagree.

A. Procedural Bar

T6 As an initial matter, we reject the People's contention that D.S.'s claim is procedurally barred on appeal.

T7 The People contend that D.S. waived his jurisdictional challenge, because he (1) stipulated to a two-year deferred adjudication period, and (2) did not request, or object to the absence of, an explicit finding of "good cause." Contrary to this contention, a party cannot waive a court's jurisdiction by stipulating to extend a deferred adjudication beyond the statutory maximum. See People v. Carbgjal, 198 P.3d 102, 105 (Colo.2008) ("[A] trial court lacks authority to impose a deferred judgment outside [statutory] limits."). Further, a party cannot consent to or waive jurisdiction when a court does not have jurisdiction. See People v. Torkelson, 971 P.2d 660, 661 (Colo.App.1998). Consequent ly, we conclude that D.S. did not waive his jurisdictional challenge on appeal. See People v. McMurtry, 122 P.3d 237, 240 (Colo.2005) ("[Clhallenges to a trial court's subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time.").

18 We also reject the People's contention that D.S.'s claim is procedurally barred because the supreme court denied review under C.AR. 21. An order of the supreme court declining to exercise its original jurisdiction under CAR. 21 is not a review on the merits of the claims presented and is not a substitute for an appeal. Bell v. Simpson, 918 P.2d 1123, 1125 n. 3 (Colo.1996); People in Interest of J.P.L., 214 P.3d 1072, 1077 (Colo.App.2009); People v. Daley, 97 P.3d 295, 297 (Colo.App.2004). Thus, the [1213]*1213issue is not barred, and our review is appropriate.

B. Deferred Adjudication Statute

T9 D.S.'s jurisdictional challenge is premised on his interpretation of the juvenile deferred adjudication statute. That statute, at the time of D.S.'s plea agreement, provided:

In any case in which the juvenile has agreed with the district attorney to enter a plea of guilty, the court, with the consent of the juvenile and the district attorney, upon accepting the guilty plea, may continue the case for a period not to exceed one year from the date of entry of the plea. The court may continue the case for an additional one-year period for good cause.

Ch. 283, see. 1, § 19-2-709(1), 1996 Colo. Sess. Laws 1665.1

1. Timing of "Good Cause" Finding

{10 D.S. contends that the juvenile deferred adjudication statute must be construed to require a district court to make a finding at the end of the first one-year period as to whether good cause exists to continue a juvenile's deferred adjudication for an additional year. He asserts that at the end of the first year of his adjudication period, the district court here failed to conduct a hearing to make this determination, and therefore his adjudication period expired and the court lost jurisdiction over his case.

111 Our goal in interpreting statutes is to give effect to the intent of the legislature.. Montes v. People, 2012 CO 6, ¶ 7, 269 P.3d 1228, 1230. "'If the plain language of the statute clearly expresses the legislative intent, then the court must give effect to the ordinary meaning of the [statute]'" Whitaker v. People, 48 P.8d 555, 558 (Colo.2002) (quoting Pediatric Newrosurgery, P.C. v. Russell, 44 P.3d 1063, 1068 (Colo.2002)).

{12 The juvenile deferred adjudication statute provides that a "court may continue the case for a period not to exceed one year from the date of entry of the plea" and that a "court may continue the case for an additional one-year period for good cause." § 19-2-709(1).

{13 D.S. acknowledges that the plain language of the statute does not identify when a good cause determination must be made. He asserts, nonetheless, that the statute's wording created a timeline, which suggested that the legislature intended to require the good cause finding at the end of the first year.

¶ 14 We disagree with D.S.'s reading of the statute. The plain language of the statute does not create a timeline for factfinding by the court. Rather, the statute identifies two time periods for which an adjudication may be continued upon the entry of a guilty plea. See Carbajal, 198 P.3d at 106 ("[Olnce the court imposes a deferred judgment, the continuance starts the day the defendant entered his plea."). The court must make a "good cause" determination to support a longer continuation of the adjudication. Because the statute does not direct a court to wait one year before making that determination, we will not read such a restriction into the statute. See Dubois v. Abrahamson, 214 P.3d 586, 588 (Colo.App.2009) ("[Wle may not read additional terms into, or modify, the plain language of a statute.").

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Related

People v. Widhalm
642 P.2d 498 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1982)
Bell v. Simpson
918 P.2d 1123 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1996)
People v. McIntyre
789 P.2d 1108 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 1990)
People v. Torkelson
971 P.2d 660 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 1998)
People v. Carbajal
198 P.3d 102 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2008)
Pediatric Neurosurgery, P.C. v. Russell
44 P.3d 1063 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2002)
People v. McMurtry
122 P.3d 237 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2005)
People v. Daley
97 P.3d 295 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2004)
Dubois v. Abrahamson
214 P.3d 586 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)
People v. Efferson
122 P.3d 1038 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2005)
People ex rel. J.P.L.
214 P.3d 1072 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2009)
M.T. v. People
2012 CO 11 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2012)
Montez v. People
2012 CO 6 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 COA 199, 292 P.3d 1210, 2012 WL 5457438, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 1841, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-ex-rel-ds-coloctapp-2012.