People v. Bondurant

2012 COA 50, 296 P.3d 200, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 458, 2012 WL 1035975
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 29, 2012
DocketNo. 07CA2481
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 2012 COA 50 (People v. Bondurant) 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 v. Bondurant, 2012 COA 50, 296 P.3d 200, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 458, 2012 WL 1035975 (Colo. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge TAUBMAN.

11 Defendant, Jason William Bondurant, appeals the trial court's judgment of convietion entered upon jury verdicts finding him guilty of first degree murder after deliberation, second degree murder, first degree felony murder, first degree burglary, false imprisonment, theft, two counts of menacing, and four counts of child abuse.1 His primary contentions concern the constitutionality of sections 16-8-108.6, 16-8-106, and 16-8-107(8)(b), C.R.S8.2011, a statutory scheme requiring defendants wishing to present expert testimony concerning their mental condition to undergo a court-ordered mental examination. His constitutional challenges on separation of powers and vagueness grounds are matters of first impression. We reject Bon-durant's constitutional challenges and other contentions and therefore affirm.

I. Background

2 Bondurant fathered three sons with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Cole, before the couple separated. Cole moved to the house of her mother and stepfather, Peggy and Fred Hawkins, with the boys.

13 During this time, on various occasions, Bondurant arranged with Cole to visit his sons at the Hawkinses' residence.

14 Sometime after her separation from Bondurant, Cole was briefly hospitalized. Bondurant visited her and, suffering from depression and anxiety attacks, threatened to take his life. He had recently learned that Cole had become intimately involved with a young man, C.R. Bondurant was then detained at the hospital for three days.

" 5 Shortly after his release, on August 25, 2007, Bondurant traveled by bus and taxi to visit his children at the Hawkinses' residence. He carried a gun which he had taken from his roommate. Although he spoke with Cole by phone earlier that day, he did not mention his intention to visit. Rather, he told her in a voice message that he would soon leave for Ohio.

T 6 A short while later, Bondurant arrived without any notice, and entered the house with the gun in hand.

T7 Bondurant ordered everyone he saw into the living area. Quickly, CH., Cole's stepbrother, lunged for the gun. It went off, killing C.H. Bondurant then fatally shot C.R. five times. After Bondurant talked with Cole, the police arrived and arrested him.

18 At trial, Bondurant admitted to fatally shooting the two victims, but denied that he could be convicted of the various charges because he lacked the culpable mental state. In support, Bondurant presented an expert witness in psychiatry who testified that Bon-durant was severely depressed and, on the date of the charged offenses, suffered a panic attack which impaired his ability to form the intent to commit those crimes. This evidence and the court-ordered psychiatric examination required prior to its introduction are the focus of this appeal.

T9 The jury found Bondurant guilty as noted above. The trial court sentenced him to two consecutive terms of life in prison without parole for the crimes of murder, to be served concurrently with sentences in the aggregate of sixteen years for the remaining counts. This appeal followed.

II. Constitutional Challenges

110 Bondurant contends that the trial court erred in ordering him to undergo a psychiatric examination pursuant to section [206]*20616-8-106 after he proposed to introduce expert testimony on his mental condition because the statutory scheme is unconstitutional. Specifically, he contends that conditioning the introduction of such evidence on a defendant's cooperation with a court-ordered mental health examination and permitting disclosure of information obtained therefrom at trial facially violates the separation of powers doctrine, a defendant's privilege against self-inerimination, the right to present a defense, and the right to effective assistance of counsel, and is unconstitutionally vague both on its face and as applied.2 For the reasons set forth below, we disagree.

A. Standard of Review

[ 11 Whether a statute is constitutional is a question of law that we review de novo. City of Greenwood Village v. Petitioners for Proposed City of Centennial, 3 P.3d 427, 440 (Colo.2000). Because "declaring a statute unconstitutional is one of the gravest duties impressed upon the courts," we presume that the General Assembly comports with constitutional standards in enacting a statute. Id.

$12 A party challenging the constitutionality of a statute bears a heavy burden to demonstrate its unconstitutionality beyond a reasonable doubt. Id.

113 If a statute is susceptible of different interpretations, we adopt the one which comports with constitutional standards. People in Interest of C.M., 630 P.2d 593, 594 (Colo.1981).

114 Generally, a statute is unconstitutional on its face only "if the complaining party can show that the law is unconstitutional in all its applications." Dallman v. Ritter, 225 P.3d 610, 625 (Colo.2010) (noting an exception in the First Amendment free speech context). Even a facially constitutional statute may be held unconstitutional as applied to an individual under the cireum-stances in which he or she has acted or proposed to act. Sanger v. Dennis, 148 P.3d 404, 410-11 (Colo.App.2006) (a statute held unconstitutional as applied may not be applied in a similar context, but is not rendered entirely inoperative).3

B. Separation of Powers

€15 Bondurant contends, as a matter of first impression, that section 16-8-107(8)(b) is unconstitutional on its face because it violates the separation of powers doctrine of the Colorado Constitution. He contends it constitutes a purely procedural statute and thus usurps the judiciary's exclusive rulemaking power. Alternatively, he maintains, even if the rule does not invade the judiciary's sole province, it substantially conflicts with Crim. P. llie) and Crim. P. 16, part II, and thus with the judiciary's powers. We are not persuaded.

116 The Colorado Constitution divides the powers of government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. Colo. Const. art. III. The doctrine of separation of powers generally prohibits one branch from exercising powers that the constitution exclusively vests in another branch. Crowe v. Tull, 126 P.3d 196, 205 (Colo.2006).

117 Colorado Constitution article VI, section 21 vests the supreme court with the power to "make and promulgate rules gov[207]*207erning the administration of all courts and ... governing practice and procedure in civil and criminal cases." Rules adopted for the purpose of encouraging courts to function efficiently are procedural and generally fall within the inherent rulemaking power of the judiciary. People v. Wiedemer, 852 P.2d 424, 436 (Colo.1993). In contrast, the General Assembly has the power to enact statutes "directed to substantive matters" relating to public policy. Id.

$18 In that regard, the power to define criminal conduct and to establish the legal components of criminal liability is vested with the General Assembly, which "is also empowered to formulate principles of criminal responsibility and justification and, within constitutional limitations, to restrict defenses to particular crimes." People v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2012 COA 50, 296 P.3d 200, 2012 Colo. App. LEXIS 458, 2012 WL 1035975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-bondurant-coloctapp-2012.