People v. Fawcett CA5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 6, 2023
DocketF084528
StatusUnpublished

This text of People v. Fawcett CA5 (People v. Fawcett CA5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Fawcett CA5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2023).

Opinion

Filed 7/6/23 P. v. Fawcett CA5

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FIFTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE, F084528 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 18CR-02358) v.

MARK RANDALL FAWCETT, OPINION Defendant and Appellant.

THE COURT* APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Merced County. Donald E. Shaver, Judge.† Michael Allen, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Christopher J. Rench and Jamie A. Scheidegger, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent. -ooOoo-

*Before Franson, Acting P. J., Peña, J. and Snauffer, J.

†Retired judge of the Stanislaus Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution. INTRODUCTION A jury convicted defendant Mark Randall Fawcett of threatening state officials (Pen. Code, § 76; count 1), criminal threats (§ 422, subd. (a); count 2), and disobeying a court order (§ 166, subd. (a)(4); count 4, a misdemeanor) based on an incident during which defendant yelled a threat to blow up the building at two court clerks outside of the courthouse. (Undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code.) In a bifurcated proceeding, defendant admitted a prior prison term enhancement. The court sentenced defendant to the upper term of three years’ imprisonment on count 2 and stayed a three- year upper term sentence on count 1 and a six-month jail term as to count 4. The court also imposed the one-year prior prison term enhancement for an aggregate sentence of four years. Defendant appealed the judgment and we previously concluded he was entitled to a remand for resentencing in light of the passage of Senate Bill No. 567 (2021–2022 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 567), and that his prison prior enhancement must be stricken on remand. In all other respects, we affirmed the judgment. While defendant’s appeal was pending, the court held a hearing before the judge who presided over defendant’s trial. At the outset of that hearing, the trial judge disqualified himself from the case and transferred the matter to a different judge. Following our court’s remand, a resentencing hearing was held before the trial judge who had disqualified himself from the case while the appeal was pending. Defendant was again sentenced to the upper term of three years on the criminal threat count (count 2) at the resentencing hearing. Defendant now appeals from the judgment following the resentencing hearing. He asserts, and the People agree, the matter should be remanded for a new resentencing hearing because the trial judge was unauthorized to preside over the resentencing hearing after previously recusing himself from the case. Defendant also asserts there were no valid aggravating factors to support imposition of the upper term sentence and his

2. counsel provided ineffective assistance at the resentencing hearing. Finally, he contends, and the People agree, the abstract of judgment issued after the resentencing hearing does not reflect updated custody credits as required. We remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment. FACTUAL BACKGROUND In connection with a May 17, 2018, incident during which defendant yelled a threat to blow up the building at court clerks in front of the courthouse, defendant was charged with threatening a public official (namely, the court clerks), with the intent the statement be taken as a threat and with the apparent ability to carry out the threat (§ 76, subd. (a); count 1), criminal threats against the court clerks (§ 422, subd. (a); count 2), resisting, delaying, or obstructing a peace officer (§ 148, subd. (a)(1); count 3), and disobeying a court order (§ 166, subd. (a)(4); count 4). A jury convicted defendant of counts 1, 2, and 4 and could not reach a verdict on count 3, which the prosecutor dismissed on his own motion. In a bifurcated proceeding, the court found true the prior prison term enhancement alleged as to counts 1 and 2. The court sentenced defendant to the upper term of three years’ imprisonment on count 2 plus one year for the prison prior enhancement and stayed a three-year upper term on count 1 and a six-month jail term as to count 4. Defendant appealed his convictions asserting, in part, his prison prior enhancement should be stricken pursuant to Senate Bill No. 136 (2019–2020 Reg. Sess.) (Senate Bill 136), and that he was entitled to remand for resentencing under Senate Bill 567. On April 9, 2021, while defendant’s previous appeal was pending in our court, the trial court held a “Modification” hearing. At the outset of that hearing, the Honorable Donald E. Shaver stated the Chief Justice assigned him this case and he presided over the trial in 2018. He explained he “was an assigned judge because all the judges on the bench had recused themselves since [the case] involved court employees.” Judge Shaver

3. then recused himself from the matter, stating: “[A]t this time I’m now a bench officer in the county, as well too; so I do need to disqualify myself pursuant to [Code of Civil Procedure section] 170.1 on that matter.” He directed the case be sent to a different courtroom, and it was transferred to Honorable Ronald Hansen’s courtroom for consideration of a request by one of the named victims in this case to extend a protective restraining order. Thereafter, in an unpublished opinion, our court held Senate Bill 567 entitled defendant to a remand for resentencing and Senate Bill 136 required his prison prior enhancement to be stricken. (People v. Fawcett (Mar. 4, 2022, F078256).) We rejected defendant’s other challenges to his convictions and, in all other respects, affirmed the judgment. (Ibid.) After our court’s remand of the matter, the trial court held a resentencing hearing on June 6, 2022, over which Judge Shaver presided. At the resentencing hearing, the court stated it read and considered the court’s file and it took judicial notice of it. The prosecutor argued, “in terms of some of the aggravating factors for this sentence,” the court could consider that defendant waived a jury trial as to his prison prior and the court found it true. He argued the court could consider “factors relating to the Defendant,” including “[d]efendant’s prior convictions as an adult or sustained petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings are increasing in seriousness, which … would be relevant and applicable here, as was the fact that the [d]efendant had served a prior prison term in prison or county jail.” “Based on that,” the prosecutor asked for the aggravated sentence of three years for defendant’s violation of section 422. The following colloquy then ensued:

“[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I would ask the Court to reconsider the midterm. I believe at that time [defendant’s] history was not as dire as it might be today, four years later.

4. “And I do agree that the prison prior must be stricken, so that definitely—I am kind of—reading the last few sentences of that opinion by the 5th, it appears they only sent it back to be resentenced on the prison prior. I might be wrong. It didn’t appear to me they sent it back for everything, just to let the Court know where I’m coming from.

“THE COURT: It’s resentencing. So I think I need to do a complete resentence.

“[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Okay. All right. All right.

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Bluebook (online)
People v. Fawcett CA5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fawcett-ca5-calctapp-2023.