People v. Fleming

3 P.3d 449, 1999 WL 459517
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 2, 1999
Docket97CA2148
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 3 P.3d 449 (People v. Fleming) 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. Fleming, 3 P.3d 449, 1999 WL 459517 (Colo. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge BRIGGS.

Defendant, Richard Fleming, appeals the trial court's order revoking his probation. We affirm.

Following an altercation with his wife, defendant was charged with attempted first degree sexual assault. Pursuant to a plea agreement, defendant entered a guilty plea to the lesser offense of third degree misdemeanor assault, and the prosecutor dismissed the original charge. The agreement provided for a sentence to probation but included no other promise concerning sentencing. The court sentenced defendant to two years of probation.

The preprinted order setting forth the standard conditions of probation stated as condition 15 that defendant was required to obtain "[mjental health evaluation/counseling or treatment" and "obtain counseling or treatment for drug abuse, alcohol abuse, or a mental condition...." The sentencing court added a handwritten note to the order that stated, "Condition #15 will be determined by the Court [at a later hearing]."

In the interim, defendant's probation officer recommended a psychosexual evaluation, and defendant participated in portions of the evaluation. However, he refused to participate in those portions requiring him to discuss the altercation with his wife and to take a polygraph test.

At the hearing that had been scheduled to determine the nature of defendant's evaluation and treatment, the prosecutor moved to revoke defendant's probation because of his *451 refusal to submit to the entire psychosexual evaluation. Defendant contested the imposition of such & requirement as a condition of his probation and, as an alternative, sought to withdraw his plea.

The district court did not revoke defendant's probation at that time. However, it determined that it had discretion to require a psychosexual evaluation, found that such an evaluation was appropriate in the circumstances, and refused to allow defendant to withdraw his plea. The court expressly ordered that defendant submit to the entire psychosexual evaluation, including a discussion with the evaluator of defendant's altercation with his wife.

At a later hearing, defendant again moved to withdraw his plea, this time based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The court rejected this motion as well.

Defendant continued to refuse to discuss with the evaluator the incident that led to his arrest and eventual guilty plea. The trial court revoked his probation. This appeal followed.

We initially note, as did the trial court, that defendant's probation was not revoked for his refusal to submit to a polygraph test. The revocation was based solely on defendant's refusal to discuss, as part of his psy-chosexual evaluation, the altercation with his wife.

Further, defendant on appeal does not assert that the imposition of any condition on his probation was contrary to the plea agreement. Nor does he argue that the court was otherwise without authority to include as a condition of probation that he submit to a mental health evaluation by a psychologist. Instead, defendant's sole contention on appeal is that the trial court erred in requiring, as a condition of probation, that he submit to a mental health evaluation in the form of a psychosexual evaluation, which in turn required him to discuss the altercation with his wife.

I.

Defendant argues that ordering a psycho-sexual evaluation was contrary to hs reasonable expectations under the plea agreement. He further argues that his constitutional protection from double jeopardy and his rights under the related doctrine of collateral estop-pel were thereby violated. Because both arguments are based on a mistaken premise, we conclude to the contrary.

Trial courts are given wide discretion in imposing conditions on probation. See § 16-11-101(1)(a), C.R.8.1998 ("The granting or denial of probation and the conditions of probation shall not be subject to appellate review unless probation is granted contrary to the provisions of this title."); People v. Richards, 795 P.2d 1343 (Colo.App.1989); see also § 16-11-202(1), C.R.S.1998("When it appears to the satisfaction of the court that the ends of justice and the best interest of the public, as well as the defendant, will be served thereby, the court may grant the defendant probation for such period and upon such terms and conditions as it deems best.").

In setting conditions on probation, it is proper for the court to consider aggravating or mitigating information. This includes other charges dismissed at the time of the plea. People v. Lowery, 642 P.2d 515 (Colo.1982).

Defendant does not challenge the sentencing court's general discretion when setting conditions on probation. Instead, defendant's challenge to the requirement of a psychosexual evaluation rests on the assumption that, despite his plea to a different crime, the court was effectively sentencing him for a sex offense. While not articulated, the concern is apparently that he was being subjected to evaluation and treatment under the Standardized Treatment Program for Sex Offenders. See § 16-11.7-101 et seq, C.R.$.1998.

The evaluation the court ordered may well have resembled the initial step in the standardized program for the evaluation and treatment of a convicted sex offender. See §§ 16-11.7-104 and 16-11.7-105; Colorado Sex Offender Management Board, Standards & Guidelines For The Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment And Behavioral Monitoring Of Adult Sex Offenders (1998); see also Peo *452 ple v. Lenzini, 986 P.2d 980 (Colo.App.1999). Indeed, the evaluation was to be performed by a state provider approved pursuant to § 16-11.7-106, C.R.S.1998.

Nevertheless, defendant did not plead guilty to a sex offense, and the sentencing court did not condition defendant's probation on the sex offender specific evaluation and treatment required for convicted sex offenders. As the trial court observed, defendant's evaluation was not statutorily mandated. It was no more than a mental health evaluation the court had discretion to order in order to determine whether and, if so, what type of mental health treatment would be appropriate as a condition of defendant's probation. See Colorado Sex Offender Management Board, supra, § 1.020, Discussion ("While it is preferable that sexual crimes not be plea bargained to non-sexual crimes, such plea bargains sometimes occur. However, this does not eliminate the need for the offender to be assessed based on the factual basis of the case."). As such, defendant's factually based evaluation was no different than that required for any other offender placed on probation. See People v. Lowery, supra.

We therefore conclude that the requirement of a psychosexual evaluation was not contrary to defendant's reasonable expectations under his plea agreement. Nor did it violate defendant's constitutional protection against double jeopardy or implicate the related doctrine of collateral estoppel.

IL

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Related

People v. Guatney
183 P.3d 620 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2008)
People v. Valenzuela
98 P.3d 951 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2004)
People v. Zuniga
80 P.3d 965 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
3 P.3d 449, 1999 WL 459517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fleming-coloctapp-1999.