People v. Fogle

116 P.3d 1227, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 2004, 2004 WL 2955125
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 4, 2004
Docket03CA0709
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 116 P.3d 1227 (People v. Fogle) 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. Fogle, 116 P.3d 1227, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 2004, 2004 WL 2955125 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

VOGT, J.

Defendant, Ronald J. Fogle, appeals the trial court order denying his Crim. P. 35(a) motion for postconviction relief. We affirm.

In August 2000, defendant pled guilty to aggravated robbery in two cases, in exchange for dismissal of other charges. Based on the fact that defendant was on probation when the offenses were committed, the trial court imposed an aggravated range thirty-two-year sentence on each count, the sentences to run concurrently with each other and with other prison sentences defendant was serving.

In May 2001, defendant filed pro se motions for postconviction relief, alleging, as pertinent here, that his sentence was illegal under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), because it was enhanced based on facts not found by the jury. The trial court denied relief, and a division of this court affirmed. See People v. Fogle, (Colo.App. No. 01CA1241, June 13, 2002) (not published pursuant to C.A.R. 35(f)){Fogle I).

Still proceeding pro se, defendant then filed Crim. P. 35(a) motions in each ease in March 2003. He again contended that his sentence was illegal under Apprendi. He also asserted that he was not in fact on probation at the time of the offenses, that he had not been given sufficient credit for pre-sentence confinement, and that his parole term was incorrectly shown as ten years, rather than five years, on the mittimuses.

In a detailed written order, the trial court agreed that the mittimus in each case had to be modified to reflect the correct parole term, but otherwise denied relief.

I.

Defendant contends on appeal that enhancement of his sentence based on his asserted probationary status was illegal because (1) he was not under the supervision of the probation department but, rather, under the supervision of a drug and alcohol program at the time he committed the offenses; and (2) he was, in any event, entitled under Apprendi to have the jury, not a judge, determine the existence of any sentence enhancer. We disagree.

A.

The record refutes defendant’s contention that he was in fact not on probation at the time of his offenses.

The presentence report includes an account of offenses committed by defendant in Maryland, including four felony convictions for which he was “placed on three years supervised probation with the condition that he immediately enter the Stout Street Program and successfully complete [the] program.” The report also indicates that a petition for violation of probation had been filed in those four eases and that a warrant had issued, which remained active as of the date of the report. Both the prosecutor and defense counsel referred to defendant’s probationary status in their statements to the court at the providency and sentencing hearings.

Contrary to defendant’s contention, whether he was under the supervision of the Colorado probation department or another entity is irrelevant for purposes of § 18-1.3-401(8)(a)(III), C.R.S.2004, which requires an aggravated sentence whenever the “defendant was on probation ... for another felony” at the time of the commission of the offense. Accordingly, the posteonviction court did not err in rejecting this contention.

B.

In regard to defendant’s claim for relief under Apprendi, we first address the *1229 People’s contention that we should not consider the claim because it is successive and barred by the doctrine of the law of the case.

The trial court correctly recognized that this issue had previously been raised and resolved against defendant in Fogle I and that it was required to follow Fogle I as the law of the case. See People v. Roybal, 672 P.2d 1003 (Colo.1983). We likewise generally adhere to the law of the ease as determined by another division of this court. However, a departure from that general rule may be required if there has been a significant change in the controlling law made by a court whose decisions are binding on this court. See Buckley Powder Co. v. State, 70 P.3d 547 (Colo.App.2002); People v. Close, 22 P.3d 933 (Colo.App.2000), aff'd, 48 P.3d 528 (Colo.2002).

In holding that Apprendi was not implicated in defendant’s case, the Fogle I division relied on People v. Allen, 43 P.3d 689, republished, 78 P.3d 751 (Colo.App.2001), and the trial court cited that portion of the Fogle I opinion in its order denying defendant’s motion. However, the viability of Allen as support for a conclusion that Apprendi is inapplicable here has been called into question by Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). See People v. Moon, 2004 WL 2503424 (Colo.App. No. 03CA1107, Oct. 21, 2004); People v. Solis-Martinez, - P.3d -, 2004 WL 2002525 (Colo.App. No. 03CA1365, Sept. 9, 2004). In light of Blakely, we elect to exercise our discretion to review defendant’s contention. See People v. Close, supra.

C.

We conclude that defendant’s sentence was not illegal under Apprendi, although we reach that conclusion on an analysis different from that employed by the Fogle I division.

Defendant argues that, under Apprendi he was entitled to have the jury determine his probationary status because that status was used to support imposition of a sentence beyond the prescribed statutory maximum for his offense. See § 18 — 1.3—401 (8)(a)(III) (court is required to impose aggravated range sentence if defendant was on probation for another felony at time of commission of offense). We conclude that, because defendant admitted when he pled guilty that he was on probation, he was not entitled to relief under Apprendi.

In Blakely, the Supreme Court clarified that the “ ‘statutory maximum’ for Apprendi purposes is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant Blakely v. Washington, supra, 542 U.S. at -, 124 S.Ct. at 2537 (emphasis in original); see People v. Moon, supra; People v. Solis-Martinez, supra.

The Blakely Court also observed that “[Njothing prevents a defendant from waiving his Apprendi rights.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
116 P.3d 1227, 2004 Colo. App. LEXIS 2004, 2004 WL 2955125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fogle-coloctapp-2004.