People v. Gallegos

2013 CO 45, 307 P.3d 1096, 2013 WL 3322612
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedJuly 1, 2013
DocketSupreme Court Case No. 09SC1084
StatusPublished
Cited by185 cases

This text of 2013 CO 45 (People v. Gallegos) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Gallegos, 2013 CO 45, 307 P.3d 1096, 2013 WL 3322612 (Colo. 2013).

Opinions

Justice RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

1 1 This sexual assault case requires us to interpret the phrases "established a relationship" and "promoted a relationship" in the relationship criterion of the sexually violent predator ("SVP") statute, section 18-3-414.5(1)(a)(III), C.R.S. (2012). We hold that an offender "established a relationship" with his victim primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization where he created, started, or began a relationship primarily for that purpose. Applying the definition of "established a relationship" to the record in this case, we affirm the court of appeals' decision reversing Respondent Carlos Anthony Gallegos' SVP designation because Gallegos had not "established a relationship" with the victim [1098]*1098primarily for the purpose of sexual viectimization by living with the victim and treating her as his stepdaughter for the three years preceding the assault.

T2 In addition, we hold that an offender "promoted a relationship" if, excluding the offender's behavior during the commission of the sexual assault that led to his conviction, he otherwise encouraged a person with whom he had a limited relationship to enter into a broader relationship primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization. Because the trial court determined that Gallegos met the relationship criterion by having "established a relationship" with his victim primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization, it did not make factual findings regarding whether Gallegos "promoted a relationship" for the same purpose. Therefore, we remand to the court of appeals with instructions to remand to the trial court to make specific factual findings and determine whether Gallegos "promoted a relationship" with his victim primarily for the purpose of sexual viectimization.

I. Facts and Procedural History

13 Gallegos pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child after admitting to sexually assaulting his live-in girlfriend's six-year-old daughter. The trial court found that Gallegos met the relationship criterion of the SVP statute because he established a relationship with the victim primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization. Specifically, the trial court consulted the police report, the victim's report, and Gallegos' statements and determined that "no other legitimate relationship [existed] other than [one established primarily] for the purpose of sexual victimization." - In making its determination, the trial court employed the definition of "established a relationship"1 prescribed in the Sex Offender Management Board's (the "SOMB") risk assessment screening instrument (the "Screening Instrument").

T4 Gallegos appealed his SVP designation and the court of appeals reversed. People v. Gallegos, 240 P.83d 882, 886 (Colo.App.2009). The court of appeals determined that "the facts in the record do not support the [trial] court's finding that Gallegos 'established' the relationship with the victim primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization." Id. at 888. Ignoring the Screening Instrument's definition of "established," the court of appeals instead interpreted the term "established" in the relationship criterion consistent with its plain meaning: "The commonly accepted definition of 'establish,' when used as a verb, is 'to bring into existence, create, make, start, originate, or found'" Id. at 884 (quoting Webster's Third New International Dictio-mary TIB (2002)). Applying this definition, the court of appeals concluded that Gallegos did not "establish a relationship" primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization with [1099]*1099his victim as required by the SVP statute because the relationship already existed at the time of the sexual victimization. Id. at 886.

T5 Contrary to its decision to disregard the Sereening Instrument's definition and separately define "established a relationship," the court of appeals deferred to the Sereening Instrument's definition of "promoted a relationship"2 later in its analysis. Despite this deference, the court of appeals "express[ed] no opinion as to whether Gallegos might fit the definition of an SVP under the 'promoted a relationship'" component of the relationship criterion. Id. Instead, the court of appeals simply reversed Gallegos' SVP designation on the grounds that Gallegos did not "establish the relationship" primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization. Id.

T6 The People then petitioned this Court for certiorari review of the court of appeals' decision. We granted certiorari to address: (1) whether the court of appeals erred by proffering its own definition of "established a relationship" in the relationship criterion; and (2) whether the court of appeals should have addressed whether Gallegos met the relationship criterion by having "promoted a relationship" with his vietim primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization.3 We address each issue in turn.

II. Analysis

17 This case requires us to construe the relationship criterion in the SVP statute. We review questions of law involving statutory interpretation de novo. Grant v. People, 48 P.3d 543, 546 (Colo.2002). This Court's familiar role interpreting statutes requires that we interpret the plain language of a statute to "give full effect to the intent of the General Assembly." Colo. Water Conservation Bd. v. Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy Dist., 109 P.3d 585, 593 (Colo.2005). Where "the statutory language is clear, we apply the plain and ordinary meaning of the provision," Lobato v. Indus. Claim Appeals Office, 105 P.3d 220, 223 (Colo.2005), giving that language "consistent, harmonious, and sensible effect to each part whenever possible," People v. Banks, 9 P.3d 1125, 1127 (Colo.2000) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Moreover, "[wle interpret every word, rendering none superfluous; undefined words and phrases are read in context and construed literally according to common usage." Sooper Credit Union v. Sholar Grp. Architects, P.C., 113 P.3d 768, 771 (Colo.2005). We first describe the SVP designation in light of our holding in Allen v. People, 2013 CO 44, 307 P.3d 1102, 2013 WL 3323904 (released concurrently).

A. The SVP Designation and Allen v. People

T8 The trial court designates an offender as an SVP when the offender: (1) was eighteen years of age or older as of the date of the offense; (2) was convicted of an enumerated sexual offense; (8) committed the offense against a vietim who was a stranger or was a person with whom the offender established or promoted a relationship primarily for the purpose of sexual victimization; and (4) is likely to - recidivate § 18-3-414.5(1)(a)(T)-(IV)..

[1100]*11009 The SVP designation process is unique. See Allen, 1 6. When an offender is convicted of an enumerated offense, see § 18-3, 414.5(1)(a)(II), a SOMB-trained evaluator administers the Sereening Instrument4 to determine whether an offender meets the recidivism criterion of the SVP statute. See § 18-3-414.5(1)(a)(IV).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2013 CO 45, 307 P.3d 1096, 2013 WL 3322612, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-gallegos-colo-2013.