People v. Halbert

411 P.3d 47
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 20, 2013
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 10CA2296
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 411 P.3d 47 (People v. Halbert) 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. Halbert, 411 P.3d 47 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion by JUDGE BERNARD.

*48¶ 1 This appeal raises the question whether the offense of failing to register as a sex offender, contrary to section 18-3-412.5(1)(a), C.R.S.2012 ("[f]ailure to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S."), is a "catchall" that incorporates all of the registration duties that article 22 of title 16 imposes upon sex offenders. We answer the question "no" because, although subsection 412.5(1)(a) incorporates some of those duties, it does not incorporate them all. Rather, we conclude that (1) subsection 412.5(1)(a) refers to a discrete and statutorily defined set of acts based on duties that are described in article 22 of title 16; (2) subsections 412.5(1)(b) through (k) refer to different statutorily defined sets of acts based on other duties that are described in article 22 of title 16; and (3) the introductory language in subsection 412.5(1) is the catchall that covers acts based on duties that are described in article 22 of title 16 that are not otherwise covered by subsections 412.5(1)(a) through (k).

¶ 2 Here, defendant, Bryan Lloyd Halbert, appeals the jury's verdict finding him guilty of failing to register as a sex offender-second or subsequent offense, contrary to subsection 412.5(1)(a) and section 18-3-412.5(2), C.R.S.2012. He also appeals his sentence, which was enhanced because the trial court found that he had previously been convicted of four other felonies. As a result of our analysis, we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to support defendant's conviction under subsection 412.5(1)(a). Therefore, we vacate the conviction and sentence.

I. Background

¶ 3 In 1992, defendant was convicted of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. He was released from prison in 2003. Upon his release, the Sex Offender Registration Act, §§ 16-22-101 to - 115, C.R.S.2012, required that he register as a sex offender. However, before this case was filed in 2009, he had been previously convicted four separate times of the felony of failing to register as a sex offender.

¶ 4 In this case, the prosecution charged defendant with failing to register as a sex offender-second or subsequent offense-under subsection 412.5(1)(a) and section 18-3-412.5(2). The evidence at trial established that, in 2009, defendant stayed for a time with his brother in a house in Thornton, which is in Adams County. The house was owned by a relative. Defendant informed the proper Adams County authorities that he was residing in the relative's house. The relative later testified that defendant would often sleep on the couch.

¶ 5 The relative also testified that, no later than October 1, 2009, she kicked defendant out of her house. She stated that he did not return.

¶ 6 It was unclear exactly where he went. The relative testified that she dropped off his belongings at a barbershop in Lakewood, where he often stayed. Other evidence showed that he might have stayed at his sister's home in Parker. Although he listed his sister's address as an additional home address in a registration form for sex offenders, he checked the box marked "no" where a question on the form asked whether he "currently reside[d] at more than one address."

¶ 7 Defendant presented evidence that he continued to live at the house in Thornton without the relative's permission. Defendant's sister testified that her brother gave defendant permission to remain at the house even though the owner had kicked defendant out. She testified that the brother, who died before trial, allowed defendant to sleep in the garage or the back porch. Defendant's great-niece also testified that she occasionally visited defendant at the house in Thornton. She stated that defendant was "very comfortable" in the house, and that he would watch television with his shirt off.

¶ 8 The prosecution argued that defendant was required to change his registration form to show where he resided after his relative *49kicked him out of the house in Thornton. Defendant argued that he continued to reside at that house, and therefore his registration form was accurate.

¶ 9 The jury convicted defendant of the charged offense, including a finding that he had previously been convicted of failing to register. As a result, the trial court enhanced defendant's conviction from a class 6 felony to a class 5 felony. The trial court found that defendant had been convicted of four habitual criminal counts based on defendant's four prior convictions for failing to register as a sex offender. The court sentenced him to twelve years in prison.

II. Sufficiency of the Evidence

A. Standard of Review

¶ 10 We review the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a jury's verdict de novo. Dempsey v. People, 117 P.3d 800, 807 (Colo.2005). We must determine "whether any rational trier of fact might accept the evidence, taken as a whole and in the light most favorable to the prosecution, as sufficient to support a finding of the accused's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." People v. Sprouse, 983 P.2d 771, 777 (Colo. 1999).

¶ 11 In order to decide this case, we must also interpret statutes. The interpretation of statutes is an issue of law that we review de novo. People v. Poage, 272 P.3d 1113, 1116 (Colo. App. 2011). When we interpret statutes

our task is to determine and give effect to the legislature's intent by first examining the plain and ordinary meaning of the statutory language. We must read the words of a statute in context, and analyze the whole statute in order to provide consistent, harmonious, and logical effect to all its parts. We may not adopt a construction that renders any word superfluous. When the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, we apply the provision as written and do not engage in further statutory analysis.

Id. (citations omitted).

B. Analysis

¶ 12 The prosecution charged this offense solely under subsection 412.5(1)(a), which states:

A person who is required to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., and who fails to comply with any of the requirements placed on registrants by said article, including but not limited to committing any of the acts specified in this subsection (1), commits the offense of failure to register as a sex offender:
(a) Failure to register pursuant to article 22 of title 16, C.R.S.

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Bluebook (online)
411 P.3d 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-halbert-coloctapp-2013.