People v. Norton

63 P.3d 339, 2003 WL 139422
Supreme Court of Colorado·Decided January 21, 2003·No. No. 02SC91·Published·Cited by 27 cases

Opinions

Justice RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

We granted certiorari in this case to consider whether a mandatory parolee who is incarcerated after committing a new crime while on parole may have his presentence confinement credit (“PSCC”) applied toward the sentence resulting from the new charge, or must have it apply toward the sentence for which he was on parole.1 In addressing this question, we specifically consider the scope and effect of section 18-1.3-405, 6 C.R.S. (2002)2 on mandatory parolees who commit a new offense while on parole in light of the 1988 amendment to that statute and the General Assembly’s 1993 amendments to the felony sentencing scheme.

In examining this issue, the court of appeals construed section 18-1.34105 together with section 17-22.5-203, 6 C.R.S. (2002), and concluded that, when read together, these two statutes created ambiguity as to whether PSCC should attach to the new charge or the previous one. People v. Norton, 49 P.3d 344, 346 (Colo.App.2001). The court concluded that until such time as the defendant’s parole was revoked, the time he spent in jail was attributable to the new offense, and hence, PSCC must be applied against the new charge. Id.

We reverse. We hold that the plain meaning of section 18 1.3405 indicates that PSCC earned as á result of being reincarcerated on a parole violation must be applied against the previous offense. The plain language of section 18-1.3405, coupled with the legislative intent evidenced in the 1988 amendment of that statute and the 1993 amendments to the criminal sentencing scheme, lead us to the conclusion that application of PSCC to the previous offense is the only means by which the courts can avoid granting duplicative credit to offenders, a result the General Assembly unambiguously sought to prevent. We also find the court of appeals’ reliance on section 17-22.5-203 misplaced, and hold that [342] that statute is inapplicable to the present ease.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1999, after being incarcerated on two previous felony convictions (the “previous offenses”),3 Respondent Jason T. Norton was released on mandatory parole to an Intensive Supervision Program. Norton subsequently left his area of confinement without notifying his parole officer. As a result, he was arrested and charged with the new crime of escape. Norton remained in jail for approximately sixty-nine days until he pled guilty to attempted escape and received a stipulated sentence of eighteen months (the “new” or “current” offense) in the Department of Corrections (“DOC”), to be served consecutively with his previous sentences. Shortly thereafter, Norton’s parole on the previous convictions was revoked. Norton sought to have his sixty-nine days of PSCC applied against the eighteen month sentence for attempted escape, a request the trial court denied.

The court of appeals reversed, holding that Norton’s PSCC should have been applied against his sentence for attempted escape. In arriving at this holding, the court of appeals based its reasoning on the “interplay” between section 18-1.3-405 and section 17-22.5-203 and this court’s decision in Wiedemer v. People, 784 P.2d 739 (Colo.1989). Norton, 49 P.3d at 346. The court determined that section 17-22.5-203, as interpreted and applied by this court in Wiedemer, required that the time between Norton’s release onto parole and the revocation of his parole was not deemed part of his “sentence” for the previous offenses. Id. Therefore, the court of appeals reasoned, any PSCC earned while in jail awaiting sentencing on the new offense and prior to the revocation of parole could only be applied against the new offense. Id.

The State disagreed with the court of appeals’ interpretation, arguing that there is no conflict between section 18-1.3-405 and section 17-22.5-203 because the latter applies only to discretionary parolees. The State also contends that the plain language of section 18-1.3-405, coupled with the intent of the mandatory parole scheme, requires that where an offender commits a new offense while on parole for previous offenses, any PSCC earned must be applied against the previous offense in order to avoid duplicative credit. We agree with the State’s interpretation, and now reverse.

II. SECTION 18-1.3-405, 6 C.R.S. (2002)

Because this ease in large part turns on the interpretation of section 18-1.3^405, we begin our analysis with that statute:

A person who is confined for an offense prior to the imposition of sentence for said offense is entitled to credit against the term of his or her sentence for the entire period of such confinement. At the time of sentencing, the court shall make a finding of the amount of presentence confinement to which the offender is entitled and shall include such finding in the mittimus. Such period of confinement shall be deducted from the sentence by the department of corrections. If a defendant is serving a sentence or is on parole for a previous offense when he or she commits a new offense and he or she continues to serve the sentence for the previous offense while charges on the new offense are pending, the credit given for presentence confinement under this section shall be granted against the sentence the defendant is currently serving for the previous offense and shall not be granted against the sentence for the new offense.

§ 18-1.3-405, 6 C.R.S. (2002) (emphasis added). The last sentence of the statute was added as an amendment in 1988. Ch. 110, sec. 2, § 16-11-306, 1988 Colo. Sess. Laws 663-64. The highlighted language, bringing parolees within the scope of the bill, was added to the proposed amendment by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Comm., 56th Gen. Assemb., 1st Sess., 4:10 p.m. (1988) (testimony of Sen. Cole). The bill as amended by the Senate Judiciary Committee was subsequently adopted by the House without further [343] change. H.B. 88-1156, 56th Gen. Assemb., 1st Sess., 10:26 a.m. (1988). The statute was not amended as a result of the comprehensive changes later made to the criminal sentencing scheme in 1993, nor has it been amended since that time.

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People v. Norton, 63 P.3d 339, 2003 WL 139422 (Colo. 2003).

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