Robert Owen Marshall, III

2014 WY 168, 340 P.3d 283, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 191, 2014 WL 7274380
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 23, 2014
DocketS-14-0073
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2014 WY 168 (Robert Owen Marshall, III) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robert Owen Marshall, III, 2014 WY 168, 340 P.3d 283, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 191, 2014 WL 7274380 (Wyo. 2014).

Opinion

KITE, Justice.

[11] Robert Owen Marshall, III pleaded guilty to a third or subsequent offense of possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony, and misdemeanor driving while under the influence. On appeal, he claims the district court erred by ordering him to receive and pay for a substance abuse assessment and by relying on the assessment at sentencing to determine he was a qualified offender and recommend he receive substance abuse treatment while incarcerated.

[12] We affirm.

ISSUE

[18] We restate Mr. Marshall's appellate issue as:

Did the district court act in excess of its statutory authority when it ordered Mr. Marshall to undergo and pay for a substance abuse assessment and then used the results to determine that he was a "qualified offender" and in need of substance abuse treatment?
The State presents a similar issue.

FACTS

[14] Mr. Marshall pleaded guilty to a third or subsequent offense of possession of a controlled substance, which was a felony under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § (LexisNexis 2013), 1 and misdemeanor driving while under the influence in violation of Wyo. Stat, Ann. § 31-5-2883(b)(iii) (Lexis-Nexis 2013) 2 After accepting Mr. Marshall's guilty pleas, the district court ordered a presentence investigation (PSI), including a substance abuse assessment under the Addicted Offender Accountability Act (AOAA), Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 7-18-1801 through 1804 (LexisNexis 2018). The substance abuse assessment recommended that Mr. Marshall receive clinically managed high intensity residential treatment for substance abuse.

[15] The district court considered the substance abuse assessment, together with Mr. Marshall's long history of substance abuse violations documented in the PSI, before imposing sentence. The district court found Mr. Marshall to be a "qualified offender" under the AOAA and ordered him to serve a term of incarceration of two to four years with the recommendation that he sue-cessfully complete substance abuse treatment while in prison through the Intensive Treatment Unit (TTU) or a comparable program. He was also ordered to pay $75.00 for the substance abuse assessment. Mr. Marshall filed a timely notice of appeal.

DISCUSSION

[T6] The primary question in this case is whether the district court had the statutory authority to order Mr. Marshall to receive and pay for a substance abuse assessment. That question is a matter of statutory interpretation which is subject to de novo review. Coleman v. State, 2005 WY 69, ¶ 11, 115 P.3d 411, 414 (Wyo.2005).

In interpreting statutes, we primarily determine the legislature's intent. If *286 the language is sufficiently clear, we do not resort to rules of construction. We apply our general rule that we look to the ordinary and obvious meaning of a statute when the language is unambiguous." We construe together all parts of the statutes in pari materia, and, in ascertaining the meaning of a given law, we consider and construe in harmony all statiites relating to the same subject or having the same general purpose.
When the language is not clear or is ambiguous, the court must look to the mischief the statute was intended to cure, the historical setting surrounding its enactment, the public policy of the state, the conclusions of law, and other prior and contemporaneous facts and cireumstances, making use of the accepted rules of construction to ascertain a legislative intent that is reasonable and consistent.
Merrill v. Jansma, 2004 WY 26, ¶ 28, 86 P.3d 270, 284-85 (Wyo.2004) (citations omitted).

Stanton v. State, 2006 WY 31, ¶ 12, 130 P.3d 486, 491 (Wyo.2006). See also Daves v. State, 2011 WY 47, ¶ 15, 249 P.3d 250, 256 (Wyo.2011).

[17] The AOAA provides district courts with the means of identifying a defendant's drug or alcohol problems and crafting a sentence to fit the circumstances. Janpol v. State, 2008 WY 21, ¶ 20, 178 P.3d 396, 408 (Wyo.2008); (Greene v. State, 2009 WY 99, ¶ 18, 214 P.3d 222, 227 (Wyo.2009). To that end, the act requires that any defendant convicted of a felony receive a substance abuse assessment. Section 7-183-1302. See also Doherty v. State, 2006 WY 39, ¶ 31, n. 2, 131 P.3d 963, 972, n. 2 (Wyo.2006). Based upon the results of the substance abuse assessment, the district court may declare the defendant to be a "qualified offender," which is defined as "a person convicted of a felony whom the court finds has a need for alcohol or other drug treatment." Section 7-13-1301(a)(iv).

[18] Onee a defendant is found to be a qualified offender, the district court has authority under the AOAA and relevant criminal statutes to order treatment for substance abuse while the defendant is incarcerated or to sentence him to probation or a suspended sentence and require treatment as a condition of release. Section 7-13-1808. See also Gomez v. State, 2018 WY 184, ¶ 7, 311 P.3d 621, 623 (Wyo.2013); Duke v. State, 2009 WY 74, ¶¶ 33-85, 209 P.3d 563, 573-74 (Wyo.2009).

[19] The district court ordered Mr. Marshall to receive a substance abuse assessment in accordance with § 7-13-18302;

All persons convicted of a third misdemeanor under W.S. 81-5-233(e) or a felony shall receive, as a part of a presentence report, a substance abuse assessment. The cost of the substance abuse assessment shall be assessed to and paid by the offender. A person who has undergone a substance abuse assessment pursuant to W.S. 31-5-233(e) may receive a second assessment under this section if the court finds that enough time has passed to make the first assessment inaccurate.

(Emphasis added.)

[110] Mr. Marshall does not assert that the district court failed to advise him of the consequences associated with the AOAA. See generally Sena v. State, 2010 WY 93, 233 P.3d 993 (Wyo.2010) (discussing advisements required by W.R.Cr.P. 11 in light of the AOAA). In fact, the district court advised Mr. Marshall at his arraignment that, if he pleaded guilty, he could be ordered to be evaluated for substance abuse and required to pay the fee associated with the assessment. Mr. Marshall agreed that the earlier advisements were incorporated by reference into his change of plea hearing.

[111] Mr. Marshall claims, however, that the district court did not have the authority to order the substance abuse assessment because he was not "convicted" of a felony under the AOAA. He refers us to the definition of "convicted" in § 7-183-1801(a)(iii):

(ii) "Convicted" means an unvacated determination of guilt by any court having legal jurisdiction of the offense and from which no appeal is pending and includes pleas of guilty and nolo contendere. For purposes of W.S. 7-13-1802 only, "eonviet-ed" shall include dispositions pursuant to *287 W.S. 7-18-801, 7-18-802(a), 85-7-1087 or deferred prosecutions when ordered. Otherwise, for purposes of this act, "convicted" shall not include dispositions pursuant to W.S. 7-18-301, 7-18-802(a), 85-7-1087 or deferred prosecutions(.]

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2014 WY 168, 340 P.3d 283, 2014 Wyo. LEXIS 191, 2014 WL 7274380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robert-owen-marshall-iii-wyo-2014.