State v. Binford

584 P.2d 67, 120 Ariz. 86, 1978 Ariz. App. LEXIS 578
Court of Appeals of Arizona·Decided July 25, 1978·No. No. 1 CA-CR 2966·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

OPINION

SCHROEDER, Judge.

Appellant, William Charles Binford, following a jury trial, was convicted of second degree burglary and grand theft. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of three to five years on the burglary and three to seven years on the grand theft charge. Appellant’s major contention on appeal is that these convictions are defective because he was constitutionally entitled to a jury consisting of twelve, as opposed to eight, members.

Article 2, § 23 of the Arizona Constitution as well as its statutory counterpart A.R.S. § 21-102(A) provide that juries shall consist of twelve members in criminal trials in which a sentence of death or imprisonment for 30 years or more “is authorized by law.”

Under the information originally filed, a sentence of 30 years or more was not authorized. However, more than twenty days prior to trial, the State moved to amend the appellant’s information in order to add an allegation of a prior conviction. The authorized potential maximum for the crimes charged with a prior conviction was more than 30 years. At the omnibus hearing, the trial judge, with the consent of counsel, took the motion under advisement for consideration after the State had presented its case in chief.

When the trial commenced, a jury of eight was empaneled. On the second day of trial, but prior to the conclusion of the State’s case in chief, a discussion was held in chambers. The transcript shows that this discussion concerned whether the prior conviction, which was fourteen years old, could be used for impeachment purposes if the appellant took the stand. The transcript further shows that the trial court eventually ruled that the conviction could be used for impeachment purposes. The discussion in chambers reflects that neither counsel nor the court considered amendment of the information to allege a prior conviction as a question to be resolved at that time. During the remainder of the trial, there was no further reference to amending the information and after appellant’s conviction, appellant was sentenced as if the information had not been amended. Counsel for the State never pursued any arraignment or proof of the prior conviction for enhancement purposes. At all times during the ’rial and sentencing, both parties and the court treated the case as one in which a prior conviction had not been alleged.

On appeal, however, appellant contends that the information was amended and that he, therefore, should have been tried by a jury of twelve rather than eight.

[88] The basis for appellant’s position that there was an amendment to the information is a minute order entered after the in-chambers discussion described above. That minute order provided as follows:

“IN CHAMBERS: State’s counsel is present. Defense counsel is present. Court reporter: Donna Dailey.
State’s counsel requests ruling on allegation of prior conviction.
IT IS ORDERED sustaining admission of allegation of prior conviction.”

It is not disputed that if appellant was tried on the basis of an amended information, appellant became subject to a possible sentence of more than 30 years and under our constitution and statute, was entitled to a jury of twelve. State v. Madison, 114 Ariz. 221, 560 P.2d 405 (1977); cf. State v. Parker, 22 Ariz.App. 111, 524 P.2d 506 (1974). The State does not argue there was a waiver, which would require knowledge on the part of appellant of the right intentionally relinquished, see State v. Lockett, 107 Ariz. 598, 491 P.2d 452 (1971), and we find none.

The question which appellant asks us to determine is whether the language of the minute order alone effectuated an amendment to the information in the absence of any other indication in the record that the information was amended.

It is true that verity is attributed to minutes, which are said to “speak for themselves,” e. g., State v. Lindsay, 5 Ariz. App. 516, 428 P.2d 691 (1967); State v. Claytor, 3 Ariz.App. 226, 413 P.2d 285 (1966); State v. Anders, 1 Ariz.App. 181, 400 P.2d 852 (1965). Minute entries are, of course, like other writings, subject to construction, and our Court has held that, except in the case of ambiguity, minutes should not be amplified or explained by other portions of the record. State v. Anders, 1 Ariz.App. at 184, 400 P.2d at 855.

In this case the minute entry is capable of being interpreted in two ways. The use of the term “sustaining admission” in the last line of the quoted minute entry supports the State’s contention that the minute entry referred to the admission of the conviction for impeachment purposes. On the other hand, the reference to “allegation of prior conviction” in the next to the last line suggests that the ruling referred to amending the information by alleging a prior conviction. However, the minute order makes no express reference to the information. Under these circumstances, the minute order must be viewed as ambiguous. Other portions of the record, including the transcript and the actual sentence imposed, must be used for guidance in understanding the minute order. Those portions of the record show that the defendant was, in fact, tried and convicted as a first offender, and thus was not entitled to a jury of twelve.

From the record in this case, it is apparent that both parties and the court were operating on the assumption that the trial court could in its discretion have refused to permit the amendment of the information to allege a prior conviction. One day after the jury returned its verdict in this case, our Supreme Court in State v. Birdsall, 116 Ariz. 112, 568 P.2d 419 (1977), held that there was no such discretion with respect to amendments timely filed in accordance with Rule 16.1 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure. If a prosecutor files an allegation of a prior conviction as an amendment to an information, then as we stated in State v. Jones, 581 P.2d 713 (Ct.App.Ariz., filed July 5, 1978), “the court has no discretion in the matter. The decision to amend the information is within the sole discretion of the prosecutor.” Id. at 714. See also State v. Deddens, 579 P.2d 1126 (Ct.App.Ariz., filed May 31, 1978).

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State v. Binford, 584 P.2d 67, 120 Ariz. 86, 1978 Ariz. App. LEXIS 578 (Ark. Ct. App. 1978).

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