State v. Clah

1997 NMCA 091, 946 P.2d 210, 124 N.M. 6
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 4, 1997
Docket17222
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 1997 NMCA 091 (State v. Clah) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Clah, 1997 NMCA 091, 946 P.2d 210, 124 N.M. 6 (N.M. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

BUSTAMANTE, Judge.

1.In this case we address whether: (1) presentenee confinement credit against a felony DWI jail sentence may be given for time spent in an inpatient alcohol treatment program; and (2) credit may be allowed for time to be spent after sentencing in an inpatient post-traumatic stress disorder treatment program. We reverse the presentenee credit allowed by the trial court and affirm as to suspension of Defendant’s sentence conditioned upon attendance at the treatment facility.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

2. Defendant Chester Clah (Defendant) was arrested on May 27, 1995 and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol for the fourth time, a fourth degree felony offense under NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-102(G) (Repl.Pamp.1994). Defendant was released from custody on his own recognizance on June 9, 1995 pending trial. On August 7, 1995 Defendant voluntarily entered the Gallup Veterans Transition Center Substance Abuse Treatment Program on an inpatient basis. He was released from the program on August 29, 1995, apparently in accordance with the admission plan.

3. On October 17, 1995 the Defendant pleaded guilty to the felony DWI offense with which he was originally charged. The trial court ordered a presentence report and scheduled sentencing for December 11, 1995. On December 11, the trial court entered a Commitment Order requiring Defendant to commence serving his term of imprisonment in the San Juan County Detention Center on December 27, 1995. Defendant appeared as ordered and started serving his sentence on December 27. The trial court did not enter a formal judgment and sentence until February 6,1996.

4. Prior to entry of the formal order of judgment and sentence, Defendant filed a motion seeking a temporary release from jail in order to allow him to attend a specialized inpatient post-traumatic stress unit at a veteran’s hospital in Denver, Colorado. The trial court granted the motion, releasing Defendant on his own recognizance to enroll in the program. The order, entered January 10,1996, required Defendant to return to the San Juan County Detention Center within twelve hours of his release from the hospital. The trial court retained the discretion to modify the order at any time, and provided that “if Defendant does not follow the conditions of this Order, Defendant may be rearrested.”

5. The order of judgment and sentence entered on February 6, 1996, sentenced Defendant to the New Mexico Department of Corrections for a period of eighteen months but suspended a portion and required Defendant to serve 364 days in the San Juan County Detention Center, followed by a twelve month supervised probation. In addition, the judgment and sentence gave Defendant “credit” for jail time as follows:

1. Twenty-One (21) days for previous time served in the San Juan County Detention Center for said crime;
2. Twenty-Three (23) days for time spent at Gallup Veterans’ Transition Center Substance Abuse Inpatient Treatment Program; and
3. Time Defendant will spend in the Specialized Inpatient Post-Traumatic Stress Unit at the Denver Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center commencing January 16, 1996.

6. Finally, the Order authorized work release for Defendant, presumably pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 33-3-24 (Repl. Pamp.1990). The State challenges only the grant of credit for the presentence and post-sentence time spent in the inpatient treatment programs.

PRESENTENCE CREDIT

7. The State argues vigorously that the trial court mistakenly treated the screening and treatment provisions of Section 66-8-102(H) as alternative sentencing options in lieu of the jail term required by Section 66-8-102(G). The State’s position is that the mandatory jail term of Section 66-8-102(G) may not be decreased by participation in the discretionary rehabilitation scheme envisioned by Section 66-8-102(H). In addition, the State argues that the inpatient treatment program Defendant attended is simply not sufficiently jail-like to be deemed incarceration within the meaning of Section 66-8-102(G).

8. Defendant responds by analogizing Defendant’s inpatient treatment to a hospital stay, asserting that New Mexico “gives credit for time spent in the state hospital, and in hospitals, so long as it has been ordered by the court” citing State v. La Badie, 87 N.M. 391, 534 P.2d 488 (Ct.App.1975) and State v. Watchman, 111 N.M. 727, 809 P.2d 641 (Ct. App.1991), overruled on other grounds as recognized in State v. Hosteen, 122 N.M. 228, 232, 923 P.2d 595, 599 (Ct.App.1996), cert. granted, 122 N.M. 227, 923 P.2d 594 (1996). We resolve the issue in favor of the State.

9. We start our analysis with NMSA 1978, Section 31-20-12 (Repl.Pamp.1994), New Mexico’s felony presentence confinement credit statute (curiously ignored by the parties) which provides: “A person held in official confinement on suspicion or charges of the commission of a felony shall, upon conviction of that or a lesser included offense, be given credit for the period spent in presentence confinement against any sentence finally imposed for that offense.” The statute mandates that Defendant be given credit for any time he is held in “official confinement” prior to conviction and sentence. The basic question then is whether the inpatient treatment time qualifies as “official confinement.”

10. This question cannot be answered by looking solely at the DWI statute. Recent amendments to New Mexico’s DWI laws signal a clear intent by the legislature to stiffen penalties for DWI offenses, including increased sentences and mandatory jail time. For example, Section 66-8-102(G) elevated the level of the crime to a felony for fourth and subsequent offenses, increased minimum punishment to a jail term of not less than six months and provided that this mandatory term may “not be suspended or deferred or taken under advisement.” By< limiting suspension and deferral of sentence, the legislature significantly curtailed judicial discretion in sentencing otherwise generally available under NMSA 1978, Section 31-20-3 (Repl. Pamp.1994). In addition, the legislature recently eliminated good time accrual for the mandatory portion of a sentence imposed pursuant to the provisions of Section 66-8-102. NMSA 1978, § 33-3-9(B) (Cum.Supp. 1996). However, none of these amendments dealt specifically with the application of presentence confinement credit under Section 31-20-12 to DWÍ felony offenses.

11. Section 31-20-12 was enacted in 1967 and has been in effect since then without alteration. We assume the legislature is aware of existing law when it undertakes to amend its own statutes. See Quintana v. New Mexico Dep’t of Corrections, 100 N.M. 224, 227, 668 P.2d 1101, 1104 (1983). As already noted, Section 31-20-12 requires that credit be given for time spent in official confinement.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1997 NMCA 091, 946 P.2d 210, 124 N.M. 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-clah-nmctapp-1997.