State v. Guerra

2001 NMCA 031, 24 P.3d 334, 130 N.M. 302
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 27, 2001
Docket21,079
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 2001 NMCA 031 (State v. Guerra) 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. Guerra, 2001 NMCA 031, 24 P.3d 334, 130 N.M. 302 (N.M. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

PICKARD, Judge.

{1} This case presents us with the opportunity to clarify the limits on a trial court’s discretion in sentencing a youthful offender as an adult. Defendant, a fourteen-year-old child, entered a plea pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), to second degree murder and tampering with evidence. After finding Defendant non-amenable to rehabilitation in juvenile facilities and ineligible for commitment to an institution pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 32A-2-20 (1996), the trial court imposed an adult sentence. The court then increased Defendant’s basic sentence under NMSA 1978, § 31-18-15.1 (1993), after finding aggravating circumstances.

{2} Defendant raises four issues on appeal: (1) whether the Delinquency Act gives a trial court authority to increase the basic adult sentence for aggravating circumstances as applied to a youthful offender pursuant to Section 32A-2-20; (2) whether the aggravation of Defendant’s sentence under Section 31-18-15.1 after a finding of non-amenability under Section 32A-2-20 violates the constitutional protections against double jeopardy; (3) whether an increase in a basic sentence under Section 31-18-15.1 is unconstitutional under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), unless the findings of aggravating circumstances are made by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt; and (4) whether the imposition of an adult sentence under Section 32A-2-20 is imposition of an increased sentence and unconstitutional under Apprendi, unless the findings required by Subsection 32A-2-20(B) are made by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

{3} We hold that the maximum sentence that may be imposed upon a youthful offender convicted of a non-capital felony is the basic sentence prescribed by NMSA 1978, Section 31-18-15 (1999) plus any enhancements specifically made applicable to .youthful offenders by the Legislature. See NMSA 1978, §§ 31-18-16, 31-18-16.1 (1993). It is therefore unnecessary for us to address Defendant’s second and third issues. We recently decided Defendant’s fourth issue in State v. Gonzales, 2001-NMCA-025, 130 N.M. 341, 24 P.3d 776, in which we held that Apprendi does not apply to Section 32A-2-20, and Gonzales is dispositive. We therefore reverse and remand for resentencing.

Facts and Procedural History

{4} On August 14, 1998, Defendant was involved in a fight with several other juvenile girls and two adult males. During the altercation, Defendant fatally stabbed Victim, a thirteen-year-old girl. After leaving the scene, Defendant showered and hid the knife used to kill Victim as well as the shirt Defendant had been wearing during the attack. At the time of the murder, Defendant was fourteen years old.

{5} Defendant was charged with an open count of murder and two counts of tampering with evidence. The State filed a notice of intent to invoke adult sanctions as required by Subsection 32A-2-20(A), and a notice of intent to seek an aggravation of any adult sentence under Section 31-18-15.1. Pursuant to Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162, Defendant entered a plea to one count of second degree murder, contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-2-KB) (1994), and one count of tampering with evidence, contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-22-5 (1963). At the dispositional hearing, the trial court found that Defendant was neither amenable to treatment or rehabilitation as a child in available facilities nor eligible for commitment to an institution for the developmentally disabled or mentally disordered. See § 32A-2-20(B). The court then sentenced Defendant to the basic fifteen-year sentence for a second degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, see § 31-18-15(A)(2), plus five years for aggravating circumstances under Section 31-18-15.1, for a total of twenty years’ imprisonment. The court sentenced Defendant to the basic eighteen-month sentence for the fourth degree felony of tampering with evidence. See § 31-18-15(A)(6).

Discussion

{6} The issue before us is whether the trial court had the authority to aggravate Defendant’s sentence under Section 31-18-15.1. Because a trial court’s power to sentence is derived exclusively from statute, see State v. Martinez, 1998-NMSC-023, ¶ 12, 126 N.M. 39, 966 P.2d 747, resolution of this issue requires us to interpret provisions of the Delinquency Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 32A-2-1 through -33 (1993, as amended through 1996), and the Criminal Sentencing Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 31-18-12 through -26 (1977, as amended through 1999). Issues of statutory construction and interpretation are questions of law and are reviewed de novo. See State v. Herbstman, 1999-NMCA-014, ¶ 16, 126 N.M. 683, 974 P.2d 177; State v. Adam M., 1998-NMCA-014, ¶ 15, 124 N.M. 505, 953 P.2d 40.

{7} Our primary goal in interpreting statutes is to give effect to the Legislature’s intent. See Martinez, 126 N.M. 39, 966 P.2d 747, 1998-NMSC-023, ¶8. When possible, we give effect to the clear and unambiguous language of a statute. See State v. Adam M., 2000-NMCA-049, ¶ 5, 129 N.M. 146, 2 P.3d 883. We read the provisions of a statute “together with statutes pertaining to the same subject and seek to achieve a harmonious result.” State v. Lopez, 2000-NMCA-001, ¶ 5, 128 N.M. 450, 993 P.2d 767; see also Key v. Chrysler Motors Corp., 121 N.M. 764, 769, 918 P.2d 350, 355 (1996).

{8} The Children’s Code defines a youthful offender as (1) a child fourteen to eighteen years of age who has been adjudicated guilty of any one of twélve enumerated violent felonies or guilty of any felony and who has had three prior, separate felony adjudications within the three-year period immediately preceding the instant offense, or (2) a fourteen-year-old child who is adjudicated guilty of first degree murder. See § 32A-2-3(I); see also § 31-18-15.2(B) (providing identical definition of “youthful offender” within Criminal Sentencing Act). Under Section 32A-2-20(B)(1) and (2) of the Children’s Code, a court has the discretion to sentence a youthful offender as an adult only if it finds that “the child is not amenable to treatment or rehabilitation as a child in available facilities,” and “the child is not eligible for commitment to an institution for the developmentally disabled or mentally disordered.” If the court makes these findings, it may impose either juvenile or adult sanctions. See § 32A-2-20(A). Section 32A-2-20(D) provides that:

If the court invokes an adult sentence, the court may sentence the child to less than, but shall not exceed, the mandatory adult sentence. A youthful offender given an adult sentence shall be treated as an adult offender and shall be transferred to the legal custody of an agency responsible for incarceration of persons sentenced to adult sentences. This transfer terminates the jurisdiction of the [children’s] court over the child with respect to the delinquent acts alleged in the petition.

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Bluebook (online)
2001 NMCA 031, 24 P.3d 334, 130 N.M. 302, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-guerra-nmctapp-2001.