State v. Handa

897 P.2d 225, 120 N.M. 38
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 12, 1995
Docket15541
StatusPublished
Cited by75 cases

This text of 897 P.2d 225 (State v. Handa) 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. Handa, 897 P.2d 225, 120 N.M. 38 (N.M. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

OPINION

FLORES, Judge.

Defendant appeals his conviction and sentence for two counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm; and one count of being a habitual offender. Defendant raises five issues on appeal: (1) whether Defendant’s guilty plea bars him from raising his double jeopardy claims on appeal; (2) whether Defendant’s conviction for two counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer was in violation of Defendant’s double jeopardy rights in that Defendant’s acts constituted a single offense; (3) whether the trial court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate and sentence Defendant as a habitual offender because no criminal information charging him as a habitual offender was made part of the record; (4) whether the use of Defendant’s conditional discharge was improper because it did not constitute a prior conviction at the time Defendant was sentenced; and (5) whether using Defendant’s prior conditional discharge to prove both the crime of felon in possession of a firearm and his status as a habitual offender violated Defendant’s double jeopardy rights.

With regard to the first issue, we hold that Defendant is not barred from raising his double jeopardy claim on appeal and address the issue on the merits. We reverse on the second issue, and hold that two convictions and punishments for assault violated Defendant’s double jeopardy rights. We reject Defendant’s arguments on the third issue, and hold that the criminal information charging Defendant as a habitual offender was made part of the record. As to the fourth issue, we also reject Defendant’s argument. We cannot allow Defendant to profit from breaching his agreement with the trial court that he would agree to the use of his prior conditional discharge for sentencing purposes and would not raise that issue on appeal. Finally, since we determine that the use of Defendant’s conditional discharge was proper under the facts and circumstances of this case, we address issue five and hold that the use of Defendant’s conditional discharge to convict him of felon in possession of a firearm and to enhance his sentence for assault on a peace officer did not violate double jeopardy.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On March 8, 1990, State Police Officer Fred Laird stopped Defendant near La Ciénega, New Mexico, because Defendant’s vehicle had broken lights. Defendant was in the driver’s seat and there was one passenger in the vehicle. Officer Laird approached the vehicle, obtained Defendant’s license, and returned to his patrol car to do a computer check. The computer check revealed an outstanding warrant for Defendant on a probation violation. Officer Laird returned to Defendant’s vehicle and informed Defendant that he was placing him under arrest. Defendant pointed a gun at Officer Laird and fired three shots.

Defendant was indicted on three counts of attempt to commit a felony, to wit: first degree murder, or in the alternative, assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer. Defendant was also indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant filed a motion to strike Counts II and III of the indictment, alleging that the State was violating Defendant’s double jeopardy rights by charging him with three counts of attempted first degree murder, or in the alternative, assault with the intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer. Defendant argued that the act of firing three successive shots at Officer Laird constituted a single offense, whether of attempted murder or assault. The trial court denied the motion to strike.

Thereafter, pursuant to a written plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer (Counts I and II of the indictment), one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, and one count of being a habitual offender. One count of assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer (Count III), was dismissed.

On December 10, 1990, Defendant filed a sentencing memorandum raising the same double jeopardy claim previously addressed in Defendant’s motion to strike. At his sentencing hearing, on December 12, 1990, Defendant again raised the double jeopardy issue. The trial court again considered the issue, rejected it, and sentenced Defendant to a total of twenty years.

Following entry of the trial court’s judgment and sentence, Defendant’s counsel failed to file a timely appeal. Thereafter, the public defender’s office appealed the case on behalf of Defendant. This Court, by memorandum opinion, dismissed Defendant’s appeal because the notice of appeal was untimely. State v. Handa, No. 13,174 (N.M.Ct.App. July 10,1992), cert. denied, 114 N.M. 123, 835 P.2d 839 (1992). Defendant then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus with the First Judicial District Court, requesting that the court vacate the judgment and sentence and enter a new judgment and sentence either (1) sentencing Defendant to no more than one statutory term for assault with intent to commit a violent felony against Officer Laird, or (2) allowing Defendant to file a timely appeal. The court granted the writ on the ground that Defendant had been denied his constitutional right to appeal and resenteneed Defendant, thus, giving Defendant an opportunity to file a timely appeal. During the habeas corpus hearing, Defendant raised an additional double jeopardy claim, contending that the State had used the same prior felony to prove both the crime of felon in possession of a firearm and his status as a habitual offender. The court rejected the argument and resentenced Defendant to the same twenty-year sentence previously imposed. Defendant appealed.

DISCUSSION

I. Right of Appeal

We first address the State’s argument that we are precluded from reaching the merits of Defendant’s double jeopardy claim. Relying on United States v. Broce, 488 U.S. 563, 109 S.Ct. 757, 102 L.Ed.2d 927 (1989), the State argues that by pleading guilty to two counts of assault on a peace officer, Defendant is barred from asserting his double jeopardy claims on appeal. We disagree, and rely on State v. Jackson, 116 N.M. 130, 860 P.2d 772 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 115 N.M. 795, 858 P.2d 1274 (1993), where we applied the exception adopted in Broce and New Mexico’s anti-waiver statute. 1 Id. at 132-33, 860 P.2d at 774-75.

The general rule is that a guilty plea waives a Defendant’s right to appeal. See State v. Ball, 104 N.M. 176, 184, 718 P.2d 686, 694 (1986); Baird v. State, 90 N.M. 667, 670, 568 P.2d 193, 196 (1977). Here, the State contends that Defendant signed a plea and disposition agreement which contained a standard waiver provision, without reserving his right to appeal. See Baird, 90 N.M. at 670, 568 P.2d at 196. However, we hold that under Jackson, we may address the merits of Defendant’s double jeopardy claims.

Before turning to Jackson, we address the State’s request to apply State v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
897 P.2d 225, 120 N.M. 38, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-handa-nmctapp-1995.