State v. Lukens

729 P.2d 306, 151 Ariz. 502, 1986 Ariz. LEXIS 299
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 20, 1986
DocketCR-86-0180-PR
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 729 P.2d 306 (State v. Lukens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Lukens, 729 P.2d 306, 151 Ariz. 502, 1986 Ariz. LEXIS 299 (Ark. 1986).

Opinion

GORDON, Vice Chief Justice.

Appellant Cindy Lee Lukens was an accomplice in a December 1984 burglary and theft of a coin collection, jewelry, cable television converter, and various food, liquor, and other miscellaneous items. Lukens personally benefitted $100 from the burglary and theft. She was charged with committing second degree burglary in violation of A.R.S. §§ 13-1507, -1501, -701, -702, -801, and -604.01, and theft in violation of A.R.S. §§ 13-1802, -1801, -701, -702, -801, and -604.01. Both counts were class three felonies.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, appellant pled guilty to a reduced charge of theft of property or services with a value of one hundred dollars or more but less than two hundred fifty dollars. See A.R.S. § 13-1802(C). In exchange, the state dismissed the burglary charge. The trial court found appellant guilty, and pursuant to the plea agreement, placed her on probation for three years. Her probation was conditioned on her making restitution of $9,132.65 to the victim by paying $50.00 per month for twelve months, $100.00 per month over the following seventeen months, and a balloon payment of the remaining balance due May 30, 1988.

Appellant contended that imposing restitution of $9,132.65 contradicted terms of the plea agreement. She also argued that the trial court failed to consider her economic circumstances before imposing resti *503 tution. The court of appeals disagreed with appellant’s arguments and affirmed the trial court’s decision.

Pursuant to 17 A.R.S. Rules of Crim. Proc., Rule 31.19, we granted appellant’s petition for review of the following two issues:

I. In the absence of an express consent to such restitution, was it an abuse of discretion for the trial court to order restitution in an amount exceeding $9,000 on a class six felony theft plea?
II. When ordering the amount of restitution, must the trial court consider economic circumstances of the convicted person?

AMOUNT OF RESTITUTION

In State v. Cutler, 121 Ariz. 328, 590 P.2d 444 (1979), we said:

A plea of guilty is more than a confession, it is itself a conviction[,] and must, therefore, be in “every respect voluntary.” A judge may not accept a defendant’s plea without first ascertaining that it is voluntary and intelligently made. Because a defendant waives certain constitutionally protected rights by pleading guilty, the plea itself must be tantamount to a voluntary and intelligently made waiver of those rights, or it is invalid under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
For a plea to be intelligently made, a defendant must thoroughly understand its consequences. Moreover, in order for a plea to be deemed voluntary, the defendant must be aware, of its ramifications and must be apprised of the range of sentence that he could face and of the rights he will forfeit. Therefore, if the defendant does not have a proper understanding of what can happen as a result of his plea, it is not voluntarily made and is void.

Id. at 329-30, 590 P.2d at 445-46 (emphasis in original; citations omitted).

From our review of applicable statutes and the record, we cannot conclude that appellant voluntarily and intelligently agreed to pay restitution of $9,132.65. The plea agreement states: “Restitution of economic loss to the victim ... will be required.....The parties stipulate to the following additional terms: ... Probation with all terms and conditions left up to the court.” A.R.S. § 13-603(C) provides: “If a person is convicted of an offense, the court shall require the convicted person to make restitution ... in the full amount of the economic loss as determined by the court____” 1 Appellant thus should have been aware that she would be required to pay restitution. However, she could reasonably, though perhaps erroneously, have assumed that the “economic loss” would be limited to $249, the statutory cap on the only crime to which she pled guilty and was convicted. The only mention of restitution in a higher amount was in the presentencing report, which recommended that appellant “pay restitution in the total amount of $9,132.65 per the attached ledger sheet.” Yet, in discussing possible sentences at the Change of Plea Proceeding, the trial judge said:

THE COURT: Now, being a Class 6 felony, the offense carries a presumptive sentence of one and one-half years with the Department of Corrections.
The Court [could] sentence you to a minimum sentence of nine months with the Department of Corrections or a maximum sentence of 1.875 years with the Department of Corrections. In addition, the Court could fine you up to $150,000 plus a 37-percent surcharge. Or being a non-dangerous offense, the Court could place you on probation under the terms and conditions, which could include one year in the Maricopa jail.
That is the range of sentencing available to the Court by reason of your plea. Is that clear to you?
*504 DEFENDANT LUKENS: Yes.
Thus, despite the recommendation in the presentence report, the trial judge did not include restitution for any amount in “the range of sentencing available to the Court.” Appellant could reasonably have concluded that no restitution, much less $9,132.65, would be ordered.
The court of appeals, relying on State v. Pleasant, 145 Ariz. 307, 701 P.2d 15 (App. 1985), held that Lukens could properly be ordered to pay restitution of $9,132.65 because she admitted during the change of plea proceeding that she was an accomplice to a burglary and theft for which restitution of $9,132.65 could properly be ordered. It quoted the following discussion from the Change of Plea Proceeding:
THE COURT: We will need a factual basis for your plea. What did you do that brings about your plea of guilty to the charge of Theft in Count II? What was your conduct?
DEFENDANT LUKENS: We entered a house.
THE COURT: Who is “we”?
DEFENDANT LUKENS: Myself and three other people.
THE COURT: And what happened?
DEFENDANT LUKENS: And we
just — we didn’t stay there very long. We left. They went back later, and we waited for them, and they took a bunch of things.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
729 P.2d 306, 151 Ariz. 502, 1986 Ariz. LEXIS 299, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lukens-ariz-1986.