State v. McVay

641 P.2d 857, 131 Ariz. 369, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 170
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 4, 1982
Docket4604-2
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 641 P.2d 857 (State v. McVay) 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. McVay, 641 P.2d 857, 131 Ariz. 369, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 170 (Ark. 1982).

Opinion

CAMERON, Justice.

On 2 March 1979, defendant Loris Lee McVay was sentenced to death for first degree murder. This court reversed the conviction on 4 December 1980. State v. McVay, 127 Ariz. 450, 622 P.2d 9 (1980). On remand, defendant pled guilty to first degree murder pursuant to a plea agreement. After denying defendant’s subsequent motion to withdraw his guilty plea, the trial court sentenced defendant to life imprisonment on 10 April 1981. We have jurisdiction of this appeal pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-4031.

Defendant raises the following issues regarding his resentencing:

1. Was it improper to resentence defendant without aid of an updated presentence report?
2. Was the trial court’s failure to advise defendant of his constitutional rights reversible error?
3. Was the failure of the trial court to inform defendant of the range of possible sentences reversible error?
4. Was there an adequate factual basis for the guilty plea?

The facts necessary to a determination of these issues are as follows. On 2 December 1977, defendant took a .22 caliber derringer belonging to a friend and went to the home of the victim, Thomas “Pappy” Pitts. He shot the victim in the head and fled on the victim’s motorcycle. Defendant was apprehended and convicted of first degree murder in violation of former A.R.S. §§ 13 — 451 and 13-452 and sentenced to death under former A.R.S. §§ 13-453(A) and 13-454. While his appeal was pending, he was convicted of dangerous or deadly assault by prisoner in violation of A.R.S. § 13-1206 for which he was sentenced to *371 life imprisonment to be served consecutively to the sentence for which he was imprisoned as provided by statute, A.R.S. § 13-1206. We reversed defendant’s murder conviction and granted him a new trial. See State v. McVay, supra. On 11 March 1981, prior to retrial, defendant entered a plea of guilty to first degree murder. His later motion to withdraw the plea was denied, and on 11 April 1981, defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment.

PRESENTENCE REPORT

Defendant argues that the matter must be remanded for resentencing because he was resentenced without the benefit of an updated presentence report, in violation of Rule 26.4(a), Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S. The rule states:

“26.4. Pre-sentence report
“a. When Prepared. The court shall require a pre-sentence report in all cases in which it has discretion over the penalty to be imposed, * * (emphasis added)

We find no error for two reasons. First, a presentence report was not necessary as one had been prepared prior to the sentencing on 15 February 1979, following defendant’s jury trial conviction. The report, which was some 16 pages long, thoroughly reviewed the crime and investigation, defendant’s prior record, personal history, mental health, and the sentencing recommendations of various individuals. There are no indications of changes in circumstances which would require a new report to be prepared, State v. Blier, 113 Ariz. 501, 557 P.2d 1058 (1976), nor did the attorneys request one. See also Comment to Rule 26.4(a) which states that a presentence report is not required when:

“previous pre-sentence reports make a new one unnecessary, such as where the case is remanded for sentencing or new trial. * * * ”

See also Comment to § 4.1(b), ABA Standards Relating to Sentencing Alternatives and Procedures (Approved Draft, 1968) at 204-207.

Second, Rule 26.4 does not require a pre-sentence report where the court has no discretion in the sentence to be imposed. By the terms of the plea agreement, the defendant was to receive life imprisonment. The court’s only exercise of discretion was to accept or reject the plea agreement. Although ordering an updated presentence report may have been the better practice, once the court accepted the plea agreement, an updated report was unnecessary. The sentence, as a result of the plea agreement, was life regardless of the existence and contents of a later presentence report. We find no error. .

FAILURE TO INFORM DEFENDANT OF HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

Defendant contends that his guilty plea was involuntary for two reasons. First, he contends that the trial court did not specifically inform him of his rights to a jury trial, to confront his accusers, and to not incriminate himself as required by Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 89 S.Ct. 1709, 23 L.Ed.2d 274 (1969).

At the time of the plea, defendant was addressed by the court as to his understanding of the agreement and the plea he was entering. The following transpired:

“THE COURT: I’ve been handed by the prosecutor a document entitled plea agreement. I’m going to hand it to your attorney and have him show it to you, sir. And will you please acknowledge whether or not that is your signature and whether or not those are your initials in the boxed column on the left?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, it is my signature and my initials.
“THE COURT: Have you a copy of this agreement right in front of you?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
“THE COURT: Would you open it up, please, sir, and we’ll review it together. Has your attorney explained this agreement to you?
“DEFENDANT: He has.
“THE COURT: Have you read this agreement?
“DEFENDANT: I have.
“THE COURT: Do you understand it?
*372 “DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
“THE COURT: Do you read and write the English language?
“DEFENDANT: I do.
“THE COURT: Do you see the paragraph that is printed in red?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
“THE COURT: Did you read that?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
“THE COURT: Do you understand that portion of the agreement sets forth your constitutional rights?
“DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.

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Bluebook (online)
641 P.2d 857, 131 Ariz. 369, 1982 Ariz. LEXIS 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mcvay-ariz-1982.