 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Christian4/18/2003
The narrow issue we must decide in this matter is whether a defendant's prior felony conviction for possession of narcotic drugs below the statutory threshold amount can be used as a historical prior felony conviction to enhance the sentence of a subsequent felony offense. The trial court ruled that it could not. The court of appeals, in a split decision, reversed the trial court. Agreeing with the majority of the court of appeals, we hold that a prior conviction for possession of narcotic drugs in an amount below the statutory threshold can be used to enhance the sentence for a subsequent conviction.
Background
In June 2000, James Earl Christian was convicted of theft of a means of transportation, a class three felony. Christian admitted at trial that he had two prior felony convictions. He had been convicted of felony theft committed in June 1995, and of possession of a narcotic drug, a class four felony, committed in March 1999. At Christian's sentencing, the State argued that Christian should be sentenced as a defendant with two historical prior felony convictions under Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") section 13-604(D) (Supp. 1999). Christian argued the drug possession conviction could not be used as a historical prior felony conviction for two reasons.
First, the sentence for that offense had been imposed under A.R.S. section 13-901.01 (Supp. 1998), which requires probation for possession of narcotic drugs for personal use. He contended that the intent of A.R.S. section 13-901.01 - the codification of Proposition 200 - was to prohibit the use of the first two convictions for possession of narcotic drugs to enhance the sentence of a subsequent offense. Second, he argued that his drug conviction was a Chapter 34 offense involving less than the statutory threshold amount of drugs and as such could not be alleged as a historical prior under A.R.S. section 13-604(V)(1)(a)(i). The trial court, finding that "it would be contrary to the intent of the law to treat the prior Proposition 200 felony as a felony for purposes of enhancing this sentence," sentenced Christian as an offender with one historical prior felony conviction.
On appeal, the State argued that the trial court erred as a matter of law in determining that a Proposition 200 prior conviction was not a historical prior felony conviction for sentence enhancement purposes. State v. Christian, 202 Ariz. 462, 463, 1, 47 P.3d 666, 667 (App. 2002). The State also contended that such a prior conviction was a historical prior felony conviction as defined in A.R.S. section 13-604(V)(1).
The court of appeals unanimously agreed that "nothing in the language of A.R.S. § 13-901.01 precludes a conviction under that section from being used as a historical prior felony conviction to enhance punishment of a subsequent offense under A.R.S. § 13-604(V)(1)." Id. at 464, 6, 466, 17-18, 47 P.3d at 668, 670. The majority of the court went on to hold that A.R.S. section 13-604(V)(1) permits a prior felony conviction for possession of drugs below the threshold amount to be used as a historical prior for purposes of sentence enhancement. Id. at 465-66, 13, 47 P.3d at 669-70. Judge Fidel dissented from this part of the decision, contending that the plain language of A.R.S. section 13-604(V)(1)(a)(i) excluded prior felony convictions for drug offenses below the threshold amount from being used to enhance the sentence for a subsequent conviction. Id. at 467, 26, 47 P.3d at 671.
We granted review to decide whether the court of appeals correctly interpreted A.R.S. section 13-604(V)(1). We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution, and A.R.S.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 Arizona DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|