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State v. Ofstedahl7/27/2004
Pursuant to a plea agreement, petitioner Virginia Louise Ofstedahl pled guilty to four counts of aggravated driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI) while her license was suspended or revoked and two counts of endangerment. The trial court imposed a combination of concurrent and consecutive, aggravated sentences totaling fifteen years. Ofstedahl sought to have that plea agreement vacated and the original charges reinstated in a petition for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Rule 32, *1123 Ariz. R.Crim. P., 17 A.R.S., arguing that permitting some of the six counts to be used as historical prior convictions to enhance her sentences under A.R.S. § 13-604 on other counts covered by the plea agreement was contrary to State v. Thompson, 200 Ariz. 439, 27 P.3d 796 (2001). This petition for review follows the trial court's denial of the petition. Finding that the trial court abused its discretion in so ruling, see State v. Watton, 164 Ariz. 323, 325, 793 P.2d 80, 82 (1990), we grant review and relief.
BACKGROUND
2 The charges against Ofstedahl arose from four separate incidents, two in July 2001 and two in November 2001, in which she had been arrested for DUI. Ofstedahl and the state attempted to resolve the four resulting criminal prosecutions in a single plea agreement. The agreement provided that Ofstedahl would plead guilty to all of the charged offenses. Citing § 13-604, the agreement further provided that the first aggravated DUI offense, committed on July 4, would be used as an historical prior felony conviction to the offenses of aggravated DUI and endangerment committed on November 6. It further provided that both the July 4 offense and the second aggravated DUI committed on July 16 would be used as historical prior felony convictions for the subsequent offenses of aggravated DUI and endangerment committed on November 11. Ofstedahl pled guilty and provided a factual basis for all counts at one hearing on January 18, 2002, and the trial court accepted the pleas at that time. On February 28, 2002, the trial court rendered judgment and imposed sentence on all counts, enhancing four of the sentences with prior convictions as provided for in the plea agreement.
3 Ofstedahl subsequently filed her petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that her first two convictions could not, as a matter of law pursuant to Thompson, serve as historical prior convictions to enhance her sentences for other convictions entered at the same time. As a result, she argued, there could not have been a valid factual basis for the prior convictions. She thus asked that her pleas be vacated and the original charges reinstated. The state did not oppose the request, but cautioned that Ofstedahl would likely face trial and the possibility of considerably more prison time if her pleas were vacated. In her reply, Ofstedahl confirmed the relief she was seeking.
DISCUSSION
4 Ofstedahl's argument is based on an accurate reading of Thompson. There, our supreme court construed the phrase "historical prior conviction" in § 13-604(V) to mean that "the conviction on the prior offense must precede the conviction on the present offense." Thompson, 200 Ariz. at 441, 6, 27 P.3d at 798. The court also noted that "[o]ne is convicted when there has been a determination of guilt by verdict, finding, or the acceptance of a plea." Id. 7. The court further explained that enhancement under § 13-604 is not possible "when felonies are tried together." Id. 9. In this context, we can discern no meaningful distinction between convictions based on jury verdicts rendered at a single trial for multiple felonies and convictions resulting from the trial court's acceptance of guilty pleas to multiple felonies at the same hearing. Because the trial cour
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