Opinion ID: 1420177
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Presentence Investigation and Report

Text: The Appellant's motion for a presentence investigation and report was based upon Rule 32(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure, which provides in part: (b) Presentence Investigation and Report.  (1) When Made.The probation officer shall make a presentence investigation and submit a report to the court before the sentence is imposed, unless: (A) the defendant waives a presentence investigation and report; (B) the court finds that the information in the record enables it to meaningfully exercise its sentencing authority; and (C) the court explains on the record its finding that the information in the record enables it to meaningfully exercise its sentencing authority. W. Va. R.Crim. P. Rule 32(b)(1) (as amended, effective Jan. 1, 1996). The Appellant argued before the circuit court that the use of and in subsection (b)(1) requires that all three conditions(A), (B), and (C)must be met before a court may dispense with a presentence investigation and report. Rejecting a conjunctive interpretation of Rule 32(b), the circuit judge stated that: The three conditions requiring the presentence investigation report or not requiring [the report] is when the defendant waives it, which he is not doing; or when the Court finds the information in the record enables it to make a meaningful exercise of its sentencing authority; and the Court explains on its record the information in the record enabling it to meaningfully exercise its sentencing authority. (emphasis added). Having so interpreted Rule 32(b), the circuit court denied the Appellant's motion, finding that since a conviction for third-offense ... [DUI] requires ... a mandatory sentence of incarceration in the penitentiary .... the mandatory sentence requirement as imposed upon the Court enables it to make an effective sentence ... without the ... presentence investigation report. In the sentencing order, the circuit court again addressed the issue, stating: The Court ... finds that a pre-sentence investigation report is not mandatory or necessary in this matter. In considering the propriety of the circuit court's decision to forego a presentence investigation and report, we must decide the proper interpretation of Rule 32(b). The Appellant adheres to the position that all three elements delineated in the rule must be present in order to circumvent the requirement of a presentence investigation and report. Like the circuit court, we disagree and hold that Rule 32 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure requires that a presentence investigation be made by the probation officer and a presentence report submitted to the trial court before sentence is imposed on a criminal defendant, unless the defendant waives a presentence investigation and report, or the court finds that the information in the record enables it to meaningfully exercise its sentencing authority, and the court explains on the record its finding that the information in the record enables it to meaningfully exercise its sentencing authority. Rule 32 was amended to its present form by operation of an order of this Court, which was entered on November 15, 1995, and became effective on January 1, 1996. Prior to the amendment, the relevant language was embodied in subsection (c) of Rule 32, which stated: The probation service of the court shall make a presentence investigation and report to the court before the imposition of sentence ... unless, with the permission of the court, the defendant waives a presentence investigation and report, or the court finds that there is in the record information sufficient to enable the meaningful exercise of sentencing discretion, and the court explains this finding on the record. W. Va. R.Crim. P. Rule 32(c)(1) (as amended, effective Feb. 1, 1985) (emphasis added). Our interpretation of Rule 32(b) takes into account the amendment, which we find to be purely stylistic, and also recognizes that there are instances when, irrespective of a defendant's wishes, a presentence investigation and report are simply not needed for sentencing. In State ex rel. Harless v. Bordenkircher, 173 W.Va. 384, 315 S.E.2d 643 (1984), decided under former Rule 32(c), we found no error in the trial judge's decision to dispense with a presentence report and rely on his own knowledge of the defendant's background in imposing sentence. We observed in Bordenkircher that [i]n cases ... where the trial court is familiar with the defendant, it may be that the court has personal knowledge about much of the information that would be included in a presentence report and indeed, does not require a report as a sentencing aid. Id. at 386, 315 S.E.2d at 645. In addition, there would obviously be no need for a presentence investigation and report where a defendant is ineligible for probation under West Virginia Code § 62-12-2 (Supp.1999). In the instant case, Mr. Bruffey did not waive, but instead explicitly requested, a presentence investigation and report. Under our holding, this request alone did not require a presentence investigation and report. As we noted earlier, however, the circuit court's refusal to order a presentence investigation and report was premised on its legal conclusion that a conviction for third-offense DUI carries a mandatory penitentiary sentence. This is incorrect. Although the sentencing statutes applicable upon conviction of third offense DUI and driving on revoked license for DUI do not provide for probation, they do provide that home detention may be used as an alternative sentence. W. Va.Code § 17C-5-2 (p) (1996); [3] W. Va.Code § 17B-4-3 (e) (1996). [4] Thus, imposition of a prison sentence for third-offense DUI is not mandatory. Because the circuit court's decision to dispense with a presentence investigation and report was based upon a misapprehension of the relevant sentencing statutes, we reverse and remand for a determination of whether a presentence investigation and report are needed for sentencing in light of the availability of home detention as an alternative to incarceration.