Opinion ID: 3052167
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Probationary Status.

Text: [15] Whether a jury would have found Butler’s probationary status beyond a reasonable doubt turns out to be, on the record in this case, a difficult question to answer. The record before the district court does not reveal what evidence on the probation issue was presented to the state trial court. We therefore remand to the district court for an evidentiary hearing on that question. 19 In concluding that allowing a judge to find the “particularly vulnerable victim” factor was not harmless, we do not hold that the trial court was wrong as a matter of California law when it found that Daria was a particularly vulnerable victim because she was struck from behind. We hold only that a jury properly instructed on California law and applying a reasonable doubt standard could well have found otherwise. 6472 BUTLER v. CURRY The state trial court opened the sentencing proceeding by stating, “I’ve read and considered the probation report in this case.” After statements from the prosecutor and defense counsel, the judge found that Daria Butler was a particularly vul- nerable victim and that Butler “was on probation at the time the crime was committed.” In response to the judge’s second finding, Butler’s lawyer suggested that the probation aggravating factor be stricken because “there is no indication that he was noncompliant except for this.” The statement of defense counsel at sentencing suggests that Butler acknowledged, or at least did not dispute, that he was on probation at the time of the crime. Even assuming, however, that defense counsel’s statement was sufficiently specific as to constitute an admission, we may not consider it in determining whether the Apprendi error in Butler’s sentencing was harmless. See Salazar-Lopez, 506 F.3d at 755. We are left, then, to determine whether the evidence presented by the prosecution at sentencing is sufficient to render the error harmless. Unfortunately, the record simply does not reveal what that evidence was. Having reviewed all the submissions to the district court in this case, we have not found a probation report or any other document that reflects Butler’s probationary status at the time of the crime. At oral argument, the government acknowledged that it did not submit the probation report read by the sentencing judge to the district court. We thus cannot be certain what evidence was presented to the state trial court on the question of Butler’s probationary status. Yet, to determine whether an Apprendi error was harmless we must examine the whole record, including the evidence presented by the government at sentencing. We therefore cannot make our determination without further factfinding as to what evidence was presented at sentencing. [16] We recognize that neither of the parties has requested an evidentiary hearing on this issue. Further factfinding on this issue is necessary, however, not to assist either of the parBUTLER v. CURRY 6473 ties in meeting a burden of proof as to harmlessness, but to assist the court in making an accurate determination. See Frantz, 513 F.3d at 1023 (remanding to district court for evidentiary hearing to determine circumstances in which in chambers conference in absence of the petitioner was conducted); see also Mancuso v. Olivarez, 292 F.3d 939, 949 n.4 (9th Cir. 2002) (“[W]hether a trial error had a substantial and injurious effect is not to be analyzed in terms of burdens of proof.”). We therefore vacate the grant of a writ of habeas corpus to Butler and remand for an evidentiary hearing on what evidence was presented to the state trial court in support of the allegation that Butler was on probation at the time of his crime.