Opinion ID: 1215519
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Who should determine seriousness?

Text: Immediately after the jury returned its verdict on the principal charges, Ault admitted that he had been previously convicted of six felonies in California. [4] The felonies included two convictions for oral copulation by force and violence and one conviction for rape by threats of bodily harm. [5] At the sentencing hearing, the trial court found that Ault was guilty of the crime of child molestation, a serious offense as defined in A.R.S. § 13-604(O)(6), and had previously been convicted of two counts of oral copulation by force and violence (on two separate occasions), also serious offenses under A.R.S. § 13-604(O)(5). Therefore, the court imposed the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without release on any basis until Ault served 25 years. Ault argues that, although he admitted the fact of his prior convictions, he did not admit that they were serious. He contends that the jury, not the judge, should have determined this issue. He urges this court to rule that the serious nature of priors is similar to a finding of dangerousness, which he contends is a question for the trier of fact to determine. See State v. Brydges, 134 Ariz. 59, 653 P.2d 707 (App. 1982); cf. State v. Hunter, 137 Ariz. 234, 236-239, 669 P.2d 1011, 1015-16 (App. 1983). We disagree. The construction Appellant urges is inconsistent with the language of A.R.S. § 13-604. [6] Section 13-604(K) provides: The penalties prescribed by this section shall be substituted for the penalties otherwise authorized by law if the previous conviction, the dangerous nature of the felony or the allegation that the defendant committed a felony while released on bond or on his own recognizance as provided in subsection M of this section is charged in the indictment or information and admitted or found by the trier of fact.... (Emphasis added.) This subsection expressly lists those things that must be found by the trier of fact. The serious nature of an offense is not listed. Generally, when the legislature expresses a list, we assume the exclusion of items not listed. Pima County v. Heinfeld, 134 Ariz. 133, 654 P.2d 281 (1982); State v. Allred, 102 Ariz. 102, 425 P.2d 572 (1967). The history of § 13-604 also supports the conclusion that the trial judge must determine seriousness. Before its amendment in 1981, § 13-604 provided for enhanced punishment only for recidivists and/or dangerous offenders. See 1980 Ariz. Sess. Laws, ch. 229, § 7. At that time, § 13-604(K) required that prior convictions and the dangerous nature of convictions had to be either admitted or found by the trier of fact. Id. In 1981, the legislature amended A.R.S. § 13-604 to prescribe an enhanced sentence for a person convicted of committing a felony while released on bail or on his own recognizance. See A.R.S. § 13-604(M), 1981 Ariz. Sess. Laws, ch. 165, § 1. In the same act, the legislature amended § 13-604(K) to provide that in order to impose an enhanced penalty under the new subsection, the defendant had to admit or the trier of fact had to find that the defendant committed the crime while on bond or while released on his own recognizance. Conversely, when the legislature added § 13-604(N) and (O) to provide for enhanced punishments for repeat serious offenders, it did not amend subsection K to provide that seriousness must be found by the trier of fact. Because the legislature obviously knew how to require a jury finding when that was its intention and did not make such a provision here, we conclude that the legislature did not intend for seriousness to require a separate finding by the trier of fact. Moreover, leaving the seriousness determination to the trial judge is the sensible rule. Whether an offense is serious as defined in A.R.S. § 13-604(O) is purely a legal question; it does not depend on the merits of alternative versions of the facts. Once the fact of conviction is admitted or found by the trier of fact, the judge merely determines whether the offense constitutes one of the enumerated felonies. Our courts have reached this conclusion in similar contexts. A.R.S. § 13-604(I) provides that a conviction from a jurisdiction outside of Arizona, which if committed within this state would be punishable as a felony ... is subject to the provisions of this section. The court of appeals has held that the question as to whether an out-of-state conviction would constitute a felony or a misdemeanor in Arizona is a question of law, which must be decided by the trial court. State v. LeMaster, 137 Ariz. 159, 167, 669 P.2d 592, 600 (App. 1983) (citing State v. Smith, 126 Ariz. 534, 617 P.2d 42 (App. 1980)). See also, State v. Carter, 145 Ariz. 101, 110-11, 700 P.2d 488, 497-98 (1985) (trial judge must determine whether defendant was on parole for purposes of A.R.S. § 13-604.01(A)); State v. Turner, 141 Ariz. 470, 474-75, 687 P.2d 1225, 1229-30 (1984) (same). We hold that the trial judge should determine whether convictions are serious as defined in § 13-604(N) and (O). 2. Did the trial court correctly determine that Ault's prior convictions were serious? Having determined that it was proper for the judge to decide whether Ault's prior convictions were serious, we must now consider whether the judge properly determined that prior convictions for oral copulation by force and violence were serious under § 13-604(O). In this regard, the trial court stated: [T]hose offenses are [the] equivalent of sexual assault, as defined in our statutes, which places it squarely within the provisions of A.R.S. § 13-604(O) and the law as it existed in 1984 at the commission of this offense. Sexual assault at that time and now, for that matter, being defined under A.R.S. § 13-1406 as committed by one who intentionally or knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse or oral sexual conduct with any person without the consent of that person. Sexual contact includes direct or indirect fondling or manipulating any part of the genitals, anus or female breast. The record is quite complete in its description of the California convictions and consists of two counts of oral copulation by force and violence.... [T]he description of those offenses in California ... leaves nothing to the imagination regarding whether they fall within the category of serious offense under our statutes. We agree. In order to say that the California convictions would constitute one of the felonies enumerated in A.R.S. § 13-604(O), we must be sure that the juries in the prior cases actually found beyond a reasonable doubt every element that would be required to prove an enumerated Arizona offense. See State v. Wilson, 152 Ariz. 127, 730 P.2d 836 (1986); State v. Phillips, 139 Ariz. 327, 678 P.2d 512 (App. 1983). We judicially notice [7] that the crime of oral copulation by force or violence under California Penal Code § 288a(c) (1976) involves: (a) Oral copulation is the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ of another person. .... (c) Any person who participates in an act of oral copulation with another person ... who has compelled the participation of another person in an act of oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or threats of great bodily harm, shall be punished by imprisonment ... for a period of not less than three years. .... 1975 Cal.Sess.Laws, Ch. 877. In Arizona, [a] person commits sexual assault by intentionally or knowingly [8] engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with any person without consent of such person. A.R.S. § 13-1406(A). (Emphasis added.) `Oral sexual contact' means oral contact with the penis, vulva or anus. A.R.S. § 13-1401. We agree with the trial court that the elements that the jury necessarily found beyond a reasonable doubt in convicting Ault of oral copulation by force and violence also support a conviction under A.R.S. § 13-1406. The trial court thus correctly found that these prior convictions were serious under A.R.S. § 13-604(O), and correctly imposed a mandatory life sentence.