Opinion ID: 1201386
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: the prior involuntary manslaughter

Text: The trial judge found that Henry's 1978 California involuntary manslaughter conviction was an aggravating circumstance under A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(2) (a felony ... involving the use or threat of violence on another person). Henry argues that this finding was error because the California statutory definition of manslaughter included situations that would not necessarily involve violence. We agree. The statutory definition of the prior crime, and not its specific factual basis, dictates whether an aggravating circumstance exists under A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(2). State v. Romanosky, 162 Ariz. 217, 228, 782 P.2d 693, 704 (1989). If the statutory definition of the crime for which the defendant was previously convicted necessarily includes the use or threat of violence, a trial court may find that it is a statutory aggravating circumstance under § 13-703(F)(2). If, under the statutory definition, the defendant could have committed and been convicted of the crime without using or threatening violence, the prior conviction may not qualify as a statutory aggravating circumstance under § 13-703(F)(2). Id.; see also, State v. Gillies, 135 Ariz. 500, 511, 662 P.2d 1007, 1018 (1983). We have defined violence to mean the exertion of any physical force so as to injure or abuse. State v. Arnett, 119 Ariz. 38, 51, 579 P.2d 542, 555 (1978) (quoting Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1976 Unabridged)). Cal.Penal Code § 192 in effect at the time of the prior incident defined involuntary manslaughter as follows: Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. It is of three kinds: .... (b) involuntary  in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to a felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection. This subdivision shall not apply to acts committed in the driving of a vehicle. Under this definition, and the California cases, the offense could have been committed without the exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse. See Walker v. Superior Court, 47 Cal.3d 112, 253 Cal. Rptr. 1, 18, 763 P.2d 852, 869 (1988) (failing to give child medical attention); People v. Edwards, 39 Cal.3d 107, 216 Cal. Rptr. 397, 402-03, 702 P.2d 555, 560-61 (1985) (aiding and abetting heroin user who dies of overdose). Contrary to the state's suggestion, A.R.S. § 13-703(F)(2) requires more than simply a volitional act that results in a death. See State v. Schaaf, 169 Ariz. 323, 334, 819 P.2d 909, 920 (1991) (if crime can be committed without use or threat of violence, it is not a statutory aggravating circumstance). Because the trial judge improperly considered the prior involuntary manslaughter a § 13-703(F)(2) aggravating circumstance, we remand for resentencing. This case does not present the unusual facts of State v. Bible, 175 Ariz. 549, 596-598, 858 P.2d 1152, 1209-12, which would enable us to independently reweigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances and impose sentence without remanding to the trial court. Certain issues left undecided here, such as defendant's self-representation at sentencing, proper weighing of the prior armed robbery, and the claimed disparity between the Henry and Foote sentences, should be first determined by the trial judge.