Opinion ID: 1176257
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: validity of sentence

Text: Defendant's final point is that the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him to the presumptive ten-year term of middle severity rather than to the lower five-year term and by failing to state its reasons for doing so. The State offered no evidence of aggravation, urging instead that defendant be sentenced to the term of middle severity. Shickles sought the minimum five-year term. In mitigation, he presented the testimony of his mother concerning his childhood. She also testified that he was raised in a broken home, received psychiatric counseling and therapy as a runaway, was twice divorced, functioned well in the military, and was incarcerated for a year in North Carolina for obtaining a car under false pretenses. Shickles also called Dr. Rindflesh, who testified that defendant had a nonculpable mental state at the time the crime in question occurred. Although he acknowledged that none of the other psychiatrists who had examined defendant agreed with his diagnosis, Dr. Rindflesh testified that defendant suffered from a condition of multiple personalities and that one of defendant's other personalities, over whom defendant had no control, committed the criminal acts. The trial court was, of course, free to accept or reject Dr. Rindflesh's diagnosis, particularly in light of the inconsistent evidence of defendant's mental state presented at trial. Cf. State v. Carlsen, 638 P.2d 512, 514-15 (Utah 1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 958, 102 S.Ct. 1469, 71 L.Ed.2d 676 (1982). But cf. State v. DePlonty, 749 P.2d 621 (Utah 1987) (in light of uncontroverted evidence of defendant's mental illness, trial judge's refusal to find defendant mentally ill constitutes clear error). Likewise, the trial court was free to accord whatever weight it deemed appropriate to the testimony of defendant's mother. The record reflects that the court plainly gave due consideration to the testimony of both witnesses. The court directed a number of questions to Dr. Rindflesh and even called him back a second time to explain further the rationale of his diagnosis. Clearly the trial judge was impressed with, and influenced to some extent by, the testimony of Dr. Rindflesh. Because of the information furnished by Dr. Rindflesh and his conclusion that something could be gained by further study during defendant's stay at the mental hospital, the court stated that it wanted additional information and ordered a 180-day mental examination at the state hospital. The court indicated that after the examination it would consider reducing the sentence. Accordingly, we have no reason to believe that the trial court's imposition of the middle term was an abuse of its discretion. Nevertheless, the trial court did err in failing to make a record of the reasons for its choice of sentence as required by § 76-3-201(6)(b) (Supp. 1987). As held in State v. Bell, 754 P.2d at 58, a trial court is required by statute to state its reasons for the imposition of any of the possible terms provided in § 76-3-201. The trial court should have done so here. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings. HALL, C.J., HOWE, Associate C.J., and DURHAM, J., concur.