Court Opinion

ID: 9661954
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:55:49.75756+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:35.280059
License: Public Domain

HANSON, Justice
(dissenting).
In view of the facts in this case I would vacate the judgment imposed and remand the action to the trial court for re-sentencing. When a presentence report is used it should be fairly used. A partial disclosure of its contents to a defendant is not sufficient. Whenever a presentence investigation is ordered the defendant, and his attorney, should be permitted to inspect the entire report with a fair opportunity to rebut all unfavorable portions therein. Therefore, in my opinion the court should, in this case, approve and adopt Section 4.4 of the ABA Standards Relating to Sentencing Alternatives and Procedures as follows:
*383“4.4 Presentence report: disclosure; parties.
(a) Fundamental fairness to the defendant requires that the substance of all derogatory information which adversely affects his interests and which has not otherwise been disclosed in open court should be called to the attention of the defendant, his attorney, and others who are acting on his behalf.
(b) This principle should be implemented by requiring that the sentencing court permit the defendant’s attorney, or the defendant himself if he has no attorney, to inspect the report. The prosecution should also be shown the report if it is shown to the defense. In extraordinary cases, the court should be permitted to except from disclosure parts of the report which are not relevant to a proper sentence, diagnostic opinion which might seriously disrupt a program of rehabilitation, or sources of information which has been obtained on a promise of confidentiality. In all cases where parts of the report are not disclosed under such authority, the court should be required to state for the record the reasons for its action and to inform the defendant and his attorney that information has not been disclosed. The action of the court in excepting information from disclosure should be subject to appellate review.”
SDCL 23-48-18 making a presentence report privileged and confidential does not forbid full disclosure to a defendant and his counsel.
When preseritence reports are full, fair and accurate their worth is unquestionable. If inaccurate their harm is unmeasurable. To avoid uncertainty and doubt in all future sentencing proceedings defendants should be entitled, as a matter of course, to a full disclosure of their presentence reports. See Commonwealth v. Phelps, 450 Pa. 597, 301 A.2d 678.