Court Opinion

ID: 9375427
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-02-27 18:06:51.051568+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:58.735012
License: Public Domain

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 1         IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

 2   Opinion Number:

 3   Filing Date: February 27, 2023

 4   NO. S-1-SC-38130

 5   STATE OF NEW MEXICO,
 6          Plaintiff-Respondent,

 7   v.
 8   CHRISTOPHER T. RODRIGUEZ,

 9          Defendant-Petitioner.

10   ORIGINAL PROCEEDING ON CERTIORARI
11   Brett R. Loveless, District Judge

12   Bennett J. Bauer, Chief Public Defender
13   Allison H. Jaramillo, Assistant Appellate Defender
14   Santa Fe, NM

15   for Petitioner

16   Hector H. Balderas, Attorney General
17   John J. Woykovsky, Assistant Attorney General
18   Santa Fe, NM
19   for Respondent
1   American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
2   Leon Howard, III
3   Albuquerque, NM
4   Juvenile Law Center
5   Marsha L. Levick
6   Philadelphia, PA

7   for Amici Curiae Juvenile Law Center, Campaign for Youth Justice, and The
8   Sentencing Project
 1                                       OPINION

 2   VIGIL, Justice.

 3   {1}   The Delinquency Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 32A-2-1 to -33 (1993, as amended

 4   through 2021), directs that a “youthful offender” who has been found guilty of

 5   committing certain felonies is entitled to an amenability hearing to determine if the

 6   child will receive an adult sentence or juvenile sanctions. Section 32A-2-20.

 7   Defendant Christopher T. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to felony offenses committed

 8   when he was sixteen years old under a plea and disposition agreement, and following

 9   an amenability hearing, the district court imposed an adult sentence.

10   {2}   Defendant appealed the amenability determination, and on its own motion, the

11   Court of Appeals held that under the plea and disposition agreement, Defendant

12   waived his right to appeal. State v. Rodriguez, A-1-CA-37324, mem. op. ¶¶ 1, 9

13   (N.M. Ct. App. Nov. 27, 2019) (nonprecedential). We granted certiorari to determine

14   whether a juvenile waives the right to appeal an amenability determination by

15   entering into a plea and disposition agreement. We hold that the right is not waived,

16   reverse the Court of Appeals, and remand the case to the Court of Appeals to decide

17   Defendant’s appeal on the merits.
 1   I.    BACKGROUND

 2   A.    District Court

 3   {3}   In the plea and disposition agreement, Defendant agreed to plead guilty to one

 4   count of aggravated burglary (deadly weapon), pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 30-

 5   16-4(A) (1963) and NMSA 1978, Section 31-18-16 (1993, amended 2022); two

 6   counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary (deadly weapon), pursuant to

 7   NMSA 1978, Section 30-28-2 (1979) and Section 30-16-4(A); one count of

 8   unauthorized use of the card of another, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 58-16-

 9   16(B) (1990); three counts of residential burglary, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section

10   30-16-3(A) (1971); and two counts of auto burglary, pursuant to Section 30-16-3(B).

11   {4}   The plea and disposition agreement provided that “[s]ome of the charges make

12   [Defendant] a ‘youthful offender,[’] therefore an amenability hearing will need to be

13   held to determine whether [Defendant] will receive a juvenile or adult sentence.”

14   The agreement further provided a “waiver of defenses and appeal” provision that

15   stated:

16         Unless this plea is rejected or withdrawn, [Defendant] gives up all
17         motions, defenses, objections, or requests which he has made or could
18         make concerning the [c]ourt’s entry of judgment against him if that
19         judgment is consistent with this agreement. [Defendant] specifically
20         waives his right to appeal as long as the court’s sentence is imposed
21         according to the terms of this agreement.

                                              2
 1   {5}   The potential adult sentence listed in the agreement was thirty-one years and

 2   six months of incarceration, and there were “no other agreements as to sentencing.”

 3   Defendant verbally acknowledged that he read, understood, and agreed to the terms

 4   of the agreement, and also noted his approval by signing the agreement. The

 5   agreement was then signed by Defendant’s attorney, the prosecutor, and the district

 6   court judge.

 7   {6}   Following the amenability hearing, the district court entered its order finding

 8   that Defendant was “not amenable to treatment as a juvenile.” Defendant was

 9   sentenced as an adult to thirty-one years and six months with seventeen years and

10   six months suspended pursuant to Section 32A-2-20(A), (B).

11   B.    Court of Appeals

12   {7}   Defendant appealed to the Court of Appeals, arguing that the district court

13   abused its discretion in finding that he was not amenable to treatment in the juvenile

14   system. The Court of Appeals did not address the merits of Defendant’s argument.

15   See Rodriguez, A-1-CA-37324, mem. op. ¶¶ 6-10. Instead, after raising the issue on

16   its own, the Court proceeded to determine whether Defendant waived his right to

17   appeal under the plea and disposition agreement. Id. ¶ 6. Concluding that because

18   the sentence imposed was within the parameters set forth in the plea and disposition

19   agreement, the Court of Appeals held that Defendant waived his right to appeal the

                                               3
 1   outcome of the amenability hearing and dismissed the appeal. Id. ¶¶ 8, 10. We

 2   granted Defendant’s petition for a writ of certiorari to review this holding. See Rule

 3   12-502 NMRA.

 4   II.   DISCUSSION

 5   {8}   Defendant asserts that he did not and could not waive his right to challenge

 6   the district court’s amenability determination. Because “[t]he right to appeal is a

 7   matter of substantive law,” our review of whether Defendant is entitled to appeal the

 8   result of the amenability hearing is de novo. State v. Cruz, 2021-NMSC-015, ¶ 31,

 9   486 P.3d 1 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted). Defendant

10   contends that the Court of Appeals’ ruling is “inconsistent with [our holding] in State

11   v. Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 38, 148 N.M. 1, [229 P.3d 474,] . . . that a juvenile

12   defendant cannot bargain away the amenability determination.” The State argues

13   that Defendant did not specifically reserve the right to appeal the amenability hearing

14   in the plea and disposition agreement, and therefore, the waiver of defenses and right

15   to appeal in the agreement controls. In response, Defendant makes two arguments.

16   First, Defendant contends that because the amenability determination cannot be

17   waived by the child, “[i]t only follows that the child retains the right to appeal [an

18   amenability determination], as it affects the very authority of the district court to

19   impose an adult sentence.” Second, he argues that the sentence imposed was illegal

                                               4
 1   because there was not clear and convincing evidence to support a finding that he was

 2   not amenable to treatment. Because we agree with Defendant’s first argument and

 3   because the question of whether Defendant waived his right to appeal the

 4   amenability determination was the sole issue granted on certiorari, we address only

 5   this point. See Rule 12-502(C)(2)(b).

 6   {9}    We begin by briefly reviewing the statutorily created right to an amenability

 7   determination. See § 32A-2-20(B), (C). We then discuss our holding in Jones, 2010-

 8   NMSC-012, and how an amenability determination cannot be waived by a juvenile.

 9   Finally, we review the types of sentencing claims that may be raised on appeal

10   despite a valid guilty plea and appellate waiver. Concluding that a juvenile’s guilty

11   plea may neither waive the right to an amenability determination nor the right to

12   appeal the outcome of such a determination, we reverse and remand to the Court of

13   Appeals for consideration of the merits of Defendant’s challenges to the amenability

14   determination.

15   A.     The Statutory Right to an Amenability Determination

16   {10}   Under our Delinquency Act, §§ 32A-2-1 to -33, there are three classes of

17   juvenile offenders: serious youthful offenders, youthful offenders, and delinquent

18   offenders. See § 32A-2-3(C), (H), and (J). One definition of a “youthful offender”

19   includes a “delinquent child subject to adult or juvenile sanctions” who is fourteen

                                              5
 1   to eighteen years old at the time of the offense and who is guilty of any of a series

 2   of listed offenses, including aggravated burglary. Section 32A-2-3(J)(1)(k). Because

 3   Defendant pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and was sixteen at the time of the

 4   offense, he is a youthful offender.

 5   {11}   Youthful offenders are not automatically subject to adult sanctions—certain

 6   procedural protections afforded by the Delinquency Act must be met before an adult

 7   sentence can be imposed upon a juvenile. Notably, “the court shall make the

 8   following findings in order to invoke an adult sentence: (1) the child is not amenable

 9   to treatment or rehabilitation as a child in available facilities; and (2) the child is not

10   eligible for commitment to an institution for children with developmental disabilities

11   or mental disorders.” Section 32A-2-20(B) (emphasis added). In making these

12   findings, the court

13          shall consider the following factors:

14          (1)    the seriousness of the alleged offense;

15          (2) whether the alleged offense was committed in an aggressive,
16          violent, premeditated or willful manner;

17          (3)    whether a firearm was used to commit the alleged offense;

18          (4) whether the alleged offense was against persons or against
19          property, greater weight being given to offenses against persons,
20          especially if personal injury resulted;

                                                 6
 1          (5) the maturity of the child as determined by consideration of the
 2          child’s home, environmental situation, social and emotional health,
 3          pattern of living, brain development, trauma history and disability;

 4          (6)   the record and previous history of the child;

 5          (7) the prospects for adequate protection of the public and the
 6          likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the child by the use of
 7          procedures, services and facilities currently available; and

 8          (8) any other relevant factor, provided that factor is stated on the
 9          record.

10   Section 32A-2-20(C) (emphasis added); see also Rule 10-247(F) NMRA. To

11   “consider” a factor, the court must “think about this evidence with a degree of care

12   and caution.” State v. Doe, 1979-NMCA-122, ¶ 13, 93 N.M. 481, 601 P.2d 451

13   (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Further, the court must make

14   findings as to each factor. State v. Sosa, 1997-NMSC-032, ¶ 8, 123 N.M. 564, 943

15   P.2d 1017, abrogated on other grounds by State v. Porter, 2020-NMSC-020, ¶¶ 6-

16   10, 476 P.3d 1201; see also Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 41 (explaining that “none of

17   those factors, standing alone, is dispositive”).

18   {12}   The plain language, “the court shall make the following findings in order to

19   invoke an adult sentence,” § 32A-2-20(B), and the court “shall consider the

20   following factors,” § 32A-2-20(C), demonstrates “that the Legislature intended the

21   court to make an amenability determination whenever it considers imposing an adult

                                                7
 1   sentence,” and in making that determination, the court must take into account certain

 2   criteria. Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 24. However, this was not always the case.

 3   {13}   In 1975, the Legislature “lowered the threshold for transfer to district court

 4   for certain serious offenses.” Id. ¶ 30; see 1975 N.M. Laws, ch. 320, § 4(A)(1). The

 5   1975 amendment allowed the “discretionary transfer to criminal court” by the

 6   children’s court, which only had to hold a hearing to “consider[]” the juvenile’s

 7   amenability to treatment and find “that there [were] reasonable grounds to believe

 8   that the child committed the alleged delinquent act.” 1975 N.M. Laws, ch. 320, §

 9   4(A)(1), (4), (5); see also State v. Doe, 1983-NMSC-105, ¶ 5, 100 N.M. 649, 674

10   P.2d 1109 (holding that this statute only required the court to consider child’s

11   amenability, rather than make a specific finding).

12   {14}   In 1993, with the passage of the Delinquency Act, the Legislature removed

13   the relaxed requirements to transfer a juvenile proceeding to the district court for an

14   adult trial and extended protections of the juvenile system to all juvenile offenders

15   except “serious youthful offenders” charged with first-degree murder. See 1993

16   N.M. Laws, ch. 77, § 32(H); see also § 32A-2-3(H). A court can no longer merely

17   “consider” the child’s amenability to treatment. See § 32A-2-20(B)(1). Instead, it

18   has to make the specific finding that “the child is not amenable to treatment or

19   rehabilitation as a child in available facilities,” id., and that finding must be based

                                               8
 1   on consideration of the Section 32A-2-20(C) factors listed above. Hence, the

 2   legislative history demonstrates “an evolving concern that children be treated as

 3   children so long as they can benefit from the treatment and rehabilitation provided

 4   for in the Delinquency Act.” Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 32.

 5   {15}   In addition to the legislative history, other parts of the Delinquency Act

 6   “reflect the Legislature’s intent to insulate delinquent children from the potentially

 7   life-long consequences under the adult criminal justice system that may flow from a

 8   bad decision.” Id. ¶ 37. For example, the primary purpose of the Delinquency Act is

 9   “consistent with the protection of the public interest, to remove from children

10   committing delinquent acts the adult consequences of criminal behavior, but to still

11   hold children committing delinquent acts accountable for their actions to the extent

12   of the child’s age, education, mental and physical condition, background and all

13   other relevant factors.” Section 32A-2-2(A). “Thus, unlike the adult criminal justice

14   system, with its focus on punishment and deterrence, the juvenile justice system

15   reflects a policy favoring the rehabilitation and treatment of children.” Jones, 2010-

16   NMSC-012, ¶ 35 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Another example

17   is Section 32A-2-19, which “delimits the court’s authority and discretion to hold a

18   child accountable after being adjudicated delinquent.” Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶

                                               9
 1   37; see § 32A-2-19(B) (limiting the dispositions following a delinquent

 2   adjudication).

 3   {16}   Knowing the Legislature tailored the Delinquency Act to promote

 4   rehabilitation and treatment of children and that there is a statutorily created right to

 5   an amenability determination, we now turn to our holding in Jones, 2010-NMSC-

 6   012.

 7   B.     An Amenability Determination Cannot Be Waived

 8   {17}   In Jones, we held that a “finding of non-amenability is the trigger for the

 9   court’s authority to sentence a youthful offender as an adult,” and that the statutory

10   right to an amenability hearing may not be waived. Id. ¶¶ 38, 46. Said another way,

11   an amenability determination is a nonwaivable “condition precedent to a court

12   invoking an adult sentence.” Id. ¶ 24. The juvenile defendant in Jones was originally

13   charged with first-degree murder and classified as a serious youthful offender. Id. ¶

14   1. However, the juvenile defendant pleaded guilty to a lesser crime and was then

15   classified as a youthful offender. Id. ¶¶ 1, 22. As such, the defendant “was entitled

16   to the full range of protections afforded by the Delinquency Act.” Id. ¶ 22.

17   {18}   The plea agreement in Jones included a provision stating, “There is no

18   agreement as to sentencing other than that [the juvenile defendant] agrees to be

19   sentenced as an adult.” Id. ¶ 7 (internal quotation marks omitted). As such, the

                                                10
 1   district court sentenced the defendant to the maximum adult sentence allowed

 2   without making an amenability determination. Id. ¶¶ 1, 8. The defendant appealed,

 3   arguing that “[a]s a youthful offender, . . . the children’s court lacked the authority

 4   to sentence him as an adult without first determining his amenability to treatment or

 5   rehabilitation as a juvenile, even if he did not ask for such a hearing and appeared to

 6   waive it.” Id. ¶¶ 2, 9. We agreed. Id. ¶ 3. Concluding that a finding of nonamenability

 7   is “the necessary leverage to dislodge a youthful offender from the protective

 8   dispositional scheme of the Delinquency Act,” we invalidated the defendant’s plea

 9   agreement. Id. ¶¶ 3, 38.

10   C.     An Amenability Determination Can Be Challenged on Appeal Despite the
11          Entry of a Valid Guilty Plea and Appellate Waiver

12   {19}   We now turn to the question of whether a challenge to an amenability

13   determination is a jurisdictional defect that may be raised on appeal, notwithstanding

14   the entry of a valid guilty plea and appellate waiver. Questions of subject matter

15   jurisdiction are also reviewed de novo. State v. Chavarria, 2009-NMSC-020, ¶ 11,

16   146 N.M. 251, 208 P.3d 896.

17   {20}   The Delinquency Act is part of the Children’s Code, NMSA 1978, §§ 32A-1-

18   1 to -28-42 (1993, as amended through 2022). “Because proceedings under the

19   Children’s Code are special statutory proceedings,” the right to appeal falls under

20   NMSA 1978, Section 39-3-7 (1966), which provides that any aggrieved party may

                                               11
 1   appeal “the entry of any final judgment or decision, . . . or any final order after entry

 2   of judgment which affects substantial rights, in any special statutory proceeding in

 3   the district court.” State v. Nehemiah G., 2018-NMCA-034, ¶¶ 14-15, 417 P.3d 1175

 4   (alteration in original) (brackets, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted)

 5   (applying Section 39-3-7 for the right to appeal an amenability determination); see

 6   NMSA 1978, § 32A-1-5 (1993) (establishing the children’s court as a division of the

 7   district court). That said, “a voluntary guilty plea ordinarily constitutes a waiver of

 8   the defendant’s right to appeal his conviction on other than jurisdictional grounds.”

 9   Chavarria, 2009-NMSC-020, ¶ 9 (emphasis added) (internal quotation marks and

10   citation omitted). To put it another way, a plea may waive the right to appeal

11   statutory or constitutional rights, see id., but it “may not waive the right to challenge

12   on appeal whether a sentence was imposed without jurisdiction.” State v. Tafoya,

13   2010-NMSC-019, ¶ 6, 148 N.M. 391, 237 P.3d 693; see also State v. Trujillo, 2007-

14   NMSC-017, ¶ 8, 141 N.M. 451, 157 P.3d 16 (“[A] plea of guilty does not waive

15   jurisdictional errors.”); Rule 12-321(B)(1) NMRA (providing that jurisdictional

16   challenges may be raised for the first time on appeal). Accordingly, whether

17   Defendant may raise a challenge to the amenability determination on appeal turns

18   on whether that claim is jurisdictional. See Chavarria, 2009-NMSC-020, ¶¶ 9-10.

                                                12
 1   {21}   In Chavarria, we addressed the meaning of “jurisdictional” in the context of

 2   sentencing. We explained that “[t]he only relevant inquiry in determining whether

 3   the court has subject matter jurisdiction is to ask whether the matter before the court

 4   falls within the general scope of authority conferred upon such court by the

 5   constitution or statute.” Id. ¶ 11 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation

 6   omitted). A court’s “power to sentence is derived exclusively from statute.” Id. ¶ 12

 7   (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Thus, “a court’s sentencing power

 8   properly is considered part of its subject matter jurisdiction.” Tafoya, 2010-NMSC-

 9   019, ¶ 7; cf. State v. Wyman, 2008-NMCA-113, ¶ 2, 144 N.M. 701, 191 P.3d 559

10   (“A claim that a sentence is illegal and unauthorized by statute is jurisdictional and

11   may be raised for the first time on appeal.”). Consequently, whether a sentencing

12   court acts within its jurisdiction hinges on whether the defendant’s sentence was

13   authorized by the sentencing statute. See Chavarria, 2009-NMSC-020, ¶¶ 11-12.

14   {22}   Here, the sentencing statute is Section 32A-2-20, which is titled “Disposition

15   of a youthful offender.” As reflected above, Section 32A-2-20(B) and (C) mandates

16   that “in order to invoke an adult sentence,” the court must find that “the child is not

17   amenable to treatment or rehabilitation as a child” and in making that finding, must

18   consider certain factors. As we said in Jones, “The finding of non-amenability is the

19   trigger for the court’s authority to sentence a youthful offender as an adult.” 2010-

                                               13
 1   NMSC-012, ¶ 38. See Rule 10-247(B) (“The court shall not impose adult sanctions

 2   without holding an amenability hearing.”). Because of this, we conclude that a

 3   challenge to an amenability determination presents a challenge to the jurisdiction of

 4   the district court to impose an adult sentence, and it may be raised on appeal

 5   notwithstanding the entry of a valid guilty plea and appellate waiver. This conclusion

 6   is reinforced by the concern of the Legislature “that children be treated as children

 7   so long as they can benefit from the treatment and rehabilitation provided for in the

 8   Delinquency Act.” Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 32.

 9   {23}   If we were to conclude that a juvenile defendant waived the right to appeal an

10   amenability determination—by express waiver or, as in this case, implicitly with a

11   general appellate waiver provision—we would render the amenability hearing itself,

12   the factors detailed in Section 32A-2-20(C), and our holding in Jones, pointless. If a

13   juvenile defendant waived the ability to appeal the outcome of an amenability

14   hearing, a hearing we said in Jones could not “be bargained away,” 2010-NMSC-

15   012, ¶ 46, a court could simply “consider” the child’s amenability, ignoring the

16   factors of Section 32A-2-20(C), and find that the child is not amenable to treatment

17   or rehabilitation as a juvenile. This would reduce the amenability hearing to nothing

18   more than window dressing and effectively reinstate the 1975 “discretionary transfer

                                              14
 1   to criminal court.” See 1975 N.M. Laws, ch. 320, § 4(A). Given the interests at stake,

 2   we do not condone such an outcome.

 3   {24}   “We are hard-pressed to conceive of a decision that cuts closer to the core of

 4   society’s interest than an election to give up on one of its children.” Jones, 2010-

 5   NMSC-012, ¶ 46. We will not declare an amenability determination—a

 6   determination that implicates the interests of the child, the child’s family, and society

 7   as a whole—nothing more than an empty shell along the path to imposing an adult

 8   sentence upon a juvenile. Because Defendant could not waive the ability to appeal

 9   the outcome of his amenability hearing, we reverse the Court of Appeals.

10   III.   CONCLUSION

11   {25}   We conclude that a juvenile’s guilty plea may neither waive the right to an

12   amenability determination, id., nor can it waive the right to appeal the outcome of

13   an amenability determination. Without a finding of nonamenability, the court lacks

14   the authority to sentence a juvenile defendant as an adult. See id. ¶ 38. As such, a

15   challenge to an amenability determination presents a jurisdictional argument that

16   may be raised on appeal notwithstanding the entry of a valid guilty plea and appellate

17   waiver. Cf. Tafoya, 2010-NMSC-019, ¶¶ 6-8 (stating that the defendant’s plea

18   agreement did not waive the right to appeal a claim that the district court erroneously

19   applied the Earned Meritorious Deductions Act in fashioning his sentence); Trujillo,

                                                15
 1   2007-NMSC-017, ¶¶ 7-9 (treating as a jurisdictional matter the issue of whether the

 2   trial court could enhance the defendant’s sentence as a habitual offender).

 3   {26}   “Because we see no justification for applying today’s rule retroactively, we

 4   hold that the rule applies only to this and all other cases in which a verdict has not

 5   been reached and those cases on direct review in which the issue was raised and

 6   preserved below.” Jones, 2010-NMSC-012, ¶ 49 (internal quotation marks and

 7   citation omitted). Accordingly, we reverse and remand to the Court of Appeals to

 8   consider the merits of Defendant’s challenges to the amenability determination.

 9   {27}   IT IS SO ORDERED.

10
11                                                 MICHAEL E. VIGIL, Justice

12   WE CONCUR:

13
14   C. SHANNON BACON, Chief Justice

15
16   DAVID K. THOMSON, Justice

17
18   BRIANA H. ZAMORA, Justice

19
20   T. GLENN ELLINGTON, Judge
21   Sitting by designation

                                              16