Court Opinion

ID: 9552807
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:17:17.277597+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:29:03.574534
License: Public Domain

CAMERON, Justice,
concurring.
I concur in the result, but I believe that much of the difficulty apparent in this case could have been avoided had the defendant not been sentenced in absentia.
The law is clear in Arizona that a defendant, who voluntarily absents himself from trial, may be tried in absentia and may be sentenced in absentia. Rule 26.9, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S.; State v. Ellerson, 125 Ariz. 249, 609 P.2d 64 (1980); State v. Cook, 115 Ariz. 146, 564 P.2d 97 (App.1977), supplemented 118 Ariz. 154, 575 P.2d 353 (App.1977). The better practice, however, is that having convicted the defendant in absentia, sentencing should be deferred until the defendant is within the jurisdiction of the court. At that time, a proper presentence report can be prepared, and the defendant allowed to offer such matters in mitigation as would be appropriate.
The American Bar Association, in its Standards for Criminal Justice, Standard 18-6.4, states:
“(a) As soon as practicable after the determination of guilt and the examination of any presentence reports (citations omitted), a proceeding should be held at which the sentencing court should * * *
(iii) afford to the defendant his or her right of allocution * * *.”
ABA Criminal Justice Standard 18-6.4, at 447-48 (1980).
The commentary to this section states:
“ * * * It must be acknowledged that the policies behind permitting the defendant to make a statement at sentencing have to do more with maximizing the perceived equity of the process than with detecting misinformation or obtaining a reliable impression of the defendant’s character. Although the right of allocution has not yet been clearly established as of constitutional stature, it has ancient origins and is recognized by both federal and state law. Its preservation has been encouraged without exception by all recent model codes.” Id., at 459. See National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, Corrections 5.17 (1973); National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Model Sentencing and Corrections Act § 3-206 (1978); National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Uniform Rules of Criminal Procedure 613 (1974).
Moreover, matters such as the appointment of counsel on appeal, which posed a problem in this case, could be determined at that time, and, pursuant to Rule 26.11, Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, 17 A.R.S., the time for appeal would start running at that point rather than upon acceptance of the verdict by the trial court.