1998 -NMSC- 23, State v. Martinez, No. 24,194

• Docket Nº: No. 24,194
• Citation: 966 P.2d 747, 126 N.M. 39, 1998 NMSC 23
• Case Date: July 15, 1998
• Court: Supreme Court of New Mexico

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966 P.2d 747 126 N.M. 39, 1998 -NMSC- 23 STATE of New Mexico, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Escolastico MARTINEZ, Defendant-Appellee. No. 24,194. Supreme Court of New Mexico. July 15, 1998.
Motion for Rehearing denied Aug. 19, 1998.

Tom Udall, Attorney General, Margaret McLean, Assistant Attorney General, Santa Fe, for Appellant.

Phyllis H. Subin, Chief Public Defender, Bruce Rogoff, Appellate Defender, Santa Fe, for Appellee.

OPINION

MINZNER, Justice.

¶1 Defendant Escolastico Martinez pleaded guilty to, inter alia, a charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated (DWI), third offense, contrary to NMSA 1978, § 66-8-102(F)(2) (1994, prior to 1997 amendment). On this charge, the magistrate court sentenced Martinez to 364 days in jail, suspending 274 days and leaving a remaining jail term of 90 days. The court later entered an amended sentence granting 90 days presentence credit for in-patient alcohol treatment. We conclude that trial courts possess inherent discretionary authority to grant presentence confinement credit, so long as the exercise of discretion does not unduly interfere

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with the Legislature's authority to establish criminal penalties. However, we hold that the magistrate court impermissibly substituted alcohol treatment for mandatory jail contrary to the Legislature's expressed intent. Therefore, we reverse the amended sentence and remand with instructions to reinstate the 90-day jail term mandated by Section 66-8-102(F)(2).

I.

¶2 On February 14, 1995, Martinez signed a plea and disposition agreement, pleading guilty to a third offense aggravated DWI, contrary to Section 66-8-102(F)(2), and driving with a revoked license, contrary to NMSA 1978, § 66-5-39 (1994). The plea and disposition agreement, signed by the magistrate judge and the prosecutor, contained the following disposition for the DWI charge: "364 days jail with 274 days suspended for 90 days; 1 year supervised probation; random urinalysis; alcohol screening and treatment." The court ordered Martinez to report to a screening and assessment program. Because the assessment included a recommendation of 90 days in-patient treatment and counseling, Martinez immediately entered an in-patient alcohol treatment program at the Recovery of Alcoholics Program (RAP).

¶3 The magistrate court later formally sentenced Martinez in accordance with the plea and disposition agreement. In addition, the court imposed a fine of $750 for the DWI charge. The court also finalized its decision to suspend 274 days of the 364 day sentence and imposed, as part of the suspension, the condition that Martinez successfully complete a 90-120 day treatment program at RAP. Finally, the court entered a commitment to jail for 90 days, scheduled to commence on June 16, 1995.

¶4 RAP discharged Martinez on June 2, 1995, after successfully completing the treatment program in 106 days. Martinez then moved to amend his sentence to reflect presentence credit for the time he spent in treatment. The court granted Martinez's motion and allowed 106 days of in-patient treatment in lieu of 90 days jail. Although Martinez also was convicted, under Section 66-5-39, of driving with a revoked license, for which the magistrate court sentenced Martinez to 364 days and suspended 357 days, the trial court did not grant presentence confinement credit on this charge. In the amended judgment and sentence, the court committed Martinez for the remaining seven days jail on the revoked license conviction. Thus, though Martinez was in treatment for 106 days, the court granted presentence confinement credit only with respect to the 90 day sentence for the DWI charge.

¶5 The State then appealed the magistrate court's grant of confinement credit. The district court concluded that court-ordered, compelled attendance at an in-patient treatment program constitutes official confinement for purposes of presentence confinement credit. As a result, the district court affirmed the amended sentence.

¶6 After the State appealed the decision of the district court, the Court of Appeals certified the matter to this Court. The Court of Appeals, unlike the parties and the district court, was unwilling to assume that the magistrate court possessed the power to grant presentence confinement credit for a misdemeanor DWI. The Court of Appeals noted that statutory authority exists for granting presentence confinement credit for felony convictions, NMSA 1978, § 31-20-12 (1967), but there is no statute addressing presentence confinement credit for misdemeanors in general. As a result, the Court of Appeals concluded that the existence of such authority is an issue of substantial public interest that should be decided by this Court. See NMSA 1978, § 34-5-14(C)(2) (1972) (providing for the certification of appeals from the Court of Appeals to this Court).

II.

¶7 In this case, we must determine whether trial courts possess authority to grant presentence confinement credit¹ for in-

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patient alcohol treatment with respect to a third offense DWI conviction. We recognize that the issue of presentence confinement credit evokes constitutional concerns. Compare Johnson v. Prast, 548 F.2d 699, 702 (7th Cir.1977) ("[T]he equal-protection clause requires consideration by the sentencing judge of presentence custody resulting from inability to post bond."), and State v. Phelan, 100 Wash.2d 508, 671 P.2d 1212, 1216 (1983) ("Prior incarceration not only must be credited against a maximum sentence, but must be credited on any sentence imposed."), with Crowden v. Bowen, 734 F.2d 641, 642 (11th Cir.1984) (concluding that presentence credit is constitutionally required if it extends a prisoner's sentence beyond the maximum allowable by law), and People v. Turman, 659 P.2d 1368, 1373 (Colo.1983) (en banc) ("[T]here is no constitutional right to credit for presentence confinement."). However, we believe it is unnecessary to address those concerns in order to resolve this case. Rather, we resolve this issue by construing Section 66-8-102.

¶8 Our primary goal in interpreting a statute is to give effect to the Legislature's intent. We look first to the words chosen by the Legislature and the plain meaning of the Legislature's language. See Whitely v. New Mexico State Personnel Bd., 115 N.M. 308, 311, 850 P.2d 1011, 1014 (1993). The Legislature has provided that "[o]n a first conviction under [Section 66-8-102], any time spent in jail for the offense prior to the conviction for that offense shall be credited to any term of imprisonment fixed by the court." Section 66-8-102(E). The Legislature omitted any additional reference to preconviction credit in defining repeat offenses. See § 66-8-102(F), (G). Thus, the plain language of the statute appears to restrict the requirement of preconviction confinement credit to "a first conviction."

¶9 Nonetheless, we "must exercise caution in applying the plain meaning rule." State ex rel. Helman v. Gallegos, 117 N.M. 346, 353, 871 P.2d 1352, 1359 (1994). While we do not ignore the language used by the Legislature, we must ensure that words are not interpreted outside of any relevant legislative context. Thus, we will interpret statutes as a whole and look to other statutes in pari materia in order to determine legislative intent. See Roth v. Thompson, 113 N.M. 331, 334, 825 P.2d 1241, 1244 (1992).

¶10 For fourth and subsequent convictions for DWI, the Legislature has provided that "an offender is guilty of a fourth degree felony, as provided in Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978." Section 66-8-102(G). Further, the Legislature has provided that "[a] person held in official confinement on suspicion or charges of the commission of a felony shall, upon conviction of that or a...