Bure v. State
| Decision Date | 09 September 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 20616,20616 |
| Citation | 126 Idaho 253,880 P.2d 1241 |
| Parties | Frederick G. BURE, Petitioner-Appellant, v. STATE of Idaho, Respondent. |
| Court | Idaho Court of Appeals |
Orndorff, Peterson, Hawley, Wight & Gilman, Thomas D. Widman (argued), Boise, for appellant.
Hon. Larry EchoHawk, Atty. Gen.; Myrna A.I. Stahman, Deputy Atty. Gen. (argued), Boise, for respondent.
We are asked to determine whether I.C. § 19-4901(a)(4) authorizes a court to grant post-conviction relief vacating a lawful sentence upon a showing that, in the sixteen months of incarceration following sentencing, there has been a marked improvement in the offender's mental health as compared to his mental condition described in a psychological report relied upon by the court at sentencing. We hold that, where it is not shown that the presentence psychological report was based on erroneous information or otherwise deficient when prepared, post-conviction relief is not authorized.
Frederick Bure pleaded guilty and was convicted in 1991 for aggravated assault, I.C. § 18-905, and aggravated battery, I.C. § 18-907. The charges arose from a shooting incident at his accountant's office. Bure, apparently frustrated with his accountant's management of his business affairs, had entered her offices and asked to see her. Upon being told that she was not available, Bure left, but he returned a short time later carrying a handgun with which he threatened employees and shot the accountant's office equipment.
Prior to sentencing, Bure was given a psychological evaluation that the district court relied upon in arriving at a sentence of not less than seven years' nor more than twenty years' imprisonment.
Sixteen months after sentencing, Bure was again evaluated by the same psychologist. In his report on the second evaluation, the psychologist noted significant improvement in Bure's mental health and emotional stability. Bure then filed an application for post-conviction relief pursuant to I.C. § 19-4901(a)(4). His application requested that the court vacate his sentence and resentence him in light of this new psychological evaluation. After giving Bure appropriate notice pursuant to I.C. § 19-4906(b), the district court summarily dismissed the application. Bure now appeals, arguing that the district court improperly dismissed his application without an evidentiary hearing.
An application for post-conviction relief initiates a proceeding which is civil in nature. State v. Bearshield, 104 Idaho 676, 678, 662 P.2d 548, 550 (1983). Summary dismissal of an application pursuant to I.C. § 19-4906 is the procedural equivalent of summary judgment under I.R.C.P. 56. Ramirez v. State, 113 Idaho 87, 89, 741 P.2d 374, 376 (Ct.App.1987). An application for post-conviction relief may be summarily dismissed without affording the applicant an evidentiary hearing if the applicant's allegations, even if true, would not entitle the applicant to relief. I.C. § 19-4906; Clark v. State, 92 Idaho 827, 452 P.2d 54 (1969); Tramel v. State, 92 Idaho 643, 448 P.2d 649 (1968). Therefore, on appellate review we examine the entire record and construe all factual allegations in favor of the applicant to determine whether the applicant has alleged facts which, if true, would entitle him to the requested relief. Although we are required to treat the applicant's uncontroverted allegations as true, we are not required to accept his legal and factual conclusions. Phillips v. State, 108 Idaho 405, 407, 700 P.2d 27, 29 (1985).
Bure maintains that, on the evidence he presented, relief is authorized by I.C. § 19-4901(a)(4), which provides for post-conviction relief where the applicant demonstrates that there "exists evidence of material facts, not previously presented and heard, that requires vacation of the conviction or sentence in the interest of justice." We do not agree that Section 19-4901(a)(4) applies in the circumstances presented here. This provision does not afford an opportunity for resentencing based upon changes in the offender's character, health or mental condition occurring after the pronouncement of sentence which may, in hindsight, make the sentence appear more lengthy than...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Knutsen v. State
...the pronouncement of sentence which may, in hindsight, make the sentence appear more lengthy than necessary. Bure v. State, 126 Idaho 253, 254, 880 P.2d 1241, 1242 (Ct.App.1994). An applicant must present evidence of facts that existed at the time of sentencing that would have been relevant......
-
Reid v. State
...otherwise materially misleading. Knutsen v. State, 144 Idaho 433, 440, 163 P.3d 222, 229 (Ct. App. 2007); Bure v. State, 126 Idaho 253, 254-55, 880 P.2d 1241, 1242-43 (Ct. App. 1994). As the State acknowledges, in granting the motion for summary dismissal, the district court did not specifi......
-
Jacobs v. State
...was false, incomplete, or otherwise materially misleading. Knutsen, 144 Idaho at 440, 163 P.3d at 229; Bure v. State, 126 Idaho 253, 254-55, 880 P.2d 1241, 1242-43 (Ct. App. 1994). In its notice of intent to dismiss Jacobs' petition, the district court described the findings in the 2011 ass......
-
Grissom v. State, 96-2217
...of the sentence under section 822.2(4). Our interpretation of section 822.2(4) is shared by other jurisdictions. In Bure v. State, 126 Idaho 253, 880 P.2d 1241 (1994), the Idaho Court of Appeals concluded their postconviction relief statute, identical to the relevant language of our statute......