People v. Wilbur
| Decision Date | 13 February 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93SC641,93SC641 |
| Citation | 890 P.2d 113 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner, v. Michael C. WILBUR, Respondent. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Gale A. Norton, Atty. Gen., Raymond T. Slaughter, Chief Deputy Atty. Gen., Timothy M. Tymkovich, Sol. Gen., John Daniel Dailey, Deputy Atty. Gen., Robert Mark Russel, First Asst. Atty. Gen., A. William Bonner, Asst. Atty. Gen., Crim. Enforcement Section, Denver, for petitioner.
John Turner, Colorado Springs, for respondent.
We granted certiorari review of the court of appeals' opinion in People v. Wilbur, 873 P.2d 1 (Colo.App.1993), holding that the trial court's statements concerning a probable release date constituted an enforceable expectation or promise that entitled Michael C. Wilbur (Wilbur) to be released after serving nine years. We reverse the court of appeals' decision and hold that the trial court's statements estimating respondent Wilbur's probable release date did not create an enforceable promise between the trial court and the defendant.
On June 16, 1983, Wilbur and his co-defendant were jointly charged with several counts each of first-degree kidnapping, § 18-3-301, 8B C.R.S. (1986); aggravated robbery, § 18-4-302, 8B C.R.S. (1986 & 1994 Supp.); first-degree sexual assault, § 18-3-402, 8B C.R.S. (1986); menacing, § 18-3-206, 8B C.R.S. (1986); first-degree burglary, § 18-4-202, 8B C.R.S. (1986); and a crime of violence, § 16-11-309, 8A C.R.S. (1994 Supp.). 1
On November 13, 1984, a providency hearing was held in which a plea agreement was reached. Wilbur entered pleas of guilty to one count each of first-degree burglary, aggravated robbery, first-degree sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, and crime of violence in exchange for a stipulated sentence of eighteen years and the dismissal of the menacing charge.
Wilbur, who was represented by counsel at the hearing, informed the court that he decided to accept the eighteen-year sentence because it was "for the 18 years and because I am guilty." He stated that defense counsel had advised him of the possibility of receiving a sentence longer than eighteen years if convicted at trial, and that he believed it was "in [his] best interest to go ahead ... and take an 18-year sentence." Wilbur additionally stated that he was advised that he would waive the right to have his sentence reconsidered by pleading guilty. Lastly, Wilbur asserted that neither the prosecution nor defense made any threats or promises in exchange for his plea other than the imposition of an eighteen-year sentence.
The trial court advised Wilbur of his rights pursuant to Crim.P. 11, the elements of each crime, and the minimum and maximum penalties for each offense. The trial court then questioned Wilbur as to his understanding of the plea agreement. The trial judge thereupon informed Wilbur that, as a result of the plea bargain proceeding, he would receive a sentence of eighteen years. Wilbur replied that he understood the nature of the charges and the consequences of his plea. During the course of this advisement, the following colloquy ensued between the trial court and Wilbur:
....
THE COURT: [Y]ou're going to be going down to the State Penitentiary to the Department of Corrections in Canon City for 18 years.
Now in reality, with the good time law the way it is, you'll get--that will be about a nine year sentence, and you [will] also get credit for this time you've been in the County Jail. You get over two years of your sentence basically knocked off already 'cause you've been in the County Jail for over a year....
....
So that's almost three years, then, on your sentence that's already been served, with the good time law the way it is.
But you are going to be down there for a significant length of time under today's standards.
The prosecutor did not object to the trial court's comments concerning the estimated time for parole eligibility under the existing sentencing scheme. Wilbur then formally tendered his guilty plea to each crime, which pleas the trial court found were knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently made. Wilbur was thereafter sentenced to eighteen years' incarceration for first-degree sexual assault and first-degree kidnapping, and to sixteen-year sentences for aggravated robbery and first-degree burglary, to be served concurrently.
In January 1989, after Wilbur had entered his plea, the Parole Board reinterpreted section 17-2-201(5)(a), 8A C.R.S. (1986), to mean that parole for various classes of sex offenders was discretionary, rather than mandatory. 3
In August 1991, Wilbur filed a Crim.P. 35(c) motion requesting the trial court to specifically enforce the nine-year plea bargain. 4 He argued that he was not properly advised of his sentence because the court failed to correctly inform him of the minimum time that must be served before becoming eligible for parole. Wilbur contended that he bargained for a nine-year sentence and that his expectations were not met when he was not granted parole after he had served nine years.
A hearing on Wilbur's Crim.P. 35(c) motion was held on April 30, 1992. At the hearing, Wilbur's former counsel argued that, prior to sentencing, he had advised Wilbur that, given the mandatory parole practice, Wilbur would most likely serve only approximately one-half of the agreed-upon sentence.
On May 1, 1992, the trial court denied the motion, holding that Wilbur had bargained for and received an eighteen-year sentence. The court concluded that, while Wilbur may have expected to serve only nine years, the court had made no guarantees that he would be released after serving only nine years.
On appeal, the court of appeals reversed the trial court, holding that Wilbur was entitled to specific performance of his nine-year plea bargain. The court found that the trial court's statements, about serving nine years before being eligible for parole, were made during Wilbur's Crim.P. 11 advisement, and thus constituted part of the terms of the plea agreement. The court of appeals stated that the trial court gave Wilbur no assurances or guarantees that he would serve only nine years of his eighteen-year sentence. The court found, however, that the trial court's statements constituted an "express" or "explicit" assurance of being paroled after serving nine years.
We granted certiorari to review the following two questions:
Whether statements made by the trial court during a providency hearing as to the anticipated release date of a defendant with good time and earned time can constitute an enforceable promise so as to entitle him to specific performance of that anticipated release date.
Whether the court of appeals erred [in] apparently holding that the defendant actually relied to his detriment upon the court's statements to be entitled to specific performance of that "promise."
The People argue that Wilbur bargained for an eighteen-year sentence, and that he knowingly accepted the stipulated sentence to avoid the possibility of receiving a significantly longer sentence if the case proceeded to trial. The People further contend that the defendant was not entitled to specific performance of a nine-year sentence because the trial court's statements about Wilbur's serving only nine years were only an estimate of the time Wilbur would have to serve before becoming eligible for parole, and did not constitute an enforceable promise.
In contrast, Wilbur asserts that the plea agreement was for nine years of imprisonment and therefore he has a right to enforce that agreement. 5 Accordingly, Wilbur contends that the court of appeals' decision should be affirmed and that he should be resentenced on the sexual assault conviction.
In denying Wilbur's Crim.P. 35(c) motion to enforce the plea bargain, the El Paso County District Court found:
All of the evidence indicates that the bargain was for an 18-year sentence and that although there [were] expectations of release prior to the serving of the full 18 years, there was no guarantee, nor was there any bargain requiring that [t]he Court enter any order at this time which would require the release of Mr. Wilbur after serving nine years.
The court of appeals, relying upon People v. Fisher, 657 P.2d 922 (Colo.1983), 6 and People v. Macrander, 756 P.2d 356 (Colo.1988), 7 determined that the trial judge's statements were part of the plea agreement between Wilbur and the prosecution, and that Wilbur had relied to his detriment upon these statements, entitling him to specific performance. 8 Wilbur, 873 P.2d at 3. Specifically, the court of appeals reasoned:
Here, it is undisputed that, prior to accepting defendant's plea, the providency court interpreted the agreement to require that defendant, if he qualified under the good time law, serve no more than one-half of the sentence that the People and defendant had agreed upon. The court's interpretation of the agreement formed part of the advisement given to defendant, and it was only after receiving such advice that defendant's plea was tendered and accepted. Accordingly, the trial court's contemporaneous interpretation of the plea agreement must be deemed to reflect the terms of the agreement as both parties understood them, and it was based on this interpretation that defendant proceeded to enter his plea of guilt.
Given these circumstances, therefore, it is true only in a technical sense that defendant was given no guarantee that he would serve only nine years. Subject to defendant's conduct being such that he would accumulate good time, he was expressly informed that he would be released after serving nine years. Hence, the undisputed evidence does not support the district court's...
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