Rodriguez v. State

• Decision Date: 11 January 2018
• Docket Number: Court of Appeals Case No. 20A03–1704–CR–724
• Citation: Rodriguez v. State, 91 N.E.3d 1033 (Ind. App. 2018)
• Parties: Alberto Baiza RODRIGUEZ, Appellant–Petitioner, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Respondent
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

91 N.E.3d 1033

Alberto Baiza RODRIGUEZ, Appellant–Petitioner,

v.STATE of Indiana, Appellee–Respondent

Court of Appeals Case No. 20A03–1704–CR–724

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

FILED January 11, 2018

Attorney for Appellant : Jessica R. Merino, Merino Law Firm, PC, Goshen, Indiana

Attorneys for Appellee : Curtis T. Hill, Jr., Attorney General, Ellen H. Meilaender, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana

Crone, Judge.

Case Summary

[1] Alberto Baiza Rodriguez appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to modify his sentence, which was imposed pursuant to a written plea agreement containing a fixed sentence of seventy-two months executed on work release. Rodriguez argues that modification of his sentence is permissible under Indiana Code Section 35–38–1–17(l), which provides that a person may not waive the right to sentence modification as part of a plea agreement. We agree and therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] Based on an incident that occurred on March 11, 2015, the State charged Rodriguez with class A misdemeanor operating while intoxicated ("OWI"), level 6 felony OWI with a prior conviction, class C misdemeanor operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent of .08 or more, and with being a habitual vehicular substance offender ("HVSO").

[3] On January 6, 2016, pursuant to a written plea agreement, Rodriguez agreed to plead guilty to the OWI charges and the HVSO allegation. The plea agreement specified that Rodriguez would serve thirty months for the OWI convictions and an additional forty-two months for the HVSO adjudication in the Department of Correction, all to be executed on Elkhart County Work Release. The agreement further provided that the State would agree to dismiss the class C misdemeanor charge and not to file additional charges arising out of the incident. The trial court accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Rodriguez according to its terms. Rodriguez began serving his sentence on January 20, 2016.

[4] On January 12, 2017, Rodriguez filed a motion to modify his sentence, alleging that his work release placement had caused an undue hardship on his son and father and that Indiana Code Section 35–38–1–17(e) permitted the trial court to modify his remaining sentence from work release to home detention. Section 35–38–1–17(e) states,

At any time after:

(1) a convicted person begins serving the person's sentence; and

(2) the court obtains a report from the department of correction concerning the convicted person's conduct while imprisoned;

the court may reduce or suspend the sentence and impose a sentence that the court was authorized to impose at the time of sentencing. The court must incorporate its reasons in the record.

Rodriguez asked the trial court to order a report from Elkhart County Work Release and set the matter for hearing.

[5] The trial court held a hearing on Rodriguez's motion and acknowledged that his "report from the Work Release [was] very, very good, very outstanding." Tr. Vol. 2 at 7. The court took the matter under advisement and issued an order concluding that it did "not have the authority to modify the sentence because the court accepted the parties' plea agreement which requires the defendant to serve the sentence in Work Release."¹ The court referenced Indiana Code Section 35–35–3–3(e), which states, "If the court accepts a plea agreement, it shall be bound by its terms." The court also quoted Indiana Code Section 35–38–1–17(l), which states,

A person may not waive the right to sentence modification under this section as part of a plea agreement. Any purported waiver of the right to sentence modification under this section in a plea agreement is invalid and unenforceable as against public policy. This subsection does not prohibit the finding of a waiver of the right to sentence modification for any other reason , including failure to comply with the provisions of this section[, which limit the number of times a person may file a petition for sentence modification without the consent of the prosecuting attorney].

(Emphasis altered.) The court concluded that the italicized phrase "applies to the specific terms of a plea agreement that the court has accepted[,]" and thus "entering into a binding plea agreement waives the right to seek or receive a modification of sentence."

[6] Rodriguez now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

Discussion and Decision

[7] Rodriguez contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to modify his sentence. We review such rulings for an abuse of discretion. Carr v. State , 33 N.E.3d 358, 358 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015), trans. denied. "The trial court abuses its discretion by ruling in a way clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before it, or by misinterpreting the law." Perryman v. State , 80 N.E.3d 234, 241 (Ind. Ct. App. 2017). To the extent that our analysis hinges on interpreting statutes, we note that "statutory interpretation is a question of law and determinations in that regard are subject to de novo appellate review." Higgins v. State , 855 N.E.2d 338, 341 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006). "When construing a statute our primary goal is to ascertain the legislature's intent. To discern that intent, we look first to the statutory language itself and give effect to the plain and ordinary meaning of statutory terms." Suggs v. State , 51 N.E.3d 1190, 1193 (Ind. 2016) (citation omitted). "Statutes relating to the same subject matter are in pari materia (on the same subject) and should be construed together so as to produce a harmonious statutory scheme." Jones v. State , 928 N.E.2d 285, 287 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). " ‘As a general rule, there is a presumption that the Legislature in enacting a particular piece of legislation has in mind existing statutes covering the same subject.’ " Simmons v. State , 773 N.E.2d 823, 826 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (quoting Citizens Action Coalition of Ind. v. Pub. Serv. Comm'n of Ind. , 425 N.E.2d 178, 184 (Ind. Ct. App. 1981) ), trans. denied. "[W]e will not read into the statute that which is not the expressed intent of the legislature. As such, it is just as important to recognize what the statute does not say as it is to recognize what it does say." N.D.F. v. State , 775 N.E.2d 1085, 1088 (Ind. 2002) (citation omitted).

[8] It is hornbook law that a plea agreement is contractual in nature, binding both the defendant and the State. E.g. , St. Clair v. State , 901 N.E.2d 490, 492 (Ind. 2009). "Bargaining between the State and a pleading defendant will have produced for court consideration an agreement that either specifies a precise penalty or leaves some or all of the specifics to the judgment of the trial court." Id. at 493. "[I]t is up to the trial court to accept or reject the plea agreement as filed." Badger v. State , 637 N.E.2d 800, 802 (Ind. 1994). As noted above, once a trial court accepts a plea agreement, it is bound by its terms. Ind. Code § 35–35–3–3(e).

[9] In years past, the legislature placed significant limitations on a trial court's authority to modify a sentence imposed after a trial. A trial court could reduce or suspend a defendant's sentence within the first three hundred sixty-five days (commonly known as "shock probation"), but after that point most reductions or suspensions were subject to approval of the prosecuting attorney. See Ind. Code § 35–38–1–17 (formerly 35–38–1–23) (historical statutes). With respect to plea agreements containing a fixed sentence, our supreme court held as follows:

Once it has accepted a plea agreement recommending a specific sentence, ... the terms of the agreement constrain the discretion the court would otherwise employ in sentencing. Even after a sentence has been imposed pursuant to a plea agreement containing a recommendation of a specific term of years, that sentence may not be altered upon subsequent motion, such as under Ind. Code § 35–38–1–23 for "shock probation," unless the agreement contained a specific reservation of such authority for the trial judge. [ State ex rel. Goldsmith v. Marion Cty. Super. Ct. , 275 Ind. 545, 551–52, 419 N.E.2d 109, 114 (1981) ].

Goldsmith and its progeny each uphold the principle that a deal is a deal. Once it has accepted a plea agreement, the sentencing court possesses only that degree of discretion provided in the plea agreement with regard to imposing an initial sentence or altering it later.

Pannarale v. State , 638 N.E.2d 1247, 1248 (Ind. 1994).²

[10] Since 2014, however, the legislature has gradually relaxed the restrictions on sentence modification, allowing trial courts to reduce or suspend sentences for nonviolent offenders "[a]t any time" without prosecutorial approval in certain circumstances. Ind. Code § 35–38–1–17(e), - (j).³

The legislature also added what is now Section 35–38–1–17(l), which, as mentioned above, provides that "[a] person may not waive the right to sentence modification under this section as part of a plea agreement" and that "[a]ny purported waiver of the right to sentence modification under this section in a plea agreement is invalid and unenforceable as against public policy." Section 35–38–1–17(l) also provides that it "does not prohibit the finding of a waiver of the right to sentence modification for any other reason, including failure to comply with the provisions" of the statute.

[11] In this case, Rodriguez's plea agreement contained a specific reservation of authority for the trial court to modify his sentence, but only in the event that he was incarcerated, which he was not. See Appellant's App. Vol. 2 at 14 ("In the event [Rodriguez] is incarcerated, he specifically reserves the right to request a modification of sentence; however, the State is not bound to consent to jurisdiction therefore [sic.]."). The trial court essentially concluded that by entering into a plea agreement with a fixed sentence to be served on work release, Rodriguez waived the right to modification of...