State v. Martinez

• Decision Date: 08 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. CR-04-0435-PR.,CR-04-0435-PR.
• Citation: 115 P.3d 618,210 Ariz. 578
• Parties: STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Pablo Arciniega MARTINEZ, Appellant.
• Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Page 618

115 P.3d 618

210 Ariz. 578

STATE of Arizona, Appellee, v. Pablo Arciniega MARTINEZ, Appellant.

No. CR-04-0435-PR.

Supreme Court of Arizona, En Banc.

July 8, 2005.

Terry Goddard, Attorney General by Randall M. Howe, Chief Counsel, Criminal Appeals Section, Michael T. O'Toole, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Appeals Section, Phoenix, Attorneys for the State of Arizona.

James J. Haas, Maricopa County Public Defender by Stephen Whelihan, Deputy Public Defender, Phoenix, Attorneys for Pablo Arciniega Martinez.

Office Of Court Appointed Counsel, by Mark Kennedy, Treasure VanDreumel, Phoenix, Attorneys for Amicus Curiae, Maricopa County Office of Contract Counsel.

OPINION

McGREGOR, Chief Justice.

¶ 1 We granted review in this case to resolve a single issue: Does the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a right to jury trial, as applied to Arizona's general felony sentencing scheme, require that a sentencing judge consider only those aggravating factors found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt in determining whether to impose an aggravated sentence, or may the judge find and consider additional aggravating factors once a single aggravating factor has been found by the jury, is inherent in the jury's verdict, or has been admitted by the defendant? We exercise jurisdiction pursuant to Article 6, Section 5.3 of the Arizona Constitution and Rule 31.19 of the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure.

I.

¶ 2 A jury convicted Pablo Arciniega Martinez of murder in the first degree, burglary, and theft of a means of transportation, all in connection with the brutal killing of Martinez' 69-year-old landlord. The State sought the death penalty for the murder conviction, alleging two aggravators: Martinez committed the murder for pecuniary gain, Ariz.Rev.Stat. (A.R.S.) § 13-703.F.5 (Supp.2000), and committed the murder in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, id. § 13-703.F.6. The jury found neither of these aggravators, and the trial judge imposed a sentence of natural life for the murder conviction.

¶ 3 In determining the sentences for the burglary and theft convictions, the trial judge, acting pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-702.C (Supp.2000), found by a preponderance of the evidence the following aggravating factors: (1) the presence of an accomplice; (2) the use of a knife as a weapon; (3) the severe injuries and death of the victim; (4) the emotional and physical pain suffered by the victim; (5) the emotional and financial harm to the victim's family; (6) the brutal nature of the crime; (7) pecuniary gain; and (8) the victim's age. The trial judge then imposed consecutive aggravated sentences of seven years each for the burglary and theft convictions.

¶ 4 Martinez timely appealed both his convictions and the imposition of aggravated sentences.¹ In a supplemental brief to the court of appeals, Martinez argued for the first time that his aggravated sentences violate the United States Supreme Court's holding in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), because the trial court improperly considered aggravating factors not found by the jury. Because Martinez failed to raise this issue at trial, the court of appeals concluded that he had waived the claim.² Nevertheless, the court reviewed the sentencing procedure for fundamental error. State v. Martinez, 209 Ariz. 280, 283 ¶ 9, 100 P.3d 30, 33 (App.2004). Finding no fundamental error, the court affirmed Martinez' sentences, holding that they comport with the Sixth Amendment as interpreted in Blakely. Id. at 281-82 ¶ 1, 100 P.3d at 31-32.

¶ 5 The court of appeals held that if a jury finds, or a defendant admits, at least one aggravating factor, the defendant becomes eligible to receive an aggravated sentence under A.R.S. § 13-702, and the trial judge may consider additional facts not found by the jury in determining the actual sentence to impose. Id. at 284 ¶ 16, 100 P.3d at 34. "[A] judge's imposition of an aggravated sentence that falls within the range authorized by a jury's verdict comports with Blakely; a jury need not find every aggravator upon which a sentencing judge relies." Id. at 281-82 ¶ 1, 100 P.3d at 31-32. In Martinez' case, the court concluded that the finding that Martinez caused the death of the victim, see A.R.S. § 13-702.C.1, was implicit in the jury's guilty verdict on the first degree murder charge. Once the jury found this aggravator, Martinez became eligible for an aggravated sentence, and the trial judge could then consider other aggravating factors in determining what sentence to impose within the statutory range for an aggravated sentence. Martinez, 209 Ariz. at 284 ¶ 16, 100 P.3d at 34.

¶ 6 Martinez petitioned for review, asking this Court to consider whether the aggravated sentences for burglary and theft comply with Blakely.³ We granted review because this is an issue of first impression and a question of statewide importance. In addition, we granted review to resolve a split in authority within the court of appeals. Compare Martinez, 209 Ariz. at 281-82 ¶ 1, 100 P.3d at 31-32, and State v. Estrada, 210 Ariz. 111, 112 ¶ 1, 108 P.3d 261, 262 (App.2005), with State v. Munninger, 209 Ariz. 473, 480 ¶ 21, 104 P.3d 204, 211 (App.2005), and State v. Alire, 209 Ariz. 517, 520-21 ¶ 14, 105 P.3d 163, 166-67 (App.2005).

II.

¶ 7 The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to a trial by jury. Every criminal defendant has a right to "demand that a jury find him guilty of all the elements of the crime with which he is charged." United States v. Booker, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 125 S.Ct. 738, 748, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005) (Stevens, J., for the Court (constitutional majority)) (internal quotations omitted). This right to jury trial is not confined to the determination of guilt or innocence, but continues throughout the sentencing process. Thus, the Sixth Amendment guarantees to a defendant the right to demand that a jury find the existence of any specific fact that the law makes essential to his punishment. Id. at 749 (citing Blakely, 542 U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2536). It is equally true, however, that "judges in this country have long exercised discretion . . . in imposing sentence within statutory limits in the individual case." Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 481, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000).

¶ 8 In a series of decisions interpreting modern criminal statutes and sentencing procedures in light of the Sixth Amendment, the United States Supreme Court has made clear that the Sixth Amendment jury trial requirement does not entirely remove from the purview of judges any consideration of aggravating factors. The Court has repeatedly distinguished between those facts that are legally essential to increase the punishment for a crime, and must therefore be found by a jury, and those facts that a sentencing judge may, in his or her discretion, consider in sentencing a defendant within the range prescribed by statute and authorized by the jury's verdict. See Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 248, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999); Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 494, 120 S.Ct. 2348; Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545, 558, 122 S.Ct. 2406, 153 L.Ed.2d 524 (2002); Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 604-05, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002) (Ring II); Blakely, 542 U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2537; Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 750.

A.

¶ 9 The Supreme Court first addressed the application of the Sixth Amendment jury trial requirement to the determination of aggravating factors in Jones. There, the Court expressed concern that "diminishment of the jury's significance by removing control over facts determining a statutory sentencing range would resonate with the claims of earlier controversies, to raise a genuine Sixth Amendment issue not yet settled." Jones, 526 U.S. at 248, 119 S.Ct. 1215. The Court noted that prior cases suggested the following constitutional principle: "[A]ny fact (other than prior conviction) that increases the maximum penalty for a crime must be charged in an indictment, submitted to a jury, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. at 243 n. 6, 119 S.Ct. 1215. Prior case law did not suggest, however, that the Sixth Amendment requires that a jury find every fact related to a sentencing decision; rather, the case law indicated that removing from the jury the consideration of facts that increase a sentencing range may run afoul of the Sixth Amendment. Id. at 248, 119 S.Ct. 1215. Jones did not decide whether the Sixth Amendment requires juries to decide facts related to sentencing, however, because the Court ultimately interpreted the statute before it so as to avoid this constitutional issue. Id. at 251-52, 119 S.Ct. 1215.

¶ 10 One year later, in Apprendi, the Court answered the question left open in Jones, by holding that "[o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt." 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Once again, the Court explained that "nothing in [the history of the right to jury trial] suggests that it is impermissible for judges to exercise discretion—taking into consideration various factors relating both to offense and offender—in imposing a judgment within the range prescribed by statute." Id. at 481, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Importantly, the Apprendi decision also noted that labeling a specific fact as an "element" or a "sentencing factor" is irrelevant to the Sixth Amendment analysis: "[T]he relevant inquiry is one not of form, but of effect—does the required finding expose the defendant to a greater punishment than that authorized by the jury's guilty verdict?" Id. at 494, 120 S.Ct. 2348. If so, that fact is functionally an "element" for purposes of the Sixth Amendment jury right. A "sentencing factor," by contrast, is "a circumstance, which may be either aggravating or mitigating in...