Error and/or relief
In imposing the upper term the trial court erroneously relied on circumstances in aggravation that were not stipulated to nor submitted to a jury for proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
First Holding:
In support of the upper term, the court identified several circumstances in aggravation that it concluded did not need to be submitted to the jury. The trial court proceeded to find true that the defendant’s prior convictions as an adult or sustained petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings were numerous or of increasing seriousness; that the defendant has served a prior term in prison or county jail under section 1170(h); and that the defendant was on probation, mandatory supervision, postrelease community supervision, or parole when the crime was committed.
At the sentencing hearing, the trial court also mentioned finding true a fourth aggravating factor, that the defendant’s prior performance on probation, mandatory supervision, postrelease community supervision, or parole was unsatisfactory. This was error.
In Wiley, the Supreme Court recognized that, under the Sixth Amendment and section 1170(b), a defendant is entitled to a jury trial on all aggravating facts, other than the bare fact of a prior conviction and its elements, that expose the defendant to imposition of a sentence more serious than the statutorily provided midterm. This right to a jury trial extends to the aggravating factor that a defendant’s prior convictions were of increasing seriousness. It also extends to the aggravating factor that a defendant’s prior performance on probation or parole was unsatisfactory.
Authority:
People v. Wiley (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1069, 1076, 1083, 1086
Second Holding:
We apply the Chapman standard of review to determine if the error was prejudicial. A defendant is entitled to a reversal and remand for resentencing unless, after examining the entire cause, including the evidence as to all relevant circumstances, we can conclude that the omission of a jury trial was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt as to every aggravating fact the trial court used to justify an upper term sentence.
Authority:
People v. Wiley (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1069, 1076, 1087
People v. Lynch (2024) 16 Cal.5th 730, 768
Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18