Error and/or relief
The trial court erred by relying on an aggravating factor—namely that the defendant’s prior convictions are numerous or of increasing seriousness (rule 4.421(b)(2))—that was not found true by a jury nor did the defendant stipulate to its truth.
First Holding:
A sentencing court may not impose a determinate upper term sentence unless there are circumstances in aggravation of the crime that justify its imposition, and the aggravating circumstances have been stipulated to by the defendant or found true beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
Other than stipulated facts or the fact of a prior conviction, aggravating facts relied upon to justify an upper term must be resolved by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This jury trial right is not merely a state law entitlement, but is constitutionally required for all aggravating facts, other than a prior conviction. A Sixth Amendment violation occurs when the trial court relies on unproven aggravating facts to impose an upper term sentence, even if some other aggravating facts relied on have been properly established.
Authority:
PEN 1170(b)(1), (b)(2)
People v. Lynch (2024) 16 Cal.5th 730, 755, 768
People v. Wiley (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1069, 1078
Second Holding:
The aggravating circumstance described in rule 4.421(b)(2) of the Rules of Court (prior convictions are numerous or of increasing seriousness), though related to the facts of prior convictions, must be submitted to a jury to determine beyond a reasonable doubt, in the absence of a stipulation or jury trial waiver.
Authority:
People v. Wiley (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1069, 1085 [a defendant is entitled to have a jury determine whether his prior convictions were of increasing seriousness, and whether he had performed unsatisfactorily on probation, before the court could rely on those aggravating facts to find justification for an upper term sentence]
Third Holding:
While the evidence may have been sufficient to support a finding of increasing seriousness, that is not the proper inquiry when assessing prejudice under Chapman. Instead, we must ask whether any rational fact finder could have come to the opposite conclusion. A rational juror could have reached the opposite conclusion here based on the totality of the defendant’s criminal conduct and the applicable sentences for those transgressions.
Accordingly, we cannot conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a properly instructed jury would have found the defendant’s criminal convictions were of increasing seriousness. The judgment is reversed, the sentence is vacated, and the matter is remanded for a full resentencing under current law. The prosecution may retry the factors in aggravation, if it wishes to.
Authority:
People v. Wiley (2025) 17 Cal.5th 1069, 1090
Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18