People v. McCaw
203 Cal. Rptr. 3d 914
Cal. Ct. App.2016Background
- Michael McCaw pleaded guilty in New York (1999) to attempted third‑degree robbery; in 2011 he was convicted in California of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
- At sentencing in California the trial court treated the 1999 New York conviction as a prior "serious felony" and a three‑strikes prior, increasing McCaw’s sentence.
- On two prior appeals this court reversed the recidivism finding for insufficient evidence; the prosecutions retried and produced different materials each time (victim statement, then plea transcript).
- At the third recidivism bench trial the prosecution introduced the New York plea colloquy in which McCaw admitted guilt to attempted third‑degree robbery; the California court relied on the colloquy to find the prior a qualifying robbery strike.
- McCaw argued the New York statute is indivisible and lacks California’s element that property be taken from the person or immediate presence; reliance on plea‑colloquy facts beyond statutory elements violated the Sixth Amendment under Descamps.
- The Court of Appeal reversed the recidivism finding and remanded for a jury trial on the prior conviction allegations (or defendant may waive jury and admit or submit to bench fact‑finding).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the NY attempted 3rd‑degree robbery conviction qualifies as a California strike/serious felony | Prosecution: McCaw’s plea colloquy shows he admitted taking property from the victim, satisfying CA robbery element | McCaw: NY statute is indivisible and plea‑colloquy contains non‑elemental facts; using them for enhancement violates the Sixth Amendment (Descamps) | Reversed: court may not rely on plea statements about non‑elemental facts to supply a missing CA element; jury trial required unless waived |
| Whether McGee remains controlling post‑Descamps for CA recidivist inquiries | AG: McGee permits limited record review to determine nature of prior conviction | McCaw: Descamps supersedes McGee’s allowance for factfinding beyond elements | Court did not fully decide McGee’s fate but held Descamps principles bar the judicial factfinding used here; result compelled reversal |
| Whether plea colloquy statements that are superfluous to the charged offense can be used to enhance sentence | Prosecution: Shepard/Shepard‑type documents can be consulted to identify the crime of conviction | McCaw: Shepard allows only use to identify statutory elements, not to find additional factual predicates | Held: Shepard/Descamps permit examination only to identify which element under a divisible statute; here court impermissibly relied on superfluous plea facts to increase punishment |
| Proper remedy when a prior conviction’s record is insufficient to show a qualifying predicate | Prosecution: trial court may resolve via limited record review | McCaw: Sixth Amendment requires jury determination of disputed factual predicates | Held: Reverse and remand for jury trial on prior allegations unless defendant waives jury and admits or submits to judicial factfinding |
Key Cases Cited
- Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013) (limits modified categorical approach; courts cannot use plea or factual records to supply missing elements for indivisible statutes)
- Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) (any fact increasing penalty beyond prescribed maximum must be found by a jury)
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005) (narrow class of documents may be consulted to identify the statutory basis of a prior conviction)
- People v. McGee, 38 Cal.4th 682 (2006) (permitted limited court review of prior‑conviction records to determine whether prior is a qualifying felony under CA law)
- People v. Saez, 237 Cal.App.4th 1177 (2015) (applied Descamps to conclude Sixth Amendment constraints limit judicial factfinding about prior convictions)
- Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (established categorical approach for comparing statutory elements of prior convictions to generic offenses)