The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Melvin Eugene HANSON, Defendant and Appellant.
Supreme Court of California.
*59 Mark D. Greenberg, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Oakland, for Defendant and Appellant.
Daniel E. Lungren and Bill Lockyer, Attorneys General, George Williamson and David P. Druliner, Chief Assistant Attorneys General, Carol Wendelin Pollack, Assistant Attorney General, John R. Gorey, William V. Ballough and Kyle S. Brodie, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
BROWN, J.
When a defendant successfully appeals a criminal conviction, California's constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy precludes the imposition of more severe punishment on resentencing. (People v. Henderson (1963)
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
A jury convicted defendant Melvin Eugene Hanson of first degree murder (Pen. Code, § 187, subd. (a); all undesignated statutory references are to the Penal Code), three counts of insurance fraud former Ins.Code, § 556, now Ins.Code, § 1871.1), two counts of grand theft (Pen. Code, § 487, former subd. 1), and conspiracy to commit these crimes (id., § 182). It also found true a special circumstance allegation (id., § 190.2, subd. (a)(1)) and two excessive taking allegations (id., § 12022.6, subd. (b)). The trial court sentenced defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the special circumstance murder conviction in addition to various terms of imprisonment on the other counts. The court also imposed a restitution fine of $1,000 pursuant to former Government Code section 13967, subdivision *60 (a). (Stats.1988, ch. 975, § 1, pp. 3151-3152.)
The Court of Appeal affirmed in part; modified the special circumstance murder conviction to second degree murder; reversed and dismissed with prejudice the special circumstance finding; and reversed defendant's sentence as to all counts. It remanded the matter to the trial court solely for resentencing. On remand, a different court sentenced defendant to 25 years to life in prison on the conspiracy to murder count and stayed various lesser terms of imprisonment on the other counts pursuant to section 654. The court also increased the restitution fine to $10,000.
Defendant appealed the additional fine contending the increase violated the state constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. (Cal. Const., art. I, § 15.) The Court of Appeal rejected this argument. Concluding it remained an open question whether the prohibition against increased sentence after a reversal on appeal applies to fines, the court found no "`"cogent reasons"'" to construe the state prohibition any more broadly than its federal counterpart. (People v. Monge (1997)
DISCUSSION
The seminal decision of Henderson, supra,
In reaching this conclusion, we analogized to the rule of both state and federal law that under the double jeopardy clause "a reversed conviction of a lesser degree of a crime precludes conviction of a higher degree on retrial...." (Henderson, supra,
This reasoning has not remained confined to the capital sentencing context. (Cf. People v. Superior Court (Marks) (1991)
In People v. Collins (1978)
This court agreed and reversed the conviction with directions to dismiss the count in question. Given the circumstances, we did not foreclose reinstatement of any or all of the other 14 charges, but nevertheless circumscribed the permissible range of punishment. "[W]e must fashion a remedy that restores to the state the benefits for which it bargained without depriving defendant of the bargain to which he remains entitled. [¶] This may best be effected by permitting the state to revive one or more of the dismissed counts, but limiting defendant's potential sentence to not more than three years in state prison, the term of punishment set by the Community Release Board pursuant to the determinate sentencing act [citation]." (People v. Collins, supra,
We now turn to the question whether the foregoing principles apply with equal force to restitution fines. The Court of Appealundisputed by the partiesassumed such fines constitute punishment for purposes of double jeopardy. We solicited supplemental briefing to assess the propriety of that assumption. Drawing on the analytical framework set forth in Hudson v. United States (1997)
"Whether a particular punishment is criminal or civil [for purposes of double jeopardy] is, at least initially, a matter of statutory construction. [Citation.] A court must first ask whether the legislature, `in establishing the penalizing mechanism, indicated either expressly or impliedly a preference for one label or the other.' [Citation.]" (Hudson, supra,
To begin, restitution fines are imposed only upon conviction of a criminal offense. (See § 1202.4, subd. (a).) Although originally enacted as part of the Government Code, the operative statute is now contained in the Penal Code (§ 1202.4; see Stats.1994, ch. 1106, § 3, eff. Sept. 29, 1994; see also Stats.1996, ch. 629, § 3 [amending § 1202.4 substantially to its present form]), which expressly denominates "fines" as "punishments." (§ 15; see §§ 17, subd. (b), 18, 19, 19.6, 19.8; cf. § 9 [distinguishing recovery of civil remedies from liability "for any act or omission declared punishable" by the Penal Code].) Section 1202.4, subdivision (a)(3) provides that restitution fines are distinct from restitution orders and are "in addition to any other penalty...." (Cf. Stats.1994, ch. 1106, § 1, subds. (b), (c) [Legislature finds and declares restitution "is recognized to have a rehabilitative effect on criminals" and "is recognized as a deterrent to future criminality."].)
Several other features of the statute compare with the imposition of criminal punishment generally. Except for "compelling and extraordinary reasons," which the trial court must state on the record (§ 1202.4, subd. (c)), a restitution fine is mandatory even in the absence of a crime victim (§ 1202.4, subd. (a)(3)(A)) and must be made a condition of probation, if granted (§ 1202.4, subd. (m)). As with other types of fines, the money is deposited into the state treasury; it is earmarked for the Restitution Fund, which enables the state to compensate victims of crimes. (§ 1202.4, subd. (e); cf. § 1463.001 [providing for distribution of base fines "to the specified funds of the state or local agency"].) The amount varies in the trial court's discretionranging from a minimum of $200 to a maximum of $10,000 (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(1))and may be calculated by multiplying $200 by the years of imprisonment imposed and then multiplying by the number of counts. (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(2).) In addition, the court "shall consider any relevant factors including ... the seriousness and gravity of the offense and the circumstances of its commission, ... and the number of victims involved in the crime." (§ 1202.4, subd. (d).) "A defendant's inability to pay shall not be considered a compelling and extraordinary reason not to impose a restitution fine." (§ 1202.4, subd. (c).)
Viewed in comparison with other forms of punishment, the statutory scheme thus confirms the Legislature intended restitution fines as a criminal penalty rather than as a civil remedy. (Cf. People v. Walker (1991)
Having made this determination, we now squarely consider whether restitution fines come within the rule of Henderson. As noted, imposition is mandatory with a minimum of $200 and a maximum of $10,000. Thus, on resentencing the trial court has not only the obligation to reimpose a fine, but the discretion to substantially increase it depending upon the original amount. Here, the increase was tenfold. In these circumstances, one who appeals an erroneous conviction at the risk of a greater fine is *64 indistinguishable from one who hazards a longer period of incarceration. In both situations, the defendant suffers a penalty for invoking the right to raise that challenge. (See People v. Thompson, supra,
In reaching a contrary conclusion, the Court of Appeal essentially disregarded this central premise of Henderson and considered itself at liberty to address the application of double jeopardy principles to statutory fines as a matter of first impression. (Cf. People v. Thornton (1971)
This analysis is flawed in several respects. First, as the Courts of Appeal in People v. Jones, supra,
Second, People v. Hernandez, supra,
At that time, it remained an open question as to both this court and the United *65 States Supreme Court whether the trial of a prior conviction allegation implicated double jeopardy. (Monge, supra,
Third, the lead opinion in Monge expressly recognized and impliedly reaffirmed that "[t]he rule ... protecting defendants from receiving a greater sentence if reconvicted after a successful appeal [citations] is one instance where we have interpreted the state double jeopardy clause more broadly than the federal clause. [Citation.]" (Monge, supra,
Finally, the degree to which a second proceeding might cause embarrassment, expense, or anxiety is irrelevant to determining whether resentencing triggers double jeopardy protection. Only when the court is considering whether a retrial is prohibited does it evaluate these factors. As discussed below, under California's Constitution the proper focus with respect to resentencing is whether increased punishment operates to penalize the defendant for exercising the right of appeal.
Adopting the Court of Appeal's reasoning, the Attorney General urges this court to conform state double jeopardy principles to the federal standard. Upon due consideration, we are unconvinced we should abandon Henderson, which articulates reasons that remain sufficiently cogent to sustain our independent interpretation of California law: "A defendant's right of appeal from an erroneous judgment is unreasonably impaired when he is required to risk his life to invoke that right. Since the state has no interest in preserving erroneous judgments, it has no interest in foreclosing appeals therefrom by imposing unreasonable conditions on the right to appeal." (Henderson, supra,
In Pearce, supra,
These concerns are not implicated in resentencing. The defendant receives no immunity from punishment; society is simply limited to exacting the penalty previously imposed. Nor does the reasoning adequately account for the penalty the federal rule attaches to exercising a defendant's right of appeal. The court in Pearce attempted to provide a modicum of protection against improper resentencing by cautioning that "[d]ue process of law ... requires that vindictiveness against a defendant for having successfully attacked his first conviction must play no part in the sentence he receives after a new trial." (Pearce, supra,
For the foregoing reasons, even if we were to find our state double jeopardy clause does not compel the holding in Henderson, we would not hesitate to enforce the same rule on alternate state due process grounds. The Alaska Supreme Court reached this conclusion in Shagloak v. State (Alaska 1979)
The Attorney General finally contends that the trial court on remand did not violate the rale in Henderson because although defendant's fine increased by $9,000, he is now eligible for parole; therefore, his aggregate sentence was not increased. (See, e.g., People v. Savala (1983)
DISPOSITION
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is reversed and the matter remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
GEORGE, C.J., MOSK, J., KENNARD, J., BAXTER, J., WERDEGAR, J., and CHIN, J., concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] The federal constitutional guarantee against double jeopardy did not at that time apply to the states. (See Palko v. Connecticut (1937)
[2] The rule is otherwise when a defendant seeks to withdraw a guilty plea or repudiate a plea bargain. (See People v. Superior Court (Garcia) (1982)
[3] A principal exception to application of Henderson arises "when a trial court pronounces an unauthorized sentence. Such a sentence is subject to being set aside judicially and is no bar to the imposition of a proper judgment thereafter, even though it is more severe than the original unauthorized pronouncement." (People v. Serrato, supra,
[4] These factors include "(1) `[w]hether the sanction involves an affirmative disability or restraint'; (2) `whether it has historically been regarded as a punishment'; (3) `whether it comes into play only on a finding of scienter'; (4) `whether its operation will promote the traditional aims of punishmentretribution and deterrence'; (5) `whether the behavior to which it applies is already a crime'; (6) `whether an alternative purpose to which it may rationally be connected is assignable for it'; and (7) `whether it appears excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned.'" (Hudson, supra, 522 U.S. at pp. 99-100,
[5] Thornton concerned whether a defendant who had originally been granted probation could be denied probation on resentencing after a successful appeal. The Court of Appeal concluded that "[s]ince our Supreme Court has not spoken on the subject of probation at retrial, we feel free to apply the analogy of Pearce[, supra.
