In January 2013, defendant received a downward departure sentence of probation as a result of her conviction for two counts of identity theft, ORS 165.800.
Defendant violated the terms of her probation. OAR 213-010-0002(2) provides, in this context, that “the sentence upon revocation [of probation] shall be a prison term up to the maximum presumptive prison term which could have been imposed initially[.]” In September 2013, defendant’s probation was revoked. Defendant was sentenced to 34 months in prison plus a year term of post-prison supervision as a probation revocation sanction, the maximum presumptive sentence in effect at the time of the original sentencing.
Defendant appeals the lawfulness of that sentence. She contends that, because the probation revocation sentence was imposed after August 1, 2013, the court should have imposed a reduced presumptive sentence for identity theft (28 months in prison) under the amendments to ORS 137.717(1). The state responds that defendant is not entitled to the benefit of the amendments to ORS 137.717(1). On review for legal error, State v. Thompson,
Defendant was initially charged with five counts of identity theft, one count of unlawful entry into a motor
About 10 months later, defendant admitted that she had violated the terms of her probation and appeared in court for disposition on that violation. In the interim — after the imposition of defendant’s probation sentence but before she stipulated to the probation violation — the legislature amended ORS 137.717(1). Or Laws 2013, ch 649, § 5. As relevant to this case, the amendment reduced the baseline presumptive sentence for identity theft from 24 to 18 months. Id. In light of her criminal history, had defendant been sentenced originally under the amended statute, she would have been subject to a presumptive sentence of 28 months (an 18-month baseline presumptive sentence and a 10-month enhancement) — six months shorter than the 34-month sentence that could have been imposed under ORS 137.717(1) (2012). The effective date provision in the 2013 legislation specified that the sentencing changes applied to “sentences
At the disposition hearing, defendant argued that she should benefit from the amendment to ORS 137.717(1) because it applied to “sentences imposed on or after August 1, 2013.” According to defendant, the revocation sanction fell within the terms of that provision because it was a sentence that was being imposed after the date that the amendment became operative. In response, the state asserted that defendant was not entitled to benefit from the amended version of the statute, because “[sentencing on this case happened on January 25, 2013” and “[w]e are not sentencing her on those underlying charges right now. We are sentencing her on her failure to comply with probation and the downward dispositional departure that she got back in January of this year.” The trial court agreed with the state and entered a judgment revoking defendant’s probation for both identity theft convictions and imposing concurrent 34-month terms of incarceration.
On appeal, the parties largely reiterate the arguments they made before the trial court.
OAR 213-010-0002(2) provides that,
“[f]or those offenders whose probationary sentence was * * * a departure from a presumptive prison sentence * * *, the sentence upon revocation shall be a prison term up to the maximum presumptive prison term which could have been imposed initially, if the presumptive prison term exceeds 12 months.”
OAR 213-003-0001(16) in turn defines “presumptive sentence” as “the sentence provided in a grid block for an offender classified in that grid block by the combined effect of the crime seriousness ranking of the current crime of conviction and the offender’s criminal history or a sentence designated as a presumptive sentence by statute.” Because they are designated as such by statute, sentences provided in ORS 137.717 are “presumptive prison sentence [s]” for purposes of OAR 213-010-0002(2). See ORS 137.717(l)(a) (2012) (“When a court sentences a person convicted of * * * identity theft under ORS 166.800 * * *, the presumptive sentence is 24 months of incarceration * * *.” (Emphasis added.)). Cf. State v. Webster,
By its terms, OAR 213-010-0002(2) provides that the term of incarceration to be imposed on revocation of probation is “a prison term up to the maximum presumptive prison term” that could have been imposed at the time that a defendant was initially sentenced. That rule holds true even if a defendant might be subject to a lesser sentence under the circumstances and law in effect at the time of revocation of probation. See State v. Anderson,
Defendant does not dispute that she would have been subject to the 34-month presumptive sentence provided by ORS 137.717 (2012) if OAR 213-010-0002(2) applied. Instead, she argues that the rule does not apply in this case because the amendments to ORS 137.717 in Oregon Laws 2013, chapter 649, overrode OAR 213-010-0002(2) and limited the trial court to a 28-month presumptive sentence. According to defendant, that is so because the effective date provision to those amendments, Oregon Laws 2013, chapter 649, section 6(1), provides that the amendments apply to “sentences imposed on or after August 1, 2013.” Defendant contends that the term of incarceration imposed on revocation of her probation in September 2013 was a “sentence [] imposed” within the meaning of section 6(1). We disagree.
As noted, section 6 provides, as follows:
“(1) The amendments to ORS 137.717 by section 5 of this 2013 Act apply to sentences imposed on or after August 1, 2013.
“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the amendments to ORS 137.717 by section 5 of this 2013 Act do not apply to persons who were originally sentenced before August 1, 2013, and who are subsequently resentenced on or after August 1, 2013, as the result of an appellate decision or a post-conviction relief proceeding or for any other reason.”
(Emphasis added.) We determine whether the legislature intended the term “sentences imposed” in that statute to include terms of incarceration imposed on revocation of probation through an analysis of the text, context, and legislative history of the provision. State v. Gaines,
Put another way, it is plain that a “sentence [] imposed” is a sentence imposed according to the rules set out in amended ORS 137.717. Construing section 6(1) in the context of ORS 137.717 as a whole, we conclude that a “sentence!] imposed” under ORS 137.717 is a sentence initially imposed upon conviction. See State v. Sauer,
Section 6(2) reinforces the conclusion that section 6(1) applies only to the “sentences imposed” initially at the time of conviction. It provides that the amendments to ORS 137.717 do not apply to persons sentenced prior to August 1, 2013, under ORS 137.717 (2012) “who are subsequently resentenced on or after August 1, 2013, as the result of an appellate decision or a post-conviction relief proceeding or for any other reason.”
Thus, we conclude that the legislature intended “sentences imposed” in section 6 to refer to sentences initially imposed upon conviction for the crimes listed in ORS 137.717(1) and not to sentences imposed on revocation of probation. Accordingly, OAR 213-010-0002(2) controlled the determination of the appropriate term of incarceration when defendant’s probation was revoked, and, under that regulation, the maximum presumptive sentence “that could have been imposed initially” was the presumptive sentence under ORS 137.171 (2012). The trial court did not err in sentencing defendant to a term of 34 months’ imprisonment.
Affirmed.
Notes
Defendant also appeals from a judgment revoking her probation in another case, in which she was convicted of unlawful delivery of methamphetamine, ORS 475.890(2), and unlawful delivery of oxycodone, ORS 475.830(2). She raises no assignments of error related to that case.
ORS 137.717(l)(a) (2012) provided that the “presumptive sentence” for identity theft was 24 months if the person had certain qualifying prior convictions. ORS 137.717(l)(a)(A) - (C) (2012). Additionally, under ORS 137.717(3)(a) (2012), that presumptive sentence was increased by two months for each of the defendant’s additional convictions meeting the qualifications of ORS 137.717(3)(a)(A), (B) (2012), up to a total enhancement of 12 months, ORS 137.717(3)(b) (2012). The parties do not dispute on appeal defendant’s eligibility for a presumptive sentence under ORS 137.717(1) or that she had five additional qualifying prior convictions that enhanced her presumptive sentence by 10 months.
See State v. Denson,
Oregon Laws 2013, chapter 649, section 6, provides:
“(1) The amendments to ORS 137.717 by section 5 of this 2013 Act apply to sentences imposed on or after August 1, 2013.
“(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the amendments to ORS 137.717 by section 5 of this 2013 Act do not apply to persons who were originally sentenced before August 1, 2013, and who are subsequently resen-tenced on or after August 1, 2013, as the result of an appellate decision or a post-conviction relief proceeding or for any other reason.”
The state also argues that the judgment imposing the probation revocation sanctions is not appealable, and we must therefore dismiss this appeal. However, we recently rejected that argument in State v. Johnson,
ORS 137.717(3) provides:
“(a) A presumptive sentence described in subsection (1) of this section shall be increased by two months for each previous conviction the person has that:
“(A) Was for any of the crimes listed in subsection (1) or (2) of this section; and
“(B) Was not used as a predicate for the presumptive sentence described in subsection (1) of this section.
“(b) Previous convictions may not increase a presumptive sentence described in subsection (1) of this section by more than 12 months under this subsection.”
ORS 137.717(6) provides:
“The court shall sentence a person under this section to at least the presumptive sentence described in subsection (1) or (3) of this section, unless the parties stipulate otherwise or the court finds that:
*447 “(a) The person was not on probation, parole or post-prison supervision for a crime listed in subsection (1) of this section at the time of the commission of the current crime of conviction;
“(b) The person has not previously received a downward departure from a presumptive sentence for a crime listed in subsection (1) of this section;
“(c) The harm or loss caused by the crime is not greater than usual for that type of crime; and
“(d) In consideration of the nature of the offense and the harm to the victim, a downward departure will:
“(A) Increase public safety;
“(B) Enhance the likelihood that the person will be rehabilitated; and
“(C) Not unduly reduce the appropriate punishment.”
