Does Coelho have any authority to invoke the "rule of lenity" in the context of sentencing?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Harris, C071383 (Cal. App. 2017):

Defendant cites People v. Coelho (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 861. This court discussed that case in McCoy, supra, 208 Cal.App.4th at page 1339, footnote 6. This court noted that Coelho "extensively develops a methodology for identifying the factual basis of a verdict in the context of determining whether a recidivist provision for mandatory consecutive sentences is applicable. Coelho is premised on a defendant's right under the federal Constitution to a jury trial, concluding as a result that a sentencing court can rely only on the facts that actually were the basis for the jury's verdict. [Citations.] . . . As the right does not apply to statutes that mitigate punishment, such as section 654 [citations], Coelho is not relevant to the present analysis. As for Coelho's invocation of the 'rule of lenity' where the factual basis for a verdict is unclear [citation], this is a 'tie-breaking principle' of statutory interpretation [citation] where evidence of legislative intent is in equipoise as to which of reasonable interpretations should prevail [citation] . . . . Coelho does not provide authority for invoking this principle in the context of sentencing." (McCoy, at p. 1339, fn. 6.)

We conclude there was no sentencing error.

Page 48

The judgment is affirmed.

Other Questions


When a judge's original sentencing has been struck down by the Court of Appeal, does the sentencing court have the power to impose any sentence permitted under the applicable statutes and rules on remand? (California, United States of America)
Does the Attorney General have any authority to issue a harsher sentence on remand for resentencing where the original sentence was unauthorized? (California, United States of America)
Is a defendant entitled to a comparative sentence review equivalent to that provided for determinately sentenced felons under the "disparate sentence" statute? (California, United States of America)
What is the test of the rule of lenity in the context of the California Criminal Code Act? (California, United States of America)
Does a sentencing court have to state the reasons for its sentence choice on the record at the time of sentencing? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for reducing a sentence when the court was unaware at the time of sentencing that the sentence was too lenient? (California, United States of America)
Does a person who remains in custody prior to sentencing receive credit against their prison sentence for all those days spent in custody before sentencing? (California, United States of America)
What is the role of a court in sentencing a defendant to a sentence that is within the legislatively determined limits of a criminal sentence? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for using the "rule of lenity" in the context of statutory interpretation? (California, United States of America)
Does the waiver rule apply to claims of error in the sentencing context? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.