Certiorari to the Colorado Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
Case No. 14CA2487
Attorneys for Petitioner/Cross-Respondent: Megan A. Ring,
Public Defender Rachel K. Mercer, Deputy Public Defender
Denver, Colorado
Attorneys for Respondent/Cross-Petitioner: Philip J. Weiser,
Attorney General Brock J. Swanson, Assistant Attorney General
Denver, Colorado
OPINION
HART
JUSTICE.
¶1 Criminal defendants often spend time in jail before
they are convicted of and sentenced for their crimes. When
this happens, defendants are entitled to credit against their
sentences for the time that they were confined before
sentencing. This case presents three questions related to the
calculation of a defendant's credit for presentence
confinement.[1] First, when a defendant who is out of
custody on bond in one case commits another offense and is
unable to post bond in that second case, is he entitled to
presentence confinement credit ("PSCC") in the
first case for time spent in custody for the second? To that
question, we answer no. Second, is a defendant entitled to
PSCC for both the first and last days of his presentence
confinement? To that question, we answer yes. The third
question―whether a challenge to the amount of PSCC is a
claim that the sentence imposed was not authorized by
law―we address in the companion case we announce today,
People v. Baker, 2019 CO 97, ____ P.3d ____. In
Baker, we hold that a challenge to the amount of
PSCC is not appropriately framed as a Rule 35(a) claim that
the sentence was not authorized by law because PSCC is not a
component of the sentence. ¶¶ 1, 11, 19. Here,
however, the defendant challenged his PSCC award on direct
appeal. As a result, we affirm the decision of the court of
appeals as to the first two questions.
I.
Facts and Procedural History
¶2
Two separate criminal cases give rise to the questions
presented in this case. In October 2013, Michael Alan Fransua
was arrested after he unlawfully entered his former
girlfriend's house and assaulted her. Fransua was charged
with second-degree burglary, third-degree assault, and
harassment; two months later, he posted bond and was released
from jail. We will refer to this as the "first
case." While out on bond, in March 2014, Fransua was
arrested after he again entered his former girlfriend's
house and refused to leave. This time, Fransua was charged
with first-degree trespass, violation of bail bond
conditions, and violation of a protection order. We will
refer to this as the "second case."
¶3
Although Fransua posted bond in the first case, and therefore
was released from jail pending trial in that case, he was
unable to post bond in the second case. As a result, Fransua
was confined from March 1, 2014 (the date he was arrested in
the second case), to June 16, 2014 (the date he was sentenced
in the first case). During this 108-day period of
confinement, however, Fransua's bond in the first case
was never revoked or modified.
¶4
Fransua resolved both cases on June 16, 2014. In exchange for
a complete dismissal of the second case, as well as all
original charges in the first case, Fransua pleaded guilty to
a single count of attempted second-degree burglary in the
first case. He was sentenced to a term of five years in
community corrections as part of that plea agreement. Three
months later, Fransua escaped from community corrections.
Consequently, he was resentenced to a term of five years in
the custody of the Department of Corrections.
¶5
During Fransua's resentencing hearing, he requested 245
days of PSCC. The district court, however, awarded him only
162 days. In making this determination, the district court
considered four periods of confinement:
1. Forty-one days from October 25, 2013, to December 5, 2013.
This was the period from Fransua's arrest in the first
case to the date he was released on bond in the first case.
2. One hundred eight days from March 1, 2014, to June 16,
2014. This was the time from Fransua's arrest in the
second case to the date he was sentenced in the first case
and accepted dismissal of the second case.
3. Ninety-nine days from June 16, 2014, to September 23,
2014. This was the period from Fransua's sentence to
community corrections to the date he escaped from community
corrections.
4. Twenty-two days from October 19, 2014, to November 10,
2014. This was the time from Fransua's arrest for
escaping from community corrections to the date he was
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