People v. Patton
People v. Patton
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1 Respondent James Patton stole two camcorders worth about $1700 total in 2009. At the time he did this, theft for the value of the two camcorders constituted a class 4 felony. But in 2013, the General Assembly changed the theft statute to make thefts for items valued between $750 and $2000 a class 1 misdemeanor. Ch. 373, sec. 1, § 18-4-401,
¶ 2 Patton appealed, arguing he should have received the benefit of a lower sentence under the amended theft statute. A division of the court of appeals agreed, reversing in an unpublished, split opinion. The majority followed the division's opinion in People v. Stellabotte,
¶ 3 We granted the People's petition for certiorari
¶ 4 Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the division and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
CHIEF JUSTICE COATS dissents, and JUSTICE BOATRIGHT joins in the dissent.
We granted certiorari to review the following issue:
Whether the court of appeals erred in holding that an amendment to a statute that is silent on whether it applies retroactively applies retroactively to cases that are pending when the amendment was enacted.
Dissenting Opinion
¶ 5 For the reasons given in my dissent in People v. Stellabotte,
I am authorized to state that JUSTICE BOATRIGHT joins in this dissent.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado v. James Edward PATTON
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published