DAVIS, Justice:
This case was presented to this Court in 2011, as an initial appeal by Mr. S. from his conviction and sentence for first-degree sexual assault and sexual abuse by a parent or guardian.
After we affirmed Mr. S.' original conviction and sentence, he filed a habeas corpus petition in circuit court. In that petition, Mr. S. alleged that his sentence for first-degree sexual assault was illegal because it was not the sentence prescribed for the offense he was convicted of committing.
At a hearing held on July 8, 2014, the circuit court determined sua sponte that Mr. S.'s habeas petition was not the proper mechanism for challenging his sentence. The court found that the issue was properly resolved under Rule 35 of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure. Consequently, the circuit court determined that it would correct Mr. S.'s sentence pursuant to Rule 35. Mr. S. participated in the hearing on the matter via video conferencing. He was represented by counsel at the proceeding. During the hearing, the State conceded that Mr. S. was not sentenced under the statute in place when he committed the crime. Even so, Mr. S. argued that he was entitled to a de novo resentencing hearing. The trial court disagreed with Mr. S. and determined that it would correct the sentence. The trial court announced the new sentence at the hearing and entered an order on July 29, 2014; Mr. S. received an indeterminate sentence of not less than fifteen years nor more than thirty-five years for first-degree sexual assault.
The controlling issue presented in this appeal is whether the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Mr. S.'s request for a de novo resentencing hearing. Our review standard of an order correcting a
Syl. pt. 1, State v. Head, 198 W.Va. 298, 480 S.E.2d 507 (1996).
Mr. S. contends that the trial court committed reversible error in denying his request for a de novo resentencing hearing. Specifically, Mr. S. alleged that he "was not allowed to appear in person" and that, at the hearing, he "was not allowed to present evidence, put on witnesses, or give his allocution to the court." The State contends that Mr. S. did not have a right to a de novo resentencing hearing.
A defendant is constitutionally guaranteed the right to be present at any stage of the criminal proceeding that is critical to its outcome, if his or her presence would contribute to the fairness of the procedure. We held in Syllabus point 6 of State v. Boyd, 160 W.Va. 234, 233 S.E.2d 710 (1977), that "[t]he defendant has a right under Article III, Section 14 of the West Virginia Constitution to be present at all critical stages in the criminal proceeding; and when he is not, the State is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what transpired in his absence was harmless." See also Kentucky v. Stincer, 482 U.S. 730, 745, 107 S.Ct. 2658, 2667, 96 L.Ed.2d 631 (1987). We also have held that "[a] critical stage of a criminal proceeding is where the defendant's right to a fair trial will be affected." Syl. pt. 2, State v. Tiller, 168 W.Va. 522, 285 S.E.2d 371 (1981). This includes the right to be present upon the imposition of sentence. See W. Va. R.Crim. P., 43(a) ("The defendant shall be present ... at the imposition of sentence, except as otherwise provided by this rule."). Additionally, Rule 32(c) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure provides that, at the time of sentencing, the defendant has the right to allocution, that is, to present any information in mitigation of punishment, and to make a statement on his or her own behalf. See Syl. pt. 6, State v. Holcomb, 178 W.Va. 455, 360 S.E.2d 232 (1987) ("[Rule 32(c)(3)(c)] of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure confers a right of allocution upon one who is about to be sentenced for a criminal offense.").
A defendant's right to be present at an initial sentencing hearing has been qualified by Rule 43(c)(4) of the West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 43(c)(4) provides an exception to a defendant's right to attend a sentencing hearing if it involves a correction of sentence under Rule 35. Consequently, the resolution of the issue presented by Mr. S. involves the interplay between Rule 35 and Rule 43(c)(4). Rule 35 provides in full as follows:
Rule 43(c)(4) provides as follows:
Mr. S.'s sentence was corrected under Rule 35(a).
Donald B., 2015 WL 3751987, at *3.
Federal courts have reached the same result as Donald B. by construing together
Pineda, 988 F.2d at 23.
A similar issue was raised in Wells v. United States, 469 A.2d 1248 (D.C.1983). In Wells, the defendant was convicted and sentenced for three counts of felony-murder, two counts of assault with intent to kill, and one count of arson. After several appeals the defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence under Rule 35(a). The defendant argued in his motion that he should not have been sentenced for arson, because that was the underlying felony in which the felony-murder convictions were obtained. The trial court conducted a summary oral hearing at which the defendant's counsel was present, but not the defendant. The trial court issued an order vacating the arson sentence and reimposing the original sentences on the other convictions. On appeal, the defendant argued that the resentencing hearing should have been de novo and that he had a right to be present. The appellate court disagreed as follows:
Wells, 469 A.2d at 1249-50. See United States v. Parker, 101 F.3d 527 (7th Cir.1996); United States v. Harris, 36 F.3d 1103 (9th Cir.1994); United States v. Nolley, 27 F.3d 80 (4th Cir.1994).
United States v. Jackson, 923 F.2d 1494, 1497 (11th Cir.1991). See also United States v. Sabatino, 963 F.2d 366 (1st Cir.1992); United States v. Thompson, 979 F.2d 743 (9th Cir.1992).
Mr. S. cited to several cases from other jurisdictions to support his argument that he was entitled to a de novo resentencing hearing. For example, two of the decisions cited by Mr. S., State v. Winston, 182 Ohio App.3d 306, 912 N.E.2d 655 (Ohio App.2009) and State v. Bock, No. 07AP-119, 2007 WL 4171139 (Ohio App.2007), involve a previous ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that a de novo resentencing hearing was required when a defendant was not informed at the original sentencing hearing about post-release control. However, this is no longer the law in Ohio. In State v. Fischer, 128 Ohio St.3d 92, 942 N.E.2d 332 (Ohio 2010), the Ohio Supreme Court modified its previous decision that required a de novo resentencing hearing when a defendant was not informed of post-release control. Syllabus point 2 of Fischer states that "[t]he new sentencing hearing to which an offender is entitled under State v. Bezak is limited to proper imposition of post-release control. (State v. Bezak, 114 Ohio St.3d 94, 2007-Ohio-3250, 868 N.E.2d 961, syllabus, modified.)." See also State v. Bunting, Nos. 2011 CA 00112, 2011 CA 00131, 2012 WL 382922 (Ohio Ct.App. Feb. 6, 2012) (finding defendant not entitled to a de novo sentencing hearing and no error in having defendant appear via video teleconferencing); State v. Williams, 195 Ohio App.3d 505, 512, 960 N.E.2d 1027, 1033 (Ohio Ct.App.2011) ("[W]e reject appellant's contention that his entire sentence is void and a de novo resentencing hearing is required.... [W]e find that a hearing restricted to only the void portion of appellant's sentence is required."). The remaining cases cited by Mr. S. are distinguishable because they are fact-specific to the unique laws of those jurisdictions. See People v. Everett, 250 P.3d 649, 664 (Colo.App.2010); Bell v. State, 863 So.2d 458 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.2004); Gonzalez v. State, 838 So.2d 1242, 1243 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 2003); People v. Waldrup, No. 2-10-0309, 2012 WL 6964974 (Ill.App.Ct. Jan. 11, 2012).
As previously noted, during the hearing the instant case the State conceded that Mr. S.'s sentence for first-degree sexual assault was incorrect. Consequently, all that was left for the circuit court to do was vacate the illegal sentence and impose the sentence required by law. More importantly to our disposition is that the record of the original sentencing hearing clearly demonstrates that Mr. S. original sentencing hearing comported with due process. The trial court at the original sentencing hearing noted on the record the following:
See State v. Fry, 61 Haw. 226, 231, 602 P.2d 13, 17 (1979) ("As a Rule 35 motion is part of the original case and the corrected sentence runs anew from the time of the original sentencing, the facts in the trial record are a sufficient basis for the court to act."). Clearly, there was no structural defect in the original sentencing hearing, such as prohibiting Mr. S. the right of allocution, that required a de novo resentencing hearing under Rule 35(a). Consequently, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. S.'s request for a de novo resentencing hearing.
We affirm the circuit court's July 29, 2014, order correcting Mr. S.'s sentence for first-degree sexual assault.
Affirmed.
King, 205 W.Va. at 425, 518 S.E.2d at 666. See also State v. Fore, No. 11-0367, 2012 WL 3030747, at *2 (W.Va. April 16, 2012) (Memorandum Decision) ("The Court finds that a circuit court has the discretion in deciding whether or not an evidentiary hearing is necessary on a Rule 35(b) motion. For this, the circuit court did not err in making a ruling without holding a hearing.").
See also State v. Lawson, 165 W.Va. 119, 122, 267 S.E.2d 438, 440 (1980) ("We will also remand this case to allow the court to sentence the defendant to a definite term since he was sentenced by the court to a term of not less than ten nor more than twenty years."); State v. Justice, 130 W.Va. 662, 673, 44 S.E.2d 859, 865 (1947) ("Perceiving no error other than the incorrect judgment of sentence, we reverse the judgment of the trial court, and remand the case for the entry of a proper judgment of sentence."); State v. Beacraft, 126 W.Va. 895, 30 S.E.2d 541, 546 (1944) overruled on other grounds by State v. Dolin, 176 W.Va. 688, 347 S.E.2d 208 (1986) ("This error merits reversal only for the purpose of having the judgment of sentence corrected. The judgment of the circuit court is therefore reversed and the case remanded for entry of a proper judgment of sentence upon the verdict.").