Resentencing is required where a sentencing court relied on documents containing factual misstatements in denying probation and selecting a prison term. Following defendant’s convictions for abusing her son and daughter by failing to timely seek medical treatment for them, the court denied probation and sentenced her to prison. On appeal, defendant argued that the documents relied upon by the court contained material misstatements of fact. The Court of Appeal agreed, noting that the probation report and other documents erroneously stated that the children were severely dehydrated and in critical condition, when in fact the uncontroverted evidence demonstrated that they were only moderately dehydrated and that their conditions were never life-threatening. Finding that the trial court deprived the defendant of due process by relying on these factually erroneous statements in denying probation, the Court of Appeal remanded for a new sentencing hearing.
Case Summaries