People of Guam v Quitugua [2009] GUSC 5; 2009 Guam 05 (24 July 2009)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF GUAM

THE PEOPLE OF GUAM
Plaintiff-Appellee,

V

POLLY JO AGUON QUITUGUA
Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court Case No. CRA08-007
Superior Court Case No. CF0192-07

OPINION

Filed: July 24, 2009
Cite as: 2009 Guam 5

Appeal from the Superior Court of Guam
Argued and submitted on October 30, 2008
Hagåtña, Guam

Appearing for Plaintiff-Appellee: Jeffrey A. Moots, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General Prosecution Division 287 W O’Brien Dr. Hagåtña, GU 96910

Appearing for Defendant-Appellant: Howard Trapp, Esq. Howard Trapp, Inc. 200 Saylor Bldg. 139 E Chalan Santo Papa Hagåtña, GU 96910

BEFORE: ROBERT J. TORRES, Chief Justice; F. PHILIP CARBULLIDO, Associate Justice; KATHERINE A. MARAMAN, Associate Justice.

CARBULLIDO, J.:

[1] Defendant-Appellant Polly Jo Aguon Quitugua was convicted upon her plea of guilty to a charge of theft of property. She was sentenced to five years in prison and, as a separate portion of her sentence, a three-year mandatory parole term. She now appeals, seeking leave to withdraw her plea on the grounds that the court failed to inform her and ensure she understood that her sentence included a "special" parole term, mandated by statute. Quitugua did not preserve the error by objecting in the court below. Although we find, on plain error review, that the trial court erred, we find no miscarriage of justice or threat to the integrity of the judicial process resulted from this forfeited error meriting reversal of the judgment. Accordingly, the judgment is AFFIRMED.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

[2] Quitugua pleaded guilty to stealing property from the medical office of Dr. Victor M. Perez over a four-year period from 2002 to 2006. Quitugua had been charged with two counts of theft of property, one count of theft of property held in trust, one count of forgery, and one count of tampering with records to deceive and conceal. In exchange for Quitugua’s agreement to plead guilty to one of the two counts of theft of property, the People promised to dismiss the four additional criminal charges. Appellant’s Excerpts of Record ("ER") at 21-22 (Plea Agreement, June 4, 2008).

[3]