Commonwealth v. Steadman

411 S.W.3d 717, 2013 WL 5763066, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 468
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 24, 2013
DocketNos. 2010-SC-000326-DG, 2011-SC-000508-DG
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 411 S.W.3d 717 (Commonwealth v. Steadman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Steadman, 411 S.W.3d 717, 2013 WL 5763066, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 468 (Ky. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion of the Court by

Justice NOBLE.

This case presents two questions. First, is a trial court without general subject-matter jurisdiction, or otherwise without power, to order restitution after entering a final judgment sentencing the defendant to imprisonment, even though the defendant consented to a restitution hearing being held after the sentencing date and otherwise failed to object? The answer is no.

Second, is a CR 59.05 motion to amend, alter, or vacate an order timely filed thirteen days after the challenged order is entered where there is no evidence about when the motion was mailed? The answer is no.

I. Background

In 2005, Steadman was indicted in Logan County for theft by deception over $300 and being a second-degree persistent felony offender.1 He represented himself at trial, albeit with stand-by counsel.2 On May 4, 2007, he was convicted on both charges, and the jury recommended an eight-year sentence.

On May 16, 2007, the Commonwealth filed notice that it would seek restitution at the final sentencing, which was to be held the next day. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court stated that it would order restitution and, indeed, was required by law to do so. After hearing argument from both sides disputing the proper amount of restitution, the trial court stated that a hearing with testimony would be [719]*719necessary, to which Steadman’s lawyer stated, “Yes, your honor.” Neither Stead-man nor his lawyer objected to this. In fact, Steadman’s lawyer specifically asked that the hearing not be set on a Thursday.

By separate order handwritten on the docket sheet and entered by the clerk on May 17, the court set a restitution hearing for June 8. Also on May 17, the court signed its final judgment sentencing Steadman to imprisonment for eight years. The judgment, however, was not entered by the clerk until twelve days later, on May 29.

The day the final judgment was entered, Steadman’s counsel tendered a notice of appeal. The notice, however, was not filed by the clerk until June 20.

In the interim, on June 8, the trial court held the restitution hearing. At the beginning of the hearing, Steadman’s lawyer stated that her understanding was that it was a continuation of the previous hearing, presumably referring to the restitution discussion on the day of sentencing. At no time during the hearing did Steadman or his lawyer object to the court’s jurisdiction or power to order restitution. And at the end of the hearing, the following exchange between Steadman’s counsel and the court occurred:

Counsel: Will you be issuing a final order at this time on Mr. Steadman’s case?
Court: Say that again?
Counsel: Will you be issuing a final judgment on this case at this time? I believe that was an outstanding issue.
Court: We are doing a final judgment—
Counsel: Yes, your honor.
Court: — with regard to the incarceration.
Counsel: Yes, your honor.
Court: And I will do a separate order on the restitution. I think the judgment on the, the final judgment of sentence and imprisonment has already been entered.
Counsel: Okay. People have told me differently. I just wanted to make sure we have that for appellate—
Court: That is already entered.

After that exchange, Steadman asked to raise issues related to his appeal. He complained that he “had no idea” that his lawyer had filed a notice of appeal (she stated that she told him she was going to), and that he had complaints about the record to be designated on appeal. Several minutes of discussion about the appellate record and getting the appeal moving followed.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney then stated that he believed the notice of appeal he received was filed before the court’s final judgment and that he thus did not believe the appeal had been “perfected.” Steadman’s counsel responded: “I don’t think it is. I think there already was one. I remember Mr. [inaudible] talking about that.” She made one other brief statement that is not audible on the record. At that time, Steadman stated he had prepared a notice of appeal and brought it to court as “insurance.” The court took the notice and said it would order it filed in the record.

Later that day, the court signed an order for $11,350 in restitution, plus a 5% statutory fee. This order was entered on June 13. Steadman’s handwritten notice of appeal was filed by the clerk on June 20.3

In April 2008, while the appeal was pending, Steadman moved the trial court [720]*720to vacate the restitution order under CR 60.02. He argued that the order had been based on perjured testimony and that he had not been given due process.

In August 2008, he moved the court to vacate his conviction and the restitution order, again under CR 60.02. Among other things, he argued that the Commonwealth had failed to turn over exculpatory material from a separate prosecution of Steadman in nearby Barren County.

This material came to Steadman’s attention in an April 2008 letter from the special prosecutor in the Barren County case to the special judge in the Barren County case. A copy of the letter was sent to Steadman. It described a “large box” with over 200 financial, legal, and medical documents. The letter stated that the special prosecutor was “concerned that there are some important documents pertaining to Mr. Steadman’s pending criminal and civil cases,” and that “there could be some exculpatory evidence.”

Steadman claimed in his motion that this was the material he had been trying to obtain for years and which the original prosecutors in both his Barren and Logan County cases had continually denied existed. He also argued that the Barren County case had been dismissed because the regular Commonwealth’s Attorney had withheld exculpatory evidence. The letter from the special prosecutor stated that the information in the large box had just recently been received in his office from the Barren County Commonwealth’s Attorney the week before, and that he did not know how the material came to be in the Barren County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s possession or how long it had been there.

On July 21, 2008, the trial court denied both motions. The court found no proof of perjury or fraud leading to the restitution order, and no due process violation. The court also noted that Steadman had failed to include a copy of the special prosecutor’s letter with his motion to vacate his conviction. Without that support, the trial court stated, the “motion read more like a convoluted fictional crime novel than a motion to vacate his judgment and sentence.” The court concluded that “without some evidence of the existence of a ‘large box’ of exculpatory evidence recently discovered or a letter from a prosecutor acknowledging such evidence, the Defendant’s claims are without merit.” This order was entered on July 22.

Thirteen days later, on Monday, August 4, 2008, the Logan Circuit Clerk’s office received a motion for reconsideration from Steadman. This time, Steadman included a copy of the special prosecutor’s letter.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
411 S.W.3d 717, 2013 WL 5763066, 2013 Ky. LEXIS 468, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-steadman-ky-2013.