Cooper v. Commonwealth

902 S.W.2d 833, 1995 Ky. App. LEXIS 35, 1995 WL 72397
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 24, 1995
DocketNo. 94-CA-0014-MR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 902 S.W.2d 833 (Cooper v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooper v. Commonwealth, 902 S.W.2d 833, 1995 Ky. App. LEXIS 35, 1995 WL 72397 (Ky. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

COMBS, Judge:

This case involves an issue of first impression in this Commonwealth; i.e., whether a court-ordered pre-sentence “yard restriction” constitutes “custody” for which credit for time served must be granted. The Appellant contends that this restriction amounted to pre-conviction custody, for which he should have received credit against his jail sentence. In addition, he argues that the denial of credit violated the Double Jeopardy and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. After a thorough review of the prevailing case law and statutory authority, we disagree with the Appellant’s contentions and affirm the decision of the Warren Circuit Court.

Appellant Brian Cooper (Cooper) was charged by the Warren County Grand Jury during the April, 1992, term for 12 counts of First-Degree Burglary, one count each of Second-Degree Burglary and Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary in the Second Degree, and 13 counts of Theft by Unlawful Taking of Property Valued over $100.00. He was arrested shortly thereafter.

These offenses were committed by Cooper during the period from December, 1991, to January, 1992, when he was a juvenile. Cooper turned 18 on March 19, 1992, and the following day he was transferred from juvenile court to the circuit court to be tried as an adult on these charges. Before the transfer, the juvenile court ordered Cooper to remain on yard restriction in his home with his father.

On April 3, 1992, Cooper entered a plea of not guilty. A cash bond of $50,000.00 was set. Upon defense counsel’s motion the court allowed Cooper’s father to sign as surety on the bond. As an additional condition of release, the circuit court ordered Cooper to remain on yard restriction.1 On May 21, 1992, Cooper accepted the Commonwealth’s offer to amend the First-Degree Burglary counts to Second Degree, and to dismiss the additional count of Second-Degree Burglary and Criminal Attempt to Commit Burglary in the Second Degree. In exchange for this amendment and the Commonwealth’s recommendation of a total sentence of ten years, Cooper agreed to plead guilty. On June 22, 1992, Cooper was sentenced in accordance with his plea agreement to ten years of imprisonment. Since his incarceration, Cooper has tendered three motions for shock probation, all of which have been denied by the circuit court. Following these motions, on November 23,1993, Cooper filed a motion for jail credit which is the subject of this appeal. That motion was denied by the circuit court on December 15, 1993, and this appeal followed.

Cooper’s first argument is that he is entitled to jail time credit pursuant to K.R.S. § 532.120(3), which mandates that the trial court give him credit for time spent in custody prior to sentencing. It states:

[t]ime spent in custody prior to the commencement of a sentence as a result of the charge that culminated in the sentence shall be credited by the court imposing sentence toward service of the maximum term of imprisonment.

(Emphasis added). The critical issue then is whether court-ordered yard restriction constitutes “custody” for which credit for time served must be given. Cooper reasons that he was never released from custody2 and that the condition imposed upon him was a de facto continuation of the custodial situation for which he is entitled to receive credit pursuant to K.R.S. § 532.120(3). We disagree.

Cooper has misconstrued the meaning of custody in his situation. “Custody” is defined in K.R.S. § 520.010(2) as:

[835]*835restraint by a public servant pursuant to a lawful arrest, detention, or an order of court for law enforcement purposes, but does not include supervision of probation or parole or constraint incidental to release on bail.

(1994 Supp.) (emphasis added). Unfortunately for Cooper, K.R.S. § 520.010(2) specifically excludes incidental constraints pursuant to release on bail such as the court-imposed condition of yard restriction. Although Cooper correctly points out that this definition is found in the K.R.S. chapter relating to escape, a definition of custody for escape purposes is necessarily more broad that one for his situation. See Defining “Custody,” “Incarceration” and “Imprisonment, ” Community Corrections Report Dec.Jan. 1994, at 5-7; United States v. Draper, 996 F.2d 982 (9th Cir.1993).

In Prewitt v. Wilkinson, Ky.App., 843 S.W.2d 335 (1992), we applied the definition found in K.R.S. § 520.010(2) to determine whether the defendant, released on an appeal bond, was in custody for purposes of jail time calculation. Although released on a different type of bond, the defendant in Prewitt made essentially the same arguments as Cooper: that although released, his bond conditions were so confining and restrictive that they amounted to being in custody. Prewitt, 843 S.W.2d at 336. This Court of Appeals rejected that argument. While not completely congruent factually, the rule of Prewitt is broad enough to apply to this case as governing precedent.

In furtherance of his statutory argument that he should receive credit, Cooper also argues that yard restriction is strikingly similar to home incarceration in that both involve being confined to one’s home.3 However, unlike the court-ordered condition of yard restriction, home incarceration is an alternative to confinement in a penitentiary provided for by statute in K.R.S. Chapter 532. According to this chapter, any misdemeanant may petition the sentencing court for an order directing that his sentence be served under terms of home incarceration. K.R.S. § 532.210(1). The conditions for home incarceration must include the following, among others:

it) [t]he home incarceree shall be confined to his home at all times except when:
(а) [wjorking at approved employment or traveling directly to and from such employment;
[[Image here]]
(2) [violation of subsection (1) of this section may subject the home incarceree to prosecution under KRS 520.030 (escape);
[[Image here]]
(б) [t]he home incarceree shall maintain a telephone or other approved monitoring device in the home or on his person at all times;

K.R.S. § 532.220.

Despite the similarities between home incarceration and the yard-restriction condition to release on bond, there are nonetheless compelling distinctions. First is the obvious difference in time-frame. Home incarceration is an alternative to confinement in a penitentiary after the fact of sentencing by a court. Release on bond precedes the fact of conviction and the attachment of jeopardy. Additionally, Cooper would not have been subjected to prosecution for escape had he violated the terms of his release. Bartrug v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 582 S.W.2d 61, 63 (1979). Nor was he required by the court to maintain a monitoring device in his home.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Weaver v. Commonwealth
156 S.W.3d 270 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2005)
Buford v. Commonwealth
58 S.W.3d 490 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 2001)
Stroud v. Commonwealth
922 S.W.2d 382 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
902 S.W.2d 833, 1995 Ky. App. LEXIS 35, 1995 WL 72397, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-v-commonwealth-kyctapp-1995.