Jones v. State

2002 WY 35, 41 P.3d 1247, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 38, 2002 WL 313525
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 1, 2002
Docket00-327
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 2002 WY 35 (Jones v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jones v. State, 2002 WY 35, 41 P.3d 1247, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 38, 2002 WL 313525 (Wyo. 2002).

Opinions

VOIGT, Justice.

[11] The petitioner, Craig Jones, filed a Petition for Writ of Review asking this Court to address certain issues concerning his sentencing. We granted his petition and ordered that his case be remanded for resen-tencing. After being resentenced, Jones filed a second Petition for Writ of Review regarding the Judgment and Sentence Upon Remand, which petition was granted by this Court.

[12] We affirm, but remand for amendment of the Judgment and Sentence Upon Remand to conform to this opinion.

ISSUES

[13] The petitioner presents the following issues for review:

ISSUE I. Can incarceration be followed by probation?
ISSUE II. - Did the trial court impermis-sibly increase [the petitioner's] sentence?
ISSUE III. Are the conditions of probation illegal?

FACTS

[T4] On November 20, 1998, a jury found the petitioner guilty of driving while under the influence (DWUI) causing serious bodily injury, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 81-5-2383(h) (Michie 1997). The county court (now referred to as circuit court) sentenced the petitioner on February 8, 1999, to twelve months in the county jail, with all but eight to nine months suspended. The cireuit court ordered the petitioner to pay a $50.00 surcharge to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund, $20.00 court costs, and a $3,000.00 fine. It further ordered that the petitioner be [1251]*1251placed on three years' supervised probation, specifying nineteen terms and conditions to be followed.1 On February 22, 1999, the petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal to the district court. That appeal was unsuccessful and a request for reconsideration was denied.

[T5] The petitioner's first Petition for Writ of Review was filed with this Court after the district court's affirmance of his conviction and its contemporaneous denial of reconsideration. On November 30, 1999, this Court issued an Order of Partial Remand for Reconsideration of Sentence and Order Denying the Balance of the Petition for Writ of Review. We ordered that a different circuit court judge "resentence the petitioner with particular respect to the indeterminate length of the sentence originally imposed (should incarceration be ordered) and what may constitute lawful and proper terms and conditions of probation (should the assigned court consider probation)(.]"

[16] At resentencing on March 10, 2000, the cireuit court ordered the petitioner to serve twelve months in the county jail with all but nine months suspended; ordered him to pay $2,771.80 to the Crime Victims Compensation Fund; $2,806.00 in restitution; $20.00 in court costs; and a $3,000.00 fine. The cireuit court further ordered that the petitioner be placed on three years' supervised probation, with thirteen terms and conditions to be followed.2 After the district court's affirmance and denial of a rehearing motion, the petitioner's second Petition for Writ of Review was filed in this Court. This Court granted review on December 19, 2000.

CAN INCARCERATION BE FOLLOWED BY PROBATION?

[17] The question is whether the DWUI statute then in effect allowed probation following incarceration when the conviction resulted from violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-288(b)(i)3 This statute provided, in pertinent part:

Whoever causes serious bodily injury to another person resulting from the violation of this section shall be punished upon conviction as follows:
[1252]*1252(i) If not subject to the penalty under paragraph (ii) of this subsection, by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both{.]

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-288(h)G).

[T8] It is clear that nothing in subsection (h) expressly permitted probation to follow jail time. However, the district and circuit courts agreed that such a sentence was permissible under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-233(e), which stated:

(e) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, a person convicted of violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), or both. * * * The judge may suspend part or all of the discretionary portion of an imprisonment sentence under this subsection and place the defendant on probation on condition that the defendant pursues and completes an alcohol education or treatment program as prescribed by the judge. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the term of probation imposed by a judge under this section may exceed the maximum term of inlprisonment established for the offense under this subsection provided the term of probation together with any extension thereof, shall in no case exceed three (3) years.[4]

(Emphasis added.)

[19] The district and - circuit courts viewed subsection (e) as the general sentencing provision of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 81-5-283. While their conclusion that its last sentence permitted the probationary sentence may seem reasonable, we find that the language of the statute is less than clear, so we must determine whether or not it is legally ambiguous. If it is, we must resort to the rules of statutory construction for its interpretation. Statutory construction or interpretation is a question of law that is reviewed de movo. Anderson Highway Signs and Supply, Inc. v. Close, 6 P.3d 123, 124 (Wyo.2000).

[N10] A statute is ambiguous if its intention is uncertain and it is susceptible to more than one meaning. Amrein v. State, 836 P.2d 862, 864-65 (Wyo.1992). " 'A "statute is unambiguous if its wording is such that reasonable persons are able to agree to its meaning with consistence and predictability." '" Moncrief v. Wyoming State Bd. of Equalization, 856 P.2d 440, 443 (Wyo.1993) (quoting Parker Land and Cattle Co. v. Wyoming Game and Fish Com'n, 845 P.2d 1040, 1043 (Wyo.1993) and Allied-Signal, Inc. v. Wyoming State Bd. of Equalization, 813 P.2d 214, 220 (Wyo.1991)). Whether a statute is ambiguous begins with an inquiry respecting the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words employed, according to their arrangement and connection; the statute must be construed reasonably with reference to the aim, purpose, or policy of the enacting body. Moncrief 856 P.2d at 443 (quoting Parker Land and Cattle Co., 845 P.2d at 1042 and Rasmussen v. Baker, 7 Wyo. 117, 133, 50 P. 819, 823 (1897)); Sue Davidson, P.C. v. Naranjo, 904 P.2d 354, 356 (Wyo.1995).

[T11] Applying the - above-mentioned rules of construction leads this Court to conclude that Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 81-5-283(h)() was ambiguous. The petitioner construed the meaning of the term "subsection" and not "section" in the last two sentences of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 81-5-2383(e) to mean that probation was limited to sentences imposed only under subsection (e) The State relied on the term "section" in the last sentence to argue that subsection (e) was the general sentencing provision and probation was allowed under subsections (e) or (h). We find that this statute is subject to varying interpretations or meanings and is ambiguous. Therefore, we will construe the meaning of the statute by looking at legislative intent [1253]*1253and the statute's reasonable interpretation in light of its intended purpose.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2002 WY 35, 41 P.3d 1247, 2002 Wyo. LEXIS 38, 2002 WL 313525, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-state-wyo-2002.