Jones v. State

2003 WY 154, 79 P.3d 1021, 2003 Wyo. LEXIS 184, 2003 WL 22787106
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 25, 2003
Docket02-201
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 2003 WY 154 (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, 2003 WY 154, 79 P.3d 1021, 2003 Wyo. LEXIS 184, 2003 WL 22787106 (Wyo. 2003).

Opinions

HILL, Chief Justice.

[T1] By order entered on March 18, 2002, pursuant to a Writ of. Review, this matter was referred to the district court by this Court, with directions that the district court consider whether the sentences previously imposed: on Appellant, Nathan Jones (Jones), were to be served consecutively or concurrently with an earlier sentence. Jones v. State, Case No. 02-49. By order entered on June 5, 2002, the district court determined, "that [Jones's] sentence herein shall run consecutive to any previously imposed sentence including the sentence the defendant is serving for case number 8801{iIn The District Court Second Judicial District for first-degree murder." Jones has appealed from that determination. We will reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

ISSUES

[T2] Jones raises these issues:

I. Whether the trial court erred in not considering concurrent sentences for [Jones]?
II. Whether [Jones's] sentences were originally ordered by the trial court to be concurrent, and as a result, [Jones's] right to due process has been violated by the treatment of the sentences as consecutive?
III. Whether the Wyoming presumption of consecutive sentencing fails to pass constitutional muster, as it denies each erimi-nal defendant the individualized protection of due process of law?

The State rephrases the issues thus:

I. Did the district court abuse its discretion when it corrected the 1998 Judgment and Sentence to provide that [Jones's] 1993 sentences should run consecutively to [his] 1975 sentence?
II. Was [Jones's] right to due process violated when his 1993 sentences were construed to run consecutively to his 1975 sentence?
III, Does Wyoming's rule, that sentences which are silent as to whether they run concurrently or consecutively shall be presumed to be consecutive sentences, violate due process of law?

[1023]*1023FACTS

[13] Jones was convicted of first-degree, felony murder for his 1974 participation in the robbery and murder of a service station attendant in Sinclair, Wyoming. He was sentenced to life in prison. The Court affirmed that conviction and the sentence imposed. Jones v. State, 568 P.2d 837 (Wyo.1977). During the years of his incarceration, Jones was a model prisoner and he was awarded a number of commutations of his life sentence. Eventually he was eligible for parole, and on January 11, 1989, Jones was placed on parole. His parole was revoked and reinstated on September 12, 1990, after Jones was found guilty of an assault. The apparent basis for this seemingly contradictory action was that, although Jones was convicted of the assault, the victim (Jones's wife) recanted her testimony in proceedings before the parole board.

[T4] Jones was convicted of aiding and abetting armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery for his 1998 involvement in an armed robbery in Casper. An appeal of that conviction was affirmed by this Court. Jones v. State, 902 P.2d 686 (Wyo.1995).

[T5] At Jones's sentencing hearing on September 2, 1998, the district court sentenced Jones to two terms of 20-25 years in the penitentiary, those sentences to be served concurrently. At the time of that sentencing, Jones asked if the sentences would be concurrent with his previously imposed sentence. Although the parole board had not yet revoked his parole, it was perceived by all that such a revocation was inevitable. In response to that query, the district court opined: "If the parole board revokes your parole and give[s] you a sentence, they will have to say whether that should be concurrent or consecutive with this one."

[16] In a letter filed with the district court on May 7, 1998, Jones informed the district court that the penitentiary had treated his 20-25 year sentences as consecutive to his previous sentence. He asked that that determination be corrected so that he would serve those sentences concurrently with his previous sentence. Then District Judge Dan Spangler (now retired) replied to Jones's letter stating that he should contact his attorney. In October of 1998, Jones followed up with a second letter to the same effect, as well as a motion to amend his sentence to make it concurrent. By order entered on October 5, 1998, the district court denied that motion, treating it as a motion to correct or reduce the sentences. Jones appealed that order. On December 22, 1998, this Court dismissed that appeal for want of prosecution. On May 3, 1999, Jones filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence. By order entered on May 20, 1999, the district court determined it did not have jurisdiction to entertain that motion because the matter was on appeal. A "Notice to the Court," and another letter dated July 6, 1999, from Jones, were filed in the district court on May 28, 1999, and September 8, 1999, respectively. By order entered on September 8, 1999, Jones's motion was again denied on the basis that the matter was on appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court and the district court did not have jurisdiction. Jones filed yet another motion to correct an illegal sentence on October 5, 1999, pointing out that there was no appeal pending in the matter. By order entered on October 7, 1999, that motion was denied.

[17] Represented by counsel, Jones filed another motion to correct illegal sentence and a coram nobis petition on February 27 and February 28, 2001. By order entered April 26, 2001, those also were denied. On March 4, 2002, a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus was filed in this Court. The essence of that petition was that the parole board did not have constitutional or statutory authority to decide matters related to sentencing and, in this instance, the parole board was performing just such a function by deciding that the sentences at issue here were consecutive rather than concurrent. See Brenning v. State, 870 P.2d 349, 352 (Wyo.1994). The sentence to be imposed, as well as whether it is concurrent or consecutive, is the exclusive province of the judicial branch.

[T8] This Court considered the Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and determined that it should be converted to a Petition for Writ of Review under W.R.A.P. 13. The [1024]*1024grant of the writ was designed to facilitate review of the district court's actions in this matter. The order granting the writ provided these guidelines:

The Court further finds that, due to the district court's refusal, at the time of sentencing, to designate [Jones's] 1998 aggravated robbery sentences as either concurrent or consecutive to his parole sentence, it would not be appropriate or just in this instance for the courts to stand silent and allow the Board of Parole to rely on the presumption of consecutive sentencing found in Loper v. Shillinger, 772 P.2d 552, 553 (Wyo.1989) and Apodaca v. State, 891 P.2d 83, 85 (Wyo.1995).

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Bluebook (online)
2003 WY 154, 79 P.3d 1021, 2003 Wyo. LEXIS 184, 2003 WL 22787106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jones-v-state-wyo-2003.