Logsdon v. State

79 P.3d 1076, 32 Kan. App. 2d 1, 2002 Kan. App. LEXIS 1216
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedNovember 22, 2002
DocketNo. 87,821
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 79 P.3d 1076 (Logsdon v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Logsdon v. State, 79 P.3d 1076, 32 Kan. App. 2d 1, 2002 Kan. App. LEXIS 1216 (kanctapp 2002).

Opinion

Johnson, J.:

Christopher Logsdon appeals the denial of his K.S.A. 60-1507 motion, which claimed the statute under which he was charged, convicted, and sentenced violated his equal protection rights. We affirm.

Logsdon walked- away from the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. He subsequently pled guilty to aggravated escape from custody in violation of K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810(a)(7) and received a presumptive sentence. Shortly after sentencing, he filed for postconviction relief, challenging the constitutionality of K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810.

As a preliminary matter, we note the record does not contain the transcript of the district court hearing or the district court’s memorandum decision. Such omission hampers our review. “The burden is upon the appellant to designate a record sufficient to present his or her points to the appellate court and to establish die claimed error.” Sterba v. Jay, 249 Kan. 270, 280, 816 P.2d 379 (1991). Nevertheless, in the interest of judicial economy, we will address the constitutionality question.

“Whether a statute violates equal protection is a question of law over which this court has unlimited review.” State v. Mueller, 271 Kan. 897, 902, 27 P.3d 884 (2001). A statute is presumed to be constitutional, and if there is “any reasonable way to construe a statute as constitutionally valid, the court must do so.” Boatright v. Kansas Racing Comm'n, 251 Kan. 240, 243, 834 P.2d 368 (1992).

K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810(a) sets forth seven scenarios constituting aggravated escape from custody; it is escaping while held in lawful custody:

“(1) upon a charge or conviction of a felony or (2) upon a charge or adjudication as a juvenile offender . . . where the act, if committed by an adult, would constitute a felony or (3) prior to or upon a finding of probable cause for evaluation as a sexually violent predator . . . or (4) upon commitment to a treatment facility as a sexually violent predator ... or (5) upon commitment to the state security hospital . . . based on a finding that the person committed an act constituting a felony or (6) by a person 18 years of age or over who is being held on an adjudication of a felony or (7) upon incarceration at a state correctional institution . . . while in tire custody of the secretary of corrections.”

[3]*3The penalties under the statute are based on two factors: (1) the individual’s escape scenario and (2) whether violence or tire threat of violence was employed. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810(c). For instance, a sexually violent predator escaping from a treatment facility without using violence would be charged with a severity level 8, nonperson felony, while a sexually violent predator escaping from a treatment facility using violence would be charged with a severity level 6, person felony. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810(c)(l) and (2). In contrast, an individual escaping from incarceration at a state correctional institution without using violence would be charged with a severity level 5, nonperson felony, while an individual escaping from the state institution using violence would be charged with a severity level 5, person felony. K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810(c)(2) and (4). Logsdon claims that the disparate penalties for similarly situated individuals, i.e., persons who escape from custody, violates his equal protection rights and renders the statute unconstitutional.

The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution demands that “[n]o state shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of .the laws.” The guiding principle of the Equal Protection Clause is that similarly situated individuals should be treated alike. Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 440, 87 L. Ed. 2d 313, 105 S. Ct. 3249 (1985); Chiles v. State, 254 Kan. 888, 895, 869 P.2d 707, cert. denied 513 U.S. 850 (1994).

When analyzing an equal protection claim, the United States and Kansas Supreme Courts employ three levels of scrutiny: strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, and the rational basis test. Chiles, 254 Kan. at 891. The level of scrutiny applied by the court depends on the nature of the legislative classification and the rights affected by that classification. Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620, 632, 134 L. Ed. 2d 855, 116 S. Ct. 1620 (1996). The general rule is that a law will be subject to the rational basis test unless the legislative classification targets a suspect class or burdens a fundamental right. 517 U.S. at 631. In Farley v. Engelken, 241 Kan. 663, 667, 740 P.2d 1058 (1987), the Kansas Supreme Court stated:

[4]*4“When a statute is attacked on equal protection grounds, the general rule is that the statute is presumed constitutional, and the burden is on the party attacking the statute to prove otherwise. Only in cases involving ‘suspect classifications’ or ‘fundamental interests’ is the presumption of constitutionality displaced and the burden placed on the party asserting constitutionality to demonstrate a compelling state interest which justifies the classification.”

Logsdon maintains that strict scrutiny should be used to analyze his equal protection claim because the legislative classifications in K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 21-3810 burden his fundamental “right to be free from cruel or unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Logsdon argues that the sentencing disparities are so disproportionate as to shock the conscience and offend fundamental notions of human dignity.

Logsdon’s strict scrutiny argument appears to combine the analyses for alleged violations of the Eighth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause into one framework. However, Eighth Amendment claims are analyzed separately from equal protection claims. See State v. McDaniel & Owens, 228 Kan. 172, 612 P.2d 1231 (1980); State v. Freeman, 223 Kan. 362, 574 P.2d 950 (1978); State v. Sherk, 217 Kan. 726,

Related

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Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2024
State v. Barajas
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2022

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 P.3d 1076, 32 Kan. App. 2d 1, 2002 Kan. App. LEXIS 1216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/logsdon-v-state-kanctapp-2002.