State v. Cisneros

212 P.3d 246, 42 Kan. App. 2d 376, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 783
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJuly 31, 2009
Docket99,614
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 212 P.3d 246 (State v. Cisneros) 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
State v. Cisneros, 212 P.3d 246, 42 Kan. App. 2d 376, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 783 (kanctapp 2009).

Opinion

Malone, J.:

Orlando Paul Cisneros appeals the district court’s revocation of his probation and order to serve his underlying prison sentence. The only issue on appeal is whether the district court erred in ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to reduce the term of *377 Cisneros’ sentence upon revoking his probation. We reverse and remand with directions.

On March 2, 2007, Cisneros was convicted of one count of rape, five counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, eight counts of criminal sodomy, and three counts of aggravated criminal sodomy. The district court imposed a presumptive term of 155 months’ imprisonment but granted a dispositional departure and placed Cisneros on probation for 36 months.

On August 9, 2007, Cisneros appeared before a different judge at a probation violation hearing. After hearing testimony from the intensive supervising probation officer that Cisneros used drugs in violation of his probation agreement, the district court revoked Cisneros’ probation. As to disposition, Cisneros requested the district court to reinstate his probation. The State requested the district court to impose the original sentence and “not a lesser sentence.” In making his ruling, the district judge stated, “When the suggestion was made earlier about a lesser sentence, I don’t have the power to lower the 155 months that Judge Dowd gave. That is not within my power here.” The district court ordered that Cisneros serve his original sentence of 155 months in prison, Cisneros timely appeals.

Relying on K.S.A. 22-3716(b), Cisneros argues the district court erred in stating it had no power to reduce the term of his sentence upon revoking his probation. Cisneros asks this court to remand his case to the district court for consideration of the statute. The State counters that (1) this court has no jurisdiction to review a presumptive sentence and (2) K.S.A. 22-3716(b) does not require the district court to expressly consider imposing a lesser sentence, especially where Cisneros did not request that it do so, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering that the original sentence be served.

This case requires this court to consider whether the district court properly interpreted and applied K.S.A. 22-3716(b). Interpretation of a statute is a question of law over which an appellate court has unlimited review. State v. Storey, 286 Kan. 7, 16, 179 P.3d 1137 (2008).

*378 Pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3716(b), upon a finding that the defendant has violated the terms of probation, the district court may “continue or revoke the probation, assignment to a community correctional services program, suspension of sentence or nonprison sanction and may require the defendant to serve the sentence imposed, or any lesser sentence, and, if imposition of sentence was suspended, may impose any sentence which might originally have been imposed.” (Emphasis added.)

The State first argues that Cisneros received a presumptive sentence and this court has no jurisdiction to review a presumptive sentence pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4721(c)(l). In State v. Muse, No. 97,188, unpublished opinion filed August 10,2007, rev. denied 285 Kan. 1176 (2007), the district court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve his underlying presumptive.sentence. At the hearing, the district court specifically rejected the defendant’s request to reduce the term of the sentence pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3716(b). On appeal, this court determined that the district court did not abuse its discretion in revoking the defendant’s probation and ordering him to serve the underlying sentence. As to the defendant’s argument that the district court abused its discretion in denying his request for a reduced sentence, this court cited K.S.A. 21-4721(c)(l) and concluded the court lacked jurisdiction to consider an appeal from a presumptive sentence. Slip op. at 5.

However, our analysis of the jurisdiction issue does not end with the discussion of Muse. In State v. Hall, 30 Kan. App. 2d 669, 671, 46 P.3d 561 (2002), the defendant was convicted of possession of cocaine and received a presumptive sentence of 30 months’ imprisonment, but the defendant was initially granted probation. At a subsequent hearing, the district court revoked the defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the underlying prison sentence. At the hearing, the district court indicated that it had no alternative but to impose the underlying sentence and stated, “ ‘The law doesn’t permit modification of sentence.’ ” 30 Kan. App. 2d at 669. On appeal, this court relied on K.S.A. 22-3716(b) and held the district court erred in determining it had no jurisdiction to modify the term of the defendant’s sentence upon revoking his *379 probation. 30 Kan. App. 2d at 671. The question of whether this court had jurisdiction to consider the defendant’s appeal from his presumptive sentence was not raised by the State in Hall.

In State v. Schick, 25 Kan. App. 2d 702, 971 P.2d 346 (1998), rev. denied 266 Kan. 1114 (1999), the defendant received a presumptive sentence but argued on appeal that the district court failed to consider placement at the Labette Correctional Conservation Camp (Labette) pursuant to K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 21-4603d(a). The State argued that this court had no jurisdiction to consider an appeal of a presumptive sentence under K.S.A. 21-4721(c)(l). This court rejected the State’s argument and noted that if this court had no jurisdiction to consider the defendant’s argument for Labette, this would eliminate any review of whether the district court followed the mandates of K.S.A. 1996 Supp. 21-4603d(a). 25 Kan. App. 2d at 703-04.

We conclude that K.S.A. 21-4721(c)(l) is not a jurisdictional bar to Cisneros’ appeal under the facts of this case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
212 P.3d 246, 42 Kan. App. 2d 376, 2009 Kan. App. LEXIS 783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cisneros-kanctapp-2009.