State v. Dickey

329 P.3d 1230, 50 Kan. App. 2d 468, 2014 WL 2900957, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 44
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJune 27, 2014
DocketNo. 110,245
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 329 P.3d 1230 (State v. Dickey) 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. Dickey, 329 P.3d 1230, 50 Kan. App. 2d 468, 2014 WL 2900957, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 44 (kanctapp 2014).

Opinions

Standridge, J:

Jeff Dickey appeals from the sentence imposed by the district court after he pled guilty to one count of felony theft. Relying on Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000), and Descamps v. United States, 570 U.S_, 133 S. Ct. 2276, 186 L. Ed. 2d 438 (2013), Dickey contends the district court violated his constitutional rights by classifying a 1992 juvenile adjudication for burglaiy as a person felony, which enhanced the penalty for his sentence beyond the statutorily prescribed maximum. Applying the holdings in Ap-prendi and Descamps to the facts presented here, we agree the district court erred by examining record evidence to determine whether Dickey’s prior adjudication constituted a person felony for purposes of enhancing his current sentence. Although we find error, we believe it is significant to point out that Descamps was decided on June 30, 2013, so the district court in this case did not have the benefit of its guidance when sentencing Dickey on May 16,2013. But under the analysis that is now required by Descamps, we necessarily must find that the district court was precluded from looking beyond tire statutory elements of Dickey’s 1992 prior burglary adjudication to determine whether it would now qualify as a person felony for purposes of enhancing the penalty for his current crime of felony theft beyond the statutorily prescribed maximum. Accordingly, and as explained in detail below, we must vacate Dickey’s sentence with instructions to resentence him using a criminal history score of B.

[473]*473Facts

On December 7, 2012, Dickey was charged with felony theft in Saline County, Kansas. Dickey pled guilty to the charge on April 9, 2013. A hearing was held on May 16, 2013, to consider sentencing on the theft conviction and whether to revoke Dickey’s probation in four other cases. A presentence investigation (PSI) report was prepared prior to the hearing. Attached to the PSI was a criminal history worksheet, which reflected that Dickey had 55 prior offenses, including 3 person felonies, 12 nonperson felonies, and 40 nonperson misdemeanors. The individual who prepared tire PSI designated Dickey’s criminal histoiy as category A based on a finding that Dickey had three adult prior convictions or juvenile adjudications for person felonies. See K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-6809 (offender falls into criminal history category A when offender’s criminal histoiy includes three or more adult convictions or juvenile adjudications for person felonies, in any combination). One of the three offenses scored as a person felony in Dickey’s criminal histoiy was a juvenile adjudication for burglary committed in October 1992, which was before the legislature enacted the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act (KSGA).

At the sentencing hearing, Dickey responded affirmatively when the court asked whether he had reviewed his criminal history and responded negatively when the court subsequently asked whether he had an objection to any of the convictions listed. During testimony elicited on direct examination by his attorney in support of Dickey’s motion for a downward departure sentence, Dickey said he understood he had been placed in the criminal history category of A. After hearing the testimony and tire arguments of counsel, the district court denied Dickey’s motion for downward departure and sentenced Dickey to 16 months’ imprisonment, to run consecutive to his sentences in the four other criminal cases in which his probation was revoked.

Analysis

At issue is whether Dickey was deprived of his constitutional rights when the sentencing court counted his 1992 juvenile adjudication for burglary as a person felony for criminal history pur[474]*474poses to enhance his current sentence beyond the maximum authorized by law. The right to appeal from the district court’s decision on this issue is specifically authorized by K.S.A. 2013 Supp. 21-6820(e)(3), which provides appellate courts with jurisdiction to consider a defendant’s claim that the sentencing court erred “in determining the appropriate classification of a prior conviction or juvenile adjudication for criminal history purposes.”

We note, as a preliminary matter, that Dickey raises this claim for the first time on appeal. Although our Supreme Court has held that constitutional issues generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal, the court has recognized exceptions when:

“ ‘(1) The newly asserted claim involves only a question of law arising on proved or admitted facts and is determinative of the case; (2) consideration of the claim is necessary to serve the ends of justice or to prevent the denial of fundamental rights; and (3) the district court is right for the wrong reason.’ [Citations omitted.]” State v. Gomez, 290 Kan. 858, 862, 235 P.3d 1203 (2010).

Two exceptions apply in this case. First, the claim of error asserted involves only a question of law on undisputed facts and is determinative of the case. See State v. Conley, 270 Kan. 18, 30-31, 11 P.3d 1147 (2000) (issues implicating Apprendi maybe raised for the first time on appeal because they involve only questions of law arising on proved or admitted facts and are determinative of the cases). The claim of error asserted by Dickey here is that the sentencing court deprived him of his constitutional rights under the recent holding in Descamps. In Descamps, 133 S. Ct. at 2281-87, the United States Supreme Court held that a sentencing court may not look beyond the elements of a prior statutory conviction or adjudication for purposes of a sentencing enhancement under Apprendi unless the prior statute of conviction or adjudication satisfies certain requirements. Because resolving the issue of whether the district court deprived Dickey of his constitutional rights under Descamps depends on interpretation of the relevant statutory language, it involves only a question of law.

Second, consideration of issues implicating Apprendi generally are necessaiy to serve the ends of justice. See Conley, 270 Kan. at 30-31. This is especially true here given the timing in this particular case. Dickey was sentenced on May 16, 2013. The Descamps opin[475]*475ion — which settled a split in the Circuit Courts of Appeals regarding when the sentencing court is permitted to look beyond the elements of a prior statutory conviction for purposes of a sentencing enhancement without violating Apprendi — was not decided by the United States Supreme Court until June 30, 2013. But Des-camps applies to this case because the Supreme Court issued its opinion while it was still “pending on direct review [and] not yet final.” See Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 328, 107 S. Ct. 708, 93 L. Ed. 2d 649 (1987). As such, consideration of the Descamps

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Bluebook (online)
329 P.3d 1230, 50 Kan. App. 2d 468, 2014 WL 2900957, 2014 Kan. App. LEXIS 44, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dickey-kanctapp-2014.