State v. Douglas

279 P.3d 133, 47 Kan. App. 2d 734, 2012 WL 2184670, 2012 Kan. App. LEXIS 58
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJune 15, 2012
DocketNo. 105,236
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 279 P.3d 133 (State v. Douglas) 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. Douglas, 279 P.3d 133, 47 Kan. App. 2d 734, 2012 WL 2184670, 2012 Kan. App. LEXIS 58 (kanctapp 2012).

Opinion

Ward, J.:

Scott Douglas challenges recent efforts to collect the court costs imposed in his 1991 Sedgwick County criminal case. In 2010 Douglas filed a motion asserting that the collection of these costs was barred by operation of several Kansas statutes. The district court disagreed and denied his motion. Douglas appeals. We reverse and remand with directions.

Factual and Procedural Background

In 1991 Scott Douglas pled guilty to the crime of indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 5 to 20 years in prison. The written plea agreement included language expressing Douglas’ understanding that the court “will order the payment of court costs against me.” At the time of sentencing, the trial judge specifically ordered Douglas to pay the costs of the action. The journal entry of judgment memorialized this order by stating that Douglas “shall pay the costs of this action to the Clerk of this Court, including witness fees and miscellaneous expenses.” The journal entry did not, however, specify the amount of court costs or fees to be paid by Douglas.

In 1992 this court affirmed by summary opinion Douglas’ sentence as well as the trial court’s denial of his motion to modify sentence. The issue of court costs was not raised by Douglas in his direct appeal. State v. Douglas, No. 67,558, unpublished opinion filed December 11, 1992, rev. denied 252 Kan. 1093 (1993).

In 2010 Douglas filed the instant motion seeking dismissal of his court costs, which by then had been turned over to a collection agency. Douglas asserted in his motion that the costs in his case were no longer collectable by the district court or its collection agency because he had never been provided with an itemized statement of the costs pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3803 and because the statute of limitations found at K.S.A. 60-512 bars the collection of [736]*736court costs after 3 years. Although asserting that he had never been provided an itemized cost statement, his motion states: “[T]he original order (verified by the court clerk) was ordered at $127.00 as of 1991.” This amount appears to be the statutory docket fee in effect at that time. See K.S.A. 28-172a. The record is silent as to when or how Douglas may have obtained this information regarding his court costs.

The State filed a response to Douglas’ motion but did not directly address the statutory arguments Douglas had put forth. Instead, the State argued that K.S.A. 75-719(d) authorized Kansas judicial districts to use outside agencies for collecting court debts and that pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3801(a) the district court has no authority to waive a defendant’s obligation to pay court costs. In a minute order filed May 24,2010, the trial judge adopted the State’s response and denied Douglas’ motion to dismiss costs.

Do One or More Statutes Prevent the Collection of Court Costs in This Case?

This case involves the interpretation of several statutes. As such, the scope of appellate review is unlimited. The intent of the legislature is presumed to be expressed in the statutory language. And the legislative intent shall govern if it can be determined from the statute. State v. Arnett, 290 Kan. 41, 47, 223 P.3d 780 (2010). The court should look first at the statute’s express language and give ordinary words their ordinary meaning. State v. Stallings, 284 Kan. 741, 742, 163 P.3d 1232 (2007). If the statute is ambiguous or lacks clarity, statutory construction becomes appropriate, and a court must move outside the text of the provision at issue, utilizing legislative history and the canons of statutory construction. Board of Leavenworth County Comm'rs v. Whitson, 281 Kan. 678, 685, 132 P.3d 920 (2006).

K.S.A. 22-3801(a) and K.S.A, 22-3803: The Assessment and Itemization of Court Costs

K.S.A. 22-3801(a) states: “If the defendant in a criminal case is convicted, the court costs shall be taxed against the defendant and shall be a judgment against the defendant which may be enforced [737]*737as judgments for payment of money in civil cases.” K.S.A. 22-3803 provides in pertinent part: “At the conclusion of each criminal case the court shall tax the costs against the party responsible for payment and shall cause to be delivered to such responsible party a complete statement of the costs, specifying each item of service and the fee assessed for such service.”

The State first argues in this appeal that Douglas waived the right to challenge the imposition of court costs when he failed to raise the issue as part of his earlier direct appeal, citing State v. Conley, 287 Kan. 696, 698, 197 P.3d 837 (2008). The State acknowledges, however, that it did not make this argument at the trial court level. This waiver argument by the State will not be addressed further because it misconstrues Douglas’ arguments. Douglas does not challenge the imposition of court costs in his case. His motion makes that clear, and for good reason. K.S.A. 22-3801(a) mandates the assessment of court costs against the convicted criminal defendant. And as this court noted in State v. Dean, 12 Kan. App. 2d 321, 323, 743 P.2d 98, rev. denied 242 Kan. 904 (1987), for well over a century Kansas law has required that a convicted defendant be responsible for the court costs in his or her case.

Although not challenging the imposition of court costs, Douglas does challenge the collection of the court costs 19 years later. He asserts that he was never provided an itemized statement of the costs in this case, and the record before us does not include such a statement. He therefore argues that K.S.A. 22-3803 forbids efforts to collect the court costs. This court disagrees.

Although as Douglas correctly notes, K.S.A. 22-3803 provides that a convicted defendant “shall” be provided with a complete itemized statement of the court costs, the meaning of the word “shall” is not always readily determined. It can be either directory or mandatory. In State v. Raschke, 289 Kan. 911, 914-15, 219 P.3d 481

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
279 P.3d 133, 47 Kan. App. 2d 734, 2012 WL 2184670, 2012 Kan. App. LEXIS 58, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-douglas-kanctapp-2012.