State v. Odhuno

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJuly 24, 2020
Docket121300
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Odhuno (State v. Odhuno) 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. Odhuno, (kanctapp 2020).

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

No. 121,300

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,

v.

JEVANS O. ODHUNO, Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Sedgwick District Court; BRUCE C. BROWN., judge. Opinion filed July 24, 2020. Reversed and remanded with directions.

David L. Miller, of Ney, Adams & Miller, of Wichita, for appellant.

Lesley A. Isherwood, assistant district attorney, Marc Bennett, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.

Before GARDNER, P.J., WARNER, J., and ROBERT J. WONNELL, District Judge, assigned.

PER CURIAM: Based on the advice he received from both his criminal and his immigration attorneys, Jevans O. Odhuno pleaded guilty to a level 9 theft. This decision was made after Odhuno was assured that such a plea would not result in deportation. Three months after the court accepted the plea, a detainer was filed for Odhuno related to possible deportation. Odhuno moved to withdraw his plea on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. The district court denied his motion, and he has timely appealed.

1 Factual and Procedural Background

The State charged Jevans O. Odhuno with a level 7 felony theft and a level 8 felony computer crime. The State later amended the theft charge to a level 9 felony. Odhuno eventually pleaded guilty to the level 9 theft. In return for his guilty plea, the State dismissed the second count. The State also recommended an 11-month sentence. The district court followed the State's recommendation and granted Odhuno 12 months' probation with an underlying 11-month prison sentence.

Before entering his plea, Odhuno signed an acknowledgment of rights and entry of plea. The document included a paragraph which stated: "If I am not a United States citizen, I understand that a conviction of a felony offense most likely will result in my deportation from the United States."

Additionally, before accepting Odhuno's plea, the district court stated "that if you're not a citizen of the United States, that this felony conviction most likely will result in your deportation from the United States." Odhuno's defense attorney interjected, stating:

"Your Honor, we've actually been through this with the prosecutors and with an immigration attorney, just so the Court's aware. We believe that the circumstances of this crime are such that because it's not by deceit or fraud, that's alleged in the complaint, rather by unauthorized control over property, that that will not have a trigger immigration consequences, in addition to the fact that the proposed sentence is going to be less than a year in the guidelines. And having vetted that with both the attorney through the prosecutor's officer and an immigration attorney, we believe that that will not have the result of deportation."

After hearing these statements, the district court addressed the issue again, with less certainty by stating: "Okay. And it's a fluid situation, I mean, the law always is, it's

2 subject to change. And it's just case law, the courts require that I have to advise you that this could very well have consequences that result in you having to be deported. You understand that?" Odhuno affirmed that he understood the possible consequences.

The possible deportation was again addressed at the sentencing hearing. Odhuno's defense attorney explained to the court:

"[T]he reason for the amended charge and the recommendation for low number in this case is that, as [the State], I presume, will attest, Mr. Odhuno is looking at a situation with regard to immigration that were he to be convicted of a charge that was originally— that he was originally accused of in the complaint case or if he was to be convicted of a charge that would be in excess of 12 months of an underlying sentence, that he might be subject to immigration consequences.

" . . . [T]his plea agreement was worked out, what the parties have contemplated here with a sentence of 11 months, low number, and also with an amended charge, he should not face any immigration consequence for that, based on both the consultation with his immigration attorney, in addition to consultations [the State] had with other prosecutors in his office that are aware of the immigration laws as relates to Mr. Odhuno's case. So the parties' intent is that he not face immigration consequences for this."

The State told the district court:

"Your Honor, in candor to the Court, I did speak with an attorney with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and my understanding is that if it's 12 months or more. If it touches 12 months, that it does implicate certain immigration consequences, that if it were, like, 364 days or 11 months, 20—long as it's underneath 12 months, it does not trigger those—those consequences. So my understanding is it's 12 months or more; and so, hence, the purpose of the plea agreement for the low number for the amended charge would be 11 months, it does not run afoul of any immigration issues."

3 After the sentence was imposed, the district court took additional time to explain to Odhuno the role of the immigration issue in the ultimate decision regarding the applicable sentence by stating:

"Well, Mr. Odhuno, just so you know, looking at the facts of this, I was originally going to sentence you to 12 months as the mid number as your controlling sentence. I wasn't aware of any immigration issues until today. But I've obviously changed that to the 11- month sentence since, apparently, it would have resulted in some major problems for you."

The court then continued to discuss the expectations for Odhuno moving forward, based on a presumption that he would be carrying out his sentence in the United States.

Three months after being sentenced, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed a detainer on Odhuno because he was convicted of two crimes of moral turpitude. The first was a 2011 conviction for misdemeanor sexual battery. The second was the felony conviction in this case.

Odhuno filed a motion to withdraw his plea with the district court. The motion to withdraw his plea explained that Odhuno did not think his conviction in this case would result in deportation and that "[h]ad he known that deportation was still a possibility with his plea, he never would have taken it." Odhuno also explained that he received erroneous advice from the immigration attorney he consulted with before entering his plea. Additionally, Odhuno argued that there was a mutual mistake between "him and his immigration attorney, and perhaps the prosecutor and the court as well, with regard to the immigration impact of his case."

At a hearing on his motion, Odhuno testified that before entering his plea he consulted with an immigration attorney, Christopher O'Hara, regarding the possible consequences of his plea. According to Odhuno, O'Hara told him that if he was convicted 4 of two or more crimes of moral turpitude then he could be deported. O'Hara was aware of Odhuno's prior conviction for misdemeanor sexual battery and told Odhuno that it "was not a crime involving moral turpitude." O'Hara did not testify at the hearing and this evidence was not rebutted.

Based on the advice he received, Odhuno believed that he would only have one conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude as a result of his plea—the felony theft conviction. O'Hara also told Odhuno that any aggravated felony was deportable but that was an avoidable consequence. O'Hara told Odhuno that so long as the felony conviction resulted in a sentence of less than 12 months' imprisonment, it would not be an aggravated felony for immigration purposes.

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State v. Odhuno, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-odhuno-kanctapp-2020.