State v. Purdy

89 P.3d 591, 277 Kan. 730, 2004 Kan. LEXIS 266
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMay 14, 2004
DocketNo. 89,512
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 89 P.3d 591 (State v. Purdy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court 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. Purdy, 89 P.3d 591, 277 Kan. 730, 2004 Kan. LEXIS 266 (kan 2004).

Opinion

The opinion was delivered by

Luckert, J.:

Larry Purdy was placed on probation after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell. After Purdy violated his probation, the district court reinstated his probation but extended it for an additional 18 months. Purdy appealed, arguing that the extension was an illegal sentence because the district court failed to set forth with particularity its reasons for extending probation as required by K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5).

The Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling that K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5) applies only when a district court sets the initial term of a defendant’s probation and not when the defendant’s probation is later revoked and reinstated. State v. Purdy, 31 Kan. App. 2d 1087, 1090, 77 P.3d 514 (2003). This court granted Purdy’s petition for review.

Facts

The facts of this case are undisputed and were set out by the Court of Appeals as follows:

[731]*731“On April 12, 1999, the defendant entered a plea of guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, a violation of K.S.A. 65-4161(a), a severity level 3 drug felony. The district court sentenced the defendant to a 36-month probation term, with an underlying prison term of 30 months. The term of probation was set to begin running upon the defendant’s release from prison in a separate case. As a special condition of his probation, the defendant was required to successfully complete drug and alcohol treatment while incarcerated and was to come before the court for review of his treatment upon release from prison. The defendant was released from prison on December 4, 2000. On January 18, 2001, the defendant’s probation term was reduced to 18 months, in accordance with Senate Bill 323, K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5).
“On April 19, 2002, the State filed a motion to revoke the defendant’s probation on the grounds that the defendant had failed a drug test, admitted to drug usage, and had been arrested on new drug charges. In response, the defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence, contesting the district court’s calculation of the date his probation term began. In the alternative, the defendant argued that his probation should not be revoked based in part on his good behavior and the irregular nature of his sentence.
“On July 24, 2002, a hearing was held on both motions. Following argument on the defendant’s motion to correct an illegal sentence, the State presented testimony regarding the defendant’s probation violations. Eventually, the district court reinstated the defendant’s probation, but extended it for an additional 18 months from June 4, 2002, the date that the original term of probation would have expired. The court further required the defendant to be assessed for drug treatment and to follow the assessment recommendations. The defendant timely appealed.
“Subsequent to the appeal, the State filed a motion to revoke the defendant’s probation on December 30, 2002. The defendant’s probation was ultimately revoked on April 17, 2003, due to ‘drug use and new drug charges,’ and the defendant was ordered to serve the underlying 30-month prison sentence.” Purdy, 31 Kan. App. 2d at 1087-88.

Did the Extension of Defendant’s Probation Constitute an Illegal Sentence Because the District Court Failed to set Forth with Particularity the Reasons for Extending Probation as Required by KS.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5)?

The issue raised on Purdy’s appeal involves the interpretation of statutes, a question of law over which this court exercises unlimited review. State v. Maass, 275 Kan. 328, 330, 64 P.3d 382 (2003).

K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c) sets out the applicable period of probation or assignment to community corrections for felony crimes committed on or after July 1, 1993. Pursuant to subsection [732]*732(c)(4), the statutorily mandated probation term for Purdy’s conviction is a maximum of 18 months.

K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5) provides:

“If the court finds and sets forth with particularity the reasons for finding that the safety of the members of the public will be jeopardized or that the welfare of the inmate will not be served by the length of the probation terms provided in subsections (c)(3) and (c)(4), the court may impose a longer period of probation. Such an increase shall not be considered a departure and shall not be subject to appeal.”

The Court of Appeals determined that K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5) applies only when the district court sets the initial term of a defendant’s probation. Thus, the court found the statute inapplicable to Purdy whose probation was revoked and reinstated. Instead, the court found that K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 22-3716(b) applies when a district court revokes and reinstates a defendant’s probation.

The Court of Appeals recognized two recent cases interpreting K.S.A. 2003 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5), State v. Jones, 30 Kan. App. 2d 210, 41 P.3d 293 (2001), and State v. McIntyre, 30 Kan. App. 2d 705, 46 P.3d 1212 (2002), but found those cases to be distinguishable.

In Jones, the defendant Jones was sentenced in 1998 to 24 months’ probation. After K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 21-4611 took effect, which would have shortened Jones’ probation to 12 months, the State filed an application to revoke his probation. The district court eventually extended Jones’ probation to December 1, 2000, the term imposed at his original sentencing. The court later revoked Jones’ probation and ordered him to serve the underlying prison sentence.

Jones argued that the district court’s extension of his probation did not meet the requirements of K.S.A. 2000 Supp. 21-4611(c)(5) because the court’s order did not set forth with particularity the reasons for extending probation. The Court of Appeals agreed, ruling that the district court’s failure to make the findings required by the statute was an abuse of discretion resulting in an illegal sentence.

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Related

State v. Cox
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2020
State v. Gardner
428 P.3d 822 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 P.3d 591, 277 Kan. 730, 2004 Kan. LEXIS 266, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-purdy-kan-2004.