State v. Sagataw

892 N.W.2d 47, 2017 WL 875217, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 31
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedMarch 6, 2017
DocketA16-0773
StatusPublished

This text of 892 N.W.2d 47 (State v. Sagataw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Sagataw, 892 N.W.2d 47, 2017 WL 875217, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 31 (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

BRATVOLD, Judge

The state challenges a district court’s order that dismissed probation revocation proceedings after the district court concluded it lacked jurisdiction because the revocation hearing was conducted after respondent’s stayed sentence had expired. Because probation revocation proceedings against respondent were properly and timely initiated, the district court had jurisdiction to conduct a revocation hearing. We therefore conclude that the district court erred in dismissing the revocation proceedings and discharging respondent from probation; thus, we reverse and remand.

FACTS

On December 30, 2014, respondent Athena Sagataw pleaded guilty to theft under Minn. Stat. § 609.52, subd. 2(a)(1) (2014). The district court accepted Saga-taw’s plea and stayed execution of her sentence for one year. The stay included conditions, specifically, to remain law abiding.

Sagataw was convicted of four new theft offenses that occurred during the term of her stayed sentence. On November 5, 2015, probation filed a violation report. The district court issued an order and summons, revoking Sagataw’s stayed sen[49]*49tence and ordering her to appear for a hearing.

Sagataw failed to appear for the hearing and a warrant was issued for her arrest. Sagataw’s sentence expired on December 31, 2015. The warrant was eventually quashed, and Sagataw made a first appearance on January 19, 2016, at which she denied the violation. The district court released Sagataw on bail.

At Sagataw’s contested revocation hearing on April 27, 2016, she admitted to the violation and the district court found that she knowingly and voluntarily waived her right to a contested hearing. The state and defense disagreed about how the district court should address the admitted violation. The state asked for execution of the stayed sentence. The defense requested that the district court order Sagataw to serve 15 days in jail concurrent with time she would be serving on one of the new theft convictions.

The district court asked whether Saga-taw’s probation had been extended. The state responded that because the probation violation report was submitted before Sa-gataw’s stayed sentence expired, and because Sagataw was in “continuing violation of a condition and fail[ed] to appear at a court hearing,” she remained on probation and the district court retained jurisdiction. The district court disagreed: “The Court doesn’t have jurisdiction to impose a sentence here if there was no extended probation for whatever reason. She was sentenced on December 30, 2014, for a year only. It’s now 2016, and we’re just addressing this issue now.” The district court dismissed revocation proceedings and discharged Sagataw from probation.

The state appeals pursuant to Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.04, subd. 3(4)(b), which permits the defendant or the prosecutor to appeal a revocation decision.

ISSUE

Did the district court err in dismissing probation revocation proceedings for lack of jurisdiction when the revocation hearing was conducted after the expiration of the defendant’s stayed sentence but the state properly and timely initiated proceedings?

ANALYSIS

We must decide whether a district court had jurisdiction to conduct probation revocation proceedings after a defendant’s stayed sentence expired. This issue involves the interpretation of Minn. Stat. § 609.14 (2014) and Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.04, which raises questions of law subject to de novo review. State v. Myhre, 875 N.W.2d 799, 803 (Minn. 2016) (procedural rules); State v. Jones, 869 N.W.2d 24, 26 (Minn. 2015) (statute). We also review jurisdictional issues de novo. State v. Irby, 848 N.W.2d 515, 517-18 (Minn. 2014).

In interpreting a statute, we seek to “ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature.” Minn. Stat. § 645.16 (2014); State v. Bakken, 883 N.W.2d 264, 267 (Minn. 2016). “When the text of the law is unambiguous,” the plain meaning of the text is controlling. State v. Barrientos, 837 N.W.2d 294, 298 (Minn. 2013) (citing Minn. Stat. § 645.16); see also In re Welfare of G.L.H., 614 N.W.2d 718, 720-21 (Minn. 2000) (using plain language interpretation when comparing statute and a rule of criminal procedure). This court “read[s] a particular provision in context with other provisions of the same statute in order to determine the meaning of the particular provision.” Wells v. Holiday Cos., 862 N.W.2d 492, 496 (Minn. App. 2015) (quotation omitted), review denied (Minn. June 30, 2015).

The district court concluded that it lost jurisdiction to conduct revocation proceed[50]*50ings because Sagataw’s stayed sentence had expired. The state argues this was error because Sagataw’s probation revocation proceedings were initiated within the period of the stayed sentence. Minn. Stat. § 609.14, subd. 1(b). On appeal, Sagataw concedes that the district court “retained jurisdiction,” but argues that it was within the district court’s discretion to dismiss the proceedings ánd discharge her from probation.

When read together, section 609.14 and rule 27.04 provide a four-step process for probation revocation proceedings and impose timing limitations. First, probable cause must show that a defendant committed a probation violation “during the term of the stay.” Minn. Stat. § 609.14, subd. 1 (b); Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.04, subd. 1. Second, revocation proceedings must be initiated by notice to the defendant, either by warrant or summons, “at any time within six months after the expiration of the stay.” Minn. Stat. § 609.14, subd. 1(b); see also id., subd. 2; Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.04, subd. 1. Third, a defendant is entitled to a first appearance on the alleged probation violation, at which a defendant’s rights are discussed, counsel may be appointed, and conditions of release are determined. Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.04, subd. 2.

Fourth, once revocation proceedings have been properly and timely initiated, section 609.14 broadly authorizes a district court to conduct a revocation hearing “after the expiration of the stay or after the six-month period” following expiration of the stay. Minn. Stat. § 609.14, subd. 1(c). A revocation hearing “must be held within a reasonable time.” Id. subd. 2(4)(a). If the defendant is in custody, the hearing must be conducted within seven days. Id., subd. 2(4)(b). The rules offer no additional guidance about what is a “reasonable time” if the defendant has been released.

In Sagataw’s case, the parties agree that the state properly and timely initiated revocation proceedings and followed three of the four steps outlined above. The district court questioned its jurisdiction based on the timing of the fourth step because Sagataw’s revocation hearing occurred after her stayed sentence had expired. Under the plain language of section 609.14, subd.

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Related

State v. Curtiss
353 N.W.2d 262 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1984)
Pechovnik v. Pechovnik
765 N.W.2d 94 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2009)
In Re the Welfare of V.D.M.
623 N.W.2d 277 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 2001)
In Re the Welfare of G.L.H.
614 N.W.2d 718 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2000)
State v. Whitfield
483 N.W.2d 102 (Court of Appeals of Minnesota, 1992)
State of Minnesota v. Jaimiah Lamar Irby
848 N.W.2d 515 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2014)
State of Minnesota v. Miranda Lynn Jones
869 N.W.2d 24 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2015)
State of Minnesota v. Joshua Lee Myhre
875 N.W.2d 799 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2016)
State of Minnesota v. Timothy John Bakken
883 N.W.2d 264 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2016)
State v. Barrientos
837 N.W.2d 294 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
892 N.W.2d 47, 2017 WL 875217, 2017 Minn. App. LEXIS 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-sagataw-minnctapp-2017.