State v. Topping

660 P.2d 578, 8 Kan. App. 2d 467, 1983 Kan. App. LEXIS 137
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMarch 24, 1983
DocketNo. 54,345
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 660 P.2d 578 (State v. Topping) 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. Topping, 660 P.2d 578, 8 Kan. App. 2d 467, 1983 Kan. App. LEXIS 137 (kanctapp 1983).

Opinion

Parks, J.:

Defendant Robert Topping appeals his adjudication as a habitual violator under K.S.A. 8-284 et seq.

A petition was filed November 10, 1981 in Osage County District Court alleging that defendant was a habitual violator as defined in K.S.A. 1980 Supp. 8-285. It reads as follows:

“As used in this act, the words and phrases defined in K.S.A. 8-234 shall have the meanings ascribed to them therein, and the term ‘habitual violator’ shall mean any resident or nonresident person who, within the immediately preceding five (5)years, has been convicted in this or any other state:
(а) Three (3) or more times of:
(1) Vehicular homicide, as defined by K.S.A. 21-3405 or as prohibited by any law of another state which is in substantial conformity with said statute;
(2) Driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, as prohibited by K.S.A. 1977 Supp. 8-1567, or as prohibited by an ordinance of any city in this state or by any law of another state, which ordinance or law declares to be unlawful the acts prohibited by said statute;
(3) Driving while the privilege to operate a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state has been canceled, suspended or revoked, as prohibited by K.S.A. 8-262 or as prohibited by any law of another state which is in substantial conformity with said statute;
(4) Perjury resulting from a violation of K.S.A. 8-261a or resulting from the violation of a law of another state which is in substantial conformity with said statute;
(5) Violating the provisions of the fifth clause of K.S.A. 1977 Supp. 8-142, relating to fraudulent applications, or violating the provisions of a law of another state which is in substantial conformity with said statute;
(б) Any crime punishable as a felony wherein a motor vehicle was used in the perpetration of such crime;
(7)Failing to stop at the scene of an accident and perform the duties required by K.S.A. 8-1602 to 8-1604, inclusive, or required by a law of another state which is in substantial conformity with said statutes;
[468]*468(8) Violating the provisions of K.S.A. 1977 Supp. 40-3104, relating to motor vehicle liability insurance coverage after the effective date of this act; or
(b) Three (3) or more times, either singularly or in combination, of any of the offenses enumerated in subsection (a) of this section.”

Since the pertinent provisions of the habitual violator provision are unchanged since 1980, future citations in this opinion shall be to the current law.

The process for adjudicating one a habitual violator is a civil proceeding (State v. Boos, 232 Kan. 864, 659 P.2d 224 [1983]) initiated when the records of the division of motor vehicles of the . department of revenue indicate the defendant has three or more convictions for offenses set out in K.S.A. 8-285. An abstract of the defendant’s record of convictions is then forwarded to the county attorney of his resident county pursuant to K.S.A. 8-286. Defendant’s record in this case included the following offenses:

1) a March 8, 1978 conviction in Osage County for driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquors.

2) an October 12, 1978 conviction in Missouri for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquors.

3) an October 5, 1981 conviction in Shawnee County for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

4) an October 12, 1981 “bail forfeiture” in Osage County for the charge of driving while his driver’s license was suspended.

Defendant argued, and the State conceded, that the Shawnee County offense dated October 5, 1981, for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, was erroneously reported because the court files of Shawnee County clearly indicate that the DWI charge was reduced to reckless driving. Inasmuch as reckless driving is not one of the convictions listed in K.S.A. 8-285, that conviction could not be considered by the court in determining whether the defendant is a habitual violator.

K.S.A. 8-253(c) defines the term “conviction” to include any forfeiture of bail, bond or collateral deposited to secure defendant’s appearance. Thus, the October 12, 1981, bail forfeiture was equivalent to a conviction for driving with a suspended license under K.S.A. 8-262. However, the citation for this offense, which is the record of the bail forfeiture, does not include a certification from the judge or clerk of the court attesting to the accuracy of the record as a true reflection of the court proceedings.

[469]*469“Within ten (10) days after the conviction or forfeiture of bail . . . every . . . judge of the court or clerk of the court of record in which such conviction was had or bail or bond was forfeited shall prepare and immediately forward to the division an abstract of the record . . . which abstract must be certified by the person so required to prepare the same to be true and correct.” [Emphasis added.] K.S.A. 8-2115(h).

Thus, defendant contends that in the absence of such a certific'ation, this conviction may not be relied on for his adjudication as a habitual traffic offender regardless of its inclusion in the certified records of the motor vehicles division.

A similar issue arose in Wilcox v. Billings, 200 Kan. 654, 438 P.2d 108 (1968). At that time, K.S.A. 8-1001

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Related

State v. Shaffer
788 P.2d 1341 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
660 P.2d 578, 8 Kan. App. 2d 467, 1983 Kan. App. LEXIS 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-topping-kanctapp-1983.