State v. Wagner

747 P.2d 114, 242 Kan. 329, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 460
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedDecember 11, 1987
DocketNo. 60,868
StatusPublished

This text of 747 P.2d 114 (State v. Wagner) 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. Wagner, 747 P.2d 114, 242 Kan. 329, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 460 (kan 1987).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Holmes, J.:

This is an appeal by the State, pursuant to K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 22-3602(b)(3), upon a question reserved by the prosecution. The statute was amended in 1987; however, the amendment does not affect this appeal. Although the State designates two issues on appeal, we need only address the first. The appellant states the first issue as:

“Does a defendant who testifies at his trial, is convicted, imposition of sentence is suspended, and who does not file any post-trial motions within ten days nor file a notice of appeal, retain a Fifth Amendment right not to testify against the codefendants ?”

The facts are not in dispute. Charges were filed on September 17, 1986, against Bret and Barbara Wagner, defendants in this case, and against Robert Arthur Kaltenborn on four counts: (1) possession of cocaine with intent to sell, (2) conspiracy to sell or possess cocaine, (3) possession of marijuana and/or THC, and (4) possession of drug paraphernalia. On October 9, 1986, at the preliminary examination, the conspiracy count was dismissed as [330]*330to all three defendants and they were bound over for trial on the remaining felony counts. Kaltenborn had been arrested and charged along with the Wagners following a drug raid upon the Wagner home, where Kaltenborn resided. Although a joint preliminary hearing was held for all three defendants, only the cases of the Wagners were consolidated for trial.

Kaltenborn was tried on February 4 and 5, 1987, and was convicted of possession of cocaine. The charge of possession of marijuana and/or THC had been dismissed by the trial court and the jury found Kaltenborn not guilty of possession of drug paraphernalia.

On March 17, 1987, Kaltenborn was sentenced to three to ten years. The journal entry in his case states:

“Now on this 17th day of March, 1987, the above-entitled matter comes on for sentencing, the Honorable James P. Buchele presiding. The State appears by Kenneth R. Smith, Assistant District Attorney. The defendant appears in person and by William Smith, his attorney. Thereupon, allocution is had and the Court, being duly advised in the matter, sentences the defendant to the Secretary of Corrections for a period of not less than three (3) years, nor more than ten (10) years for the offense of Possession of a Narcotic Drug. Imposition of said sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on supervised probation for a period of five (5) years under the usual terms and special conditions as set forth in the Presentence Investigation incorporated by reference herein.”

The Wagners’ jury trial commenced April 9, 1987, before the Hon. Franklin Theis. During the State’s case, the prosecution desired to call Kaltenborn as a witness. At a hearing, outside the presence of the jury, Judge Theis advised Kaltenborn, inter alia, that:

“Technically you have the right to appeal within 120 days of your sentence. That is you still maintain a Fifth Amendment right, You could in that period move for a new trial. You could appeal the finding of guilty by that jury. And the fact that you are on probation isn’t part of that. After the expiration of 120 days that right, you have the right not to testify, not to give any statements against yourself would expire and you have the duty as any witness to be required to answer questions under oath because you couldn’t be reprosecuted on the basis of them. Since you still have trial rights and appeal rights left, you have the right to exercise the Fifth Amendment. That is decline to answer questions on the grounds they might incriminate you.”

Mr. Kaltenborn then exercised his Fifth Amendment rights, declined to testify, and was excused from his subpoena. It is clear that Judge Theis was advising Kaltenborn of his rights [331]*331under K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 22-3608(1) and K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 21-4603(3).

Appellant asserts that pursuant to K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 22-3608(2), Kaltenborn had only ten days from March 17, 1987, in which to appeal and, as more than ten days had elapsed prior to the Wagner trial, he no longer retained a Fifth Amendment right not to testify. The statute provides:

“Time for appeal to supreme court. (1) If sentence is imposed, the defendent may appeal from the judgment of the district court not later than 10 days after the expiration of the district court’s power to modify the sentence. The power to revoke or modify the conditions of probation or the conditions of assignment to a community correctional services program shall not be deemed power to modify the sentence.
(2) If the imposition of sentence is suspended, the defendant may appeal from the judgment of the district court within 10 days after the order suspending imposition of sentence.”

The State contends that the actions of Judge Buchele in sentencing Kaltenborn constituted a suspension of sentence under 22-3608(2). Thus, the narrow issue before this court is whether the trial judge was correct in his determination that Kaltenborn’s appeal rights were controlled by 22-3608(1) rather than 22-3608(2). We find that he was correct.

K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 21-4602 provides, in part:

“(2) ‘Suspension of sentence’ means a procedure under which a defendant, found guilty of a crime, upon verdict or plea, is released by the court without imposition of sentence. The release may be with or without supervision in the discretion of the court.
“(3) ‘Probation’ means a procedure under which a defendant, found guilty of a crime upon verdict or plea, is released by the court after imposition of sentence, without imprisonment, subject to conditions imposed by the court and subject to the supervision of the probation service of the court.”

K.S.A. 1986 Supp. 21-4603, which sets forth the various authorized dispositions that a trial court may make, provides, in part:

“(2) Whenever any person has been found guilty of a crime, the court may adjudge any of the following:
(a) Commit the defendant to the custody of the secretary of corrections or, if confinement is for a term less than one year, to jail for the term provided by law;
(b) impose the fine applicable to the offense;
(c) release the defendant on probation subject to such conditions as the court may deem appropriate, including orders requiring full or partial restitution;
(d) suspend the imposition of the sentence subject to such conditions as the court may deem appropriate, including orders requiring full or partial restitution;
[332]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Anderson
732 P.2d 732 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
747 P.2d 114, 242 Kan. 329, 1987 Kan. LEXIS 460, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wagner-kan-1987.