State v. Weston

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedMay 14, 2021
Docket122320
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Weston (State v. Weston) 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. Weston, (kanctapp 2021).

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

No. 122,320

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,

v.

JAMES WESTON III, Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Wyandotte District Court, MICHAEL GROSKO, judge. Opinion filed May 14, 2021. Conviction affirmed, sentence vacated, and case remanded with directions.

Ryan J. Eddinger, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant.

Daniel G. Obermeier, assistant district attorney, Mark A. Dupree Sr., district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.

Before ATCHESON, P.J., GARDNER and WARNER, JJ.

PER CURIAM: A district court convicted James Weston of aggravated robbery in March 2013. His criminal history score included several out-of-state convictions, two of which were second-degree robbery convictions from Missouri. When Weston found out that his criminal history score was higher than he had anticipated, he moved to withdraw his plea. The district court denied Weston's motion and sentenced him to 198 months' imprisonment. Weston appeals. Because the district court erroneously categorized Weston's 1998 Missouri convictions as person felonies, we reverse and remand for correction of his sentence. But the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Weston's motion to withdraw his plea, so we affirm his conviction. 1 Factual and Procedural Background

In September 2012, James Weston robbed a woman of her purse using a semi- automatic handgun and physical force. He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, a severity level 3 person felony, in March 2013. In exchange for his plea, the State agreed to recommend an 18-month downward durational departure from the standard sentence of the appropriate guideline sentencing range.

At his plea hearing, Weston provided appropriate responses during his plea colloquy, including that he understood his plea and he was not under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The district court accepted Weston's plea and found him guilty of aggravated robbery.

But the presentence investigation (PSI) report later showed a higher criminal history score than either party had anticipated. The PSI categorized Weston's two previous Missouri second-degree robbery convictions as person felonies, increasing Weston's criminal history score to a B. Shortly after the PSI was released, Weston moved to appoint new counsel. During the hearing on that motion, Weston told the district court he was unhappy with his counsel and wanted to withdraw his plea. The district court ultimately appointed new counsel, KiAnn McBratney, who then moved to allow Weston to withdraw his plea.

During the plea withdrawal hearing, McBratney argued several reasons why the district court should allow Weston to withdraw his plea. The State countered that the plea was knowingly and voluntarily made because Weston confirmed to the court that he had read, understood, and reviewed the plea with his attorney before signing it. Weston also said that he had understood everything that went on during the plea hearing. The district court found Weston failed to show good cause to withdraw his plea, so it denied Weston's motion.

2 Weston now appeals. Although there was a considerable delay in docketing Weston's appeal, it is properly before this court for consideration. See Supreme Court Rule 2.04 (2021 Kan. S. Ct. R. 15). Weston was not at fault for the filing delay, and this court allowed Weston to docket his appeal out of time.

Did the District Court Err by Finding Weston's Two Prior Missouri Second-degree Robbery Convictions Were Person Felonies?

Weston first argues that the district court imposed an illegal sentence by categorizing his 1998 Missouri second-degree robbery convictions as person felonies in determining his criminal history score. He contends that the Missouri statute criminalizes a broader range of conduct than the comparable Kansas offenses, so the district court should have categorized his prior convictions as nonperson felonies.

Standard of Review

Whether a sentence is illegal under K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-3504 is a question of law over which appellate courts have unlimited review. State v. Lee, 304 Kan. 416, 417, 372 P.3d 415 (2016). A court may correct an illegal sentence at any time while the defendant is serving the sentence. K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-3504(a). A defendant may challenge an illegal sentence even for the first time on appeal. Thus, a preservation analysis is unnecessary. See State v. Fisher, 304 Kan. 263, 264, 373 P.3d 781 (2016).

Analysis

Weston argues that Kansas and Missouri differ in defining the offense of robbery. He contends that Kansas robbery does not include a person's use of force to affect an escape with peacefully taken property, but Missouri's robbery statute does.

3 The State concedes that our courts have not decided the "timing of force" argument Weston raises here. Thus the State relies on a general holding by a panel of this court that the elements of the Missouri second-degree robbery statute are "more specific" than the Kansas elements for robbery. See State v. Ziegler, No. 118,213, 2018 WL 4517523, at *1, 4 (Kan. App. 2018) (unpublished opinion) (finding that the Missouri robbery statute is narrower than Kansas' statute because Missouri requires the elements of "intent" and "purpose" but Kansas does not), rev. denied 310 Kan. 1071 (2019). Similarly, the State argues the panels in Ziegler and Cunningham found the "statutes comparable in all relevant respects." See State v. Cunningham, No. 118,011, 2018 WL 5726551, at * 9 (Kan. App. 2018) (unpublished opinion) (finding Missouri's first-degree robbery statute narrower than Kansas' comparable aggravated robbery statute because Missouri requires a specific purpose, conduct more than "mere force or threat of force," and acts done directly upon a victim's person and not merely in their presence).

General legal principles

A sentence is illegal if it (1) is imposed by a court lacking jurisdiction, (2) fails to conform to the applicable statutory provisions, or (3) is ambiguous about the time or manner that the sentence is to be served. K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-3504(c)(1). Under K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-3504, a defendant may challenge the district court's classification of his or her prior convictions and the resulting criminal history score used to sentence the defendant under the revised Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act (KSGA). State v. Weber, 297 Kan. 805, 813-14, 304 P.3d 1262 (2013). If a district court erroneously classified a prior conviction in calculating the individual's criminal history score, the resulting sentence is illegal as not conforming to the statutorily authorized term of punishment. 297 Kan. at 813-14.

Generally, the district court must sentence the defendant according to the applicable law as it is interpreted at that time. State v. Murdock, 309 Kan. 585, 591, 439

4 P.3d 307 (2019) (Murdock II). Thus, a change in the law after a defendant is sentenced will not allow the defendant to appeal the sentence as one that is now "illegal." 309 Kan. at 591-92.

In State v. Wetrich, 307 Kan. 552, 562,

Related

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970 P.2d 1000 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Williams
236 P.3d 512 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2010)
State v. Edgar
127 P.3d 986 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Bey
17 P.3d 322 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2001)
State of Missouri v. Gary Leland Coleman
463 S.W.3d 353 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2015)
State v. Fisher
373 P.3d 781 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2016)
State v. DeAnda
411 P.3d 330 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2018)
State v. Wetrich
412 P.3d 984 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2018)
State v. Weber
442 P.3d 1044 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2019)
State v. Ewing
446 P.3d 463 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2019)
State v. Thompson
588 S.W.2d 36 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1979)
State v. Sumpter
655 S.W.2d 726 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1983)
State v. Rounds
796 S.W.2d 84 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1990)
State v. Lloyd
820 S.W.2d 105 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)
State v. Whittaker
551 S.W.3d 498 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Brown
558 S.W.3d 105 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2018)
State v. Edwards
290 P.3d 661 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2012)
State v. Macias-Medina
268 P.3d 1201 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2012)
State v. Plummer
283 P.3d 202 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2012)
State v. Weber
304 P.3d 1262 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2013)

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State v. Weston, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-weston-kanctapp-2021.