Ward v. State

374 S.W.3d 62, 2010 Ark. App. 79, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 85
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedJanuary 27, 2010
DocketNo. CA CR 09-741
StatusPublished

This text of 374 S.W.3d 62 (Ward v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ward v. State, 374 S.W.3d 62, 2010 Ark. App. 79, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 85 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Judge.

liAppellant Ryecus Ward appeals the revocation of his suspended sentence and probation by the Washington County Circuit Court. On appeal, he argues that his 197-month sentence, with forty-seven months’ suspended, is illegal. We affirm.

On July 10, 2006, appellant entered a guilty plea on a charge of failure to appear for trial on February 7, 2006, on one count of felon in possession of a firearm, and on one count of terroristic threatening. The circuit court imposed a suspended sentence of 108 months in case CR 2006-335-2 (“2006 case”). On April 28, 2008, appellant entered a plea of guilty on a charge of failure to appear for an arraignment on November 2, 2007, on charges of domestic battery in the third degree, robbery, and furnishing prohibited articles. The court sentenced |2appellant to seventy-two months’ probation in case CR 2007-2525-2 (“2007 case”), and the judgment and disposition order contained a notation of “PEN/ 36/RCF/AS.”

On November 6, 2008, the State filed a motion for revocation of probated sentence in both the 2006 and 2007 cases based on alleged violations on May 2, June 3, August 26, and September 18, 2008, that included testing positive for marijuana and amphetamines on June 3, 2008. Additionally, the motion alleged violations including a September 10, 2008 violation of driving on a suspended license, failure to enroll in a court-ordered D.A.I.U. program, as well as late or nonpayment of court costs, county restitution, booking fees, and probation fees. An amended motion for revocation of probated sentence was entered on March 6, 2009, which incorporated the previously alleged violations and added a January 23, 2009 positive test for both marijuana and cocaine.

A hearing was conducted on the motion on March 9, 2009, after which the circuit court revoked the suspended sentence and probation based on findings that appellant had tested positive four times for marijuana, one time for cocaine, and one time for amphetamines. The circuit court sentenced appellant to thirty months for the 2006 case and 120 months for the 2007 case, for a total of 150 months in the Arkansas Department of Correction. The circuit court also sentenced appellant to an additional forty-seven months’ suspended imposition of sentence for the 2006 case, for a total of 197 months with forty-seven months suspended. The circuit court did not address the notation of “PEN/36/ RCF/AS” contained in the judgment and disposition order in the 2007 case. A judgment and | (¡commitment order was filed on March 9, 2009, and an amended judgment and commitment order was filed on March 12, 2009. Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on April 3, 2009. This appeal followed.

Standard of Review & Applicable Law

It is well settled that an appellant may challenge a void or illegal sentence for the first time on appeal, even if he or she did not raise the argument before the trial court. E.g., Donaldson v. State, 370 Ark. 3, 257 S.W.3d 74 (2007). This court has made it clear that we view the issue of a void or illegal sentence as one of subject-matter jurisdiction, which may be reviewed on appeal. Id. A sentence is void or illegal when the circuit judge lacks the authority to impose it. Id. If we hold that a trial court’s sentence was illegal and that the error had nothing to do with guilt, but only with the illegal sentence, we can correct the sentence in lieu of remanding. See Harness v. State, 352 Ark. 335, 101 S.W.3d 235 (2003).

Additionally, our supreme court has held that an appellant can challenge an illegal sentence for the first time on appeal, observing that “for purposes of appellate review, the issue of an illegal sentence is not solely whether it is within the prescribed statutory range, but whether the trial court had authority to impose the sentence.” Donaldson, 370 Ark. at 6, 257 S.W.3d at 77.

Discussion

Appellant initially raises the question as to whether the suspended imposition and the sentence of probation were imposed upon him. In Donovan v. State, 95 Ark. App. 378, 237 S.W.3d 484 (2006), this court indicated that a sentence is imposed when a court pronounces a fixed term of imprisonment as opposed to simply specifying a definite period of probation, and the probationer can be required to serve only the remainder of the time imposed. See also Ark.Code Ann. § 5-4-307 (Repl. 2006). Appellant argues that Donovan confirms that a suspended imposition of sentence is imposed when pronounced by a circuit court. Following that precedent, he submits that the suspended imposition of sentence in the 2006 case was imposed on July 10, 2006, when the judgment and disposition order was entered.

Regarding the probationary sentence in the 2007 case, appellant acknowledges that a probated sentence and fine are normally not considered “imposed,” and upon revocation, the circuit court can impose any sentence that it could have originally imposed, pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-4-309(f)(l)(A) (Repl.2006);1 see also Cox v. State, 365 Ark. 358, 229 S.W.3d 883 (2006). He suggests, however, that this case presents an issue not previously addressed by the court. Specifically, appellant refers to the notation on the judgment and disposition order, which he claims was a thirty-six-month presumptive sentence to be imposed in the event appellant’s probation was revoked. He maintains that the presumptive sentence should have precluded the circuit court from entering a higher sentence when it revoked appellant’s probation. Instead of following the presumptive sentence of thirty-six months, the circuit court imposed a sentence of 120 months related to the 2007 case.

^Appellant submits that both the suspended imposition of sentence and the sentence of probation, through the presumptive sentence, were imposed sentences. As such, he addresses the maximum penalty available under each sentence. Appellant states that, in the 2006 case, approximately seventy-six months were remaining on that imposed sentence as of the March 9, 2009 hearing. At the same time, in the 2007 case, he maintains that he had twenty-five months remaining on the “presumptive sentence.” Accordingly, appellant urges that the maximum penalty available to be imposed was 101 months. He points out that, even if the court were to apply the entire “presumptive sentence” of thirty-six months as of the date of the hearing, it would result in a maximum possible sentence of 112 months. Accordingly, appellant contends that the circuit court imposed a 197-month sentence that was either ninety-six months or eighty-five months longer than the maximum penalty available. As such, he argues that the sentence imposed is illegal on its face and should be reversed.

Additionally, appellant argues that the circuit court should have run the sentences concurrently, which would have resulted in a maximum potential penalty of seventy-six months. However, appellant does acknowledge Maldonado v. State, 2009 Ark. 432, 2009 WL 3047345, which allows the circuit court to impose consecutive sentences. We note that the mandate in Maldonado was issued on October 14, 2009, and hold that the case is controlling law for the issue of running the sentences consecutively.

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Related

Donovan v. State
237 S.W.3d 484 (Court of Appeals of Arkansas, 2006)
Donaldson v. State
257 S.W.3d 74 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2007)
Miles v. State
85 S.W.3d 907 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2002)
Harness v. State
101 S.W.3d 235 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2003)
Smith v. State
118 S.W.3d 542 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2003)
Cox v. State
229 S.W.3d 883 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 2006)
Lewis v. State
986 S.W.2d 95 (Supreme Court of Arkansas, 1999)

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Bluebook (online)
374 S.W.3d 62, 2010 Ark. App. 79, 2010 Ark. App. LEXIS 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ward-v-state-arkctapp-2010.