Best v. State
Decision Date | 10 February 2022 |
Docket Number | S-21-0172 |
Citation | 2022 WY 25 |
Parties | JOSEPH NEWTON BEST, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff). |
Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Appeal from the District Court of Carbon County The Honorable Dawnessa A. Snyder, Judge
Representing Appellant:
Pro se.
Representing Appellee:
Bridget Hill, Wyoming Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Joshua C. Eames, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Timothy P. Zintak, Senior Assistant Attorney General.
Before FOX, C.J., and DAVIS[*], KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.
[¶1] Joseph Newton Best appeals from the district court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. We affirm.
[¶2] Did the district court err in denying Mr. Best's motion to correct an illegal sentence?
[¶3] We detailed the underlying facts of this case in Best v. State (Best I), 736 P.2d 739 (Wyo. 1987), and we need not restate them here. It suffices to say Mr. Best was convicted by a jury of attempted first-degree murder after he shot a Wyoming Highway Patrol Officer. Best I, 736 P.2d at 741-42. The district court sentenced him to prison "for the remainder of his natural life." We affirmed his conviction and sentence on direct appeal. Id. at 747. Mr. Best later filed a motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. The district court denied the motion and we affirmed. Best v. State (Best II), 769 P.2d 385, 389 (Wyo. 1989). In 2015, Mr. Best filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. The federal district court dismissed the petition as untimely. In April 2021, Mr. Best filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence under Rule 35(a) of the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure (W.R.Cr.P.). The district court summarily denied the motion. Mr. Best appealed.
[¶4] Mr. Best argues the district court erred in denying his Rule 35(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence. He claims his conviction is illegal because (1) he was charged with and convicted of violating "[§§] 6-2-101 and 6-1-201 W.S. 1977 as amended" yet those statutes did not exist in 1977; and (2) there was no corpus delicti (body), a necessary element for a first-degree murder conviction. He maintains his sentence is illegal because (1) the word "natural" does not appear in the penalty statute for his crime, which provides only for a penalty of "life imprisonment according to law"; and (2) he was sentenced without a presentence hearing. Mr. Best also asserts his sentence is unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution because, after serving 36 years in prison, it is effectively a life sentence without the possibility of parole. For his Eighth Amendment claim, he cites our juvenile life sentencing jurisprudence, even though he was an adult at the time of his crime and was tried and sentenced as an adult. See, e.g., Sen v. State, 2017 WY 30, 390 P.3d 769 (Wyo. 2017); Bear Cloud v. State, 2014 WY 113, 334 P.3d 132 (Wyo. 2014).
[¶5] We review the denial of a motion to correct an illegal sentence for an abuse of discretion. See Baker v. State, 2011 WY 123, ¶ 10, 260 P.3d 268, 271 (Wyo. 2011) (quoting McDaniel v. State, 2007 WY 125, ¶¶ 6-7, 163 P.3d 836, 838 (Wyo. 2007)). However, we review de novo "whether a sentence is illegal and whether res judicata bars a motion to correct an illegal sentence[.]" Majhanovich v. State, 2021 WY 135, ¶ 7, 499 P.3d 995, 997 (Wyo. 2021) (citing Russell v. State, 2021 WY 9, ¶ 9, 478 P.3d 1202, 1204 (Wyo. 2021)). See also, Brown v. State, 2021 WY 79, ¶ 8, 489 P.3d 1162, 1164 (Wyo. 2021) (citations omitted). "We also determine de novo whether a claim is properly considered under . . . Rule 35(a)[.]" Majhanovich, ¶ 7, 499 P.3d at 997 (citing Hicks v. State, 2018 WY 15, ¶ 10, 409 P.3d 1256, 1259 (Wyo. 2018)).
[¶6] Mr. Best's arguments concerning the validity of his conviction are not reviewable in a Rule 35(a) motion. "" Bird v. State, 2002 WY 14, ¶ 4, 39 P.3d 430, 431 (Wyo. 2002) (quoting Evans v. State, 892 P.2d 796, 797 (Wyo. 1995)) (other citations omitted). Moreover, these arguments, as well as his arguments concerning the legality of his sentence, are barred by res judicata.
[¶7] "'Res judicata bars litigation of issues that were or could have been determined in a prior proceeding.'" Russell, ¶ 11, 478 P.3d at 1205 (emphasis added) (quoting Goetzel v. State, 2019 WY 27, ¶ 11, 435 P.3d 865, 868 (Wyo. 2019)). Mr. Best could have raised his arguments concerning the validity of his conviction and sentence on direct appeal or in his motion for a new trial. He did not. See Winstead v. State, 2011 WY 137, ¶ 12, 261 P.3d 743, 746 (Wyo. 2011) (), overruled in part on other grounds by Sweets v. State, 2013 WY 98, ¶ 2 n.1, 307 P.3d 860, 863 n.1 (Wyo. 2013).
Winstead, ¶ 12, 261 P.3d at 746 (citations omitted).
[¶9] We decline to address Mr. Best's argument that his sentence is unconstitutional under Sen and Bear Cloud because he provides no cogent argument or pertinent legal authority suggesting our juvenile life sentencing jurisprudence applies to him, as he was over eighteen at the time of the offense and was sentenced and tried as an adult. See Pier v. State, 2019 WY 3, ¶ 26, 432 P.3d 890, 898 (Wyo. 2019) ("We do not address arguments not supported by cogent argument or citation to pertinent authority." (citing Blevins v. State, 2017 WY 43, ¶ 22, 393 P.3d 1249, 1254 (Wyo. 2017)).
[¶10] Mr. Best may not use a Rule 35(a) motion to attack his underlying conviction. His arguments concerning the legality of his conviction and sentence are barred by res judicata. We decline to address his Eighth Amendment claim.
[¶11] We affirm the district court's denial of Mr. Best's Rule 35(a) motion. ---------
Notes:
[*] Justice Davis retired from judicial office effective January 16, 2022, and, pursuant to Article 5, § 5 of the Wyoming Constitution and Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 5-1-106(f) (LexisNexis 2021), he was reassigned to act on this matter on January 18, 2022.
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