Chapman v. State

• Decision Date: 02 February 2015
• Docket Number: No. S–14–0179.,S–14–0179.
• Parties: John Leslie CHAPMAN, Appellant (Defendant), v. The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

342 P.3d 388

2015 WY 15

John Leslie CHAPMAN, Appellant (Defendant)

v.The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).

No. S–14–0179.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

Feb. 2, 2015.

Representing Appellant: John Leslie Chapman, pro se.

Representing Appellee: Peter K. Michael, Wyoming Attorney General; David L. Delicath, Deputy Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Senior Assistant Attorney General.

Before BURKE, C.J., and HILL, KITE, DAVIS, and FOX, JJ.

Opinion

FOX, Justice.

[¶ 1] John Chapman¹ entered a guilty plea to attempted second-degree murder and was sentenced to not less than twenty-five years nor more than fifty years incarceration, in accordance with the statutory sentencing range for the crime. The district court denied his motion to withdraw his plea, he appealed, and the denial was affirmed. Chapman v. State, 2013 WY 57, ¶¶ 3–4, 6, 300 P.3d 864, 866–67 (Wyo.2013) (Chapman 1 ). Mr. Chapman then filed a motion to reduce his sentence under Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b), which the district court denied. Mr. Chapman appeals and we affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] 1. Did the district court abuse its discretion when it denied Mr. Chapman's motion for sentence reduction?

2. Is Mr. Chapman's sentence cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution?

FACTS

[¶ 3] The underlying facts of Mr. Chapman's attempted second-degree murder conviction are unnecessary for the disposition of this appeal, but can be found in Chapman 1, 2013 WY 57, ¶¶ 6–7, 300 P.3d at 866–67.

[¶ 4] The State originally charged Mr. Chapman with attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and aggravated assault and battery; it also sought a sentencing enhancement under the habitual criminal statute. Id. at ¶ 6, 300 P.3d at 866. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the State amended the Information to one count of attempted second-degree murder, and dismissed the remaining charges and the habitual criminal enhancement. Id. at ¶ 18, 300 P.3d at 868. The State and Mr. Chapman agreed to a sentencing recommendation of twenty-five to fifty years on the reduced charge, within the statutory range for attempted second-degree murder.² Id. The district court accepted Mr. Chapman's guilty plea and sentenced him to not less than twenty-five and no more than fifty years incarceration. Id. at ¶¶ 24, 27, 300 P.3d at 869.

[¶ 5] Mr. Chapman filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which was denied. Id. at ¶ 50, 300 P.3d at 874. He appealed the order denying his motion, and this Court affirmed the district court's decision. Id. at ¶ 77, 300 P.3d at 879. Mr. Chapman then filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging his constitutional rights were violated in a multitude of ways.³ The district court denied this petition, and Mr. Chapman unsuccessfully petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari.

[¶ 6] Several months later, Mr. Chapman filed his W.R.Cr.P. 35(b) motion for sentence reduction,⁴ requesting that the district court consider his age, deteriorating health, the length of time he has already served, his good behavior, the length of sentences for comparable crimes, and his family situation. He requested his sentence be reduced to fifteen to twenty-five years. The district court denied the motion, and Mr. Chapman timely appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 7] “ ‘The district court has broad discretion in determining whether to reduce a defendant's sentence, and we will not disturb its determination absent an abuse of discretion.’ ” LeGarda–Cornelio v. State, 2009 WY 136, ¶ 6, 218 P.3d 968, 969 (Wyo.2009) (quoting McFarlane v. State, 781 P.2d 931, 932 (Wyo.1989) ). “The sentencing judge is in the best position to decide if a sentence modification is appropriate, and is free to accept or reject information submitted in support of a sentence reduction at its discretion.”Boucher v. State, 2012 WY 145, ¶ 10, 288 P.3d 427, 430 (Wyo.2012) (internal citations omitted). Our objective on review is not to weigh the propriety of the sentence if it falls within the sentencing range; we simply consult the information in front of the court and consider whether there was a rational basis from which the district court could reasonably draw its conclusion. See Hodgins v. State, 1 P.3d 1259, 1261 (Wyo.2000). Because of the broad discretion given to the district court in sentencing, and our significant deference on appeal, “[t]his Court has demonstrated many times in recent years that it is a very difficult bar for an appellant to leap seeking to overturn a sentencing decision on an abuse of discretion argument.” Croy v. State, 2014 WY 111, ¶ 7, 334 P.3d 564, 567 (Wyo.2014).

[¶ 8] Mr. Chapman's motion calls into question the constitutionality of his sentence, and we address such questions of law under our de novo standard of review. Allaback v. State, 2014 WY 27, ¶ 10, 318 P.3d 827, 830 (Wyo.2014).

DISCUSSION

[¶ 9] Mr. Chapman makes a number of contentions in his pro se appeal, most of which allege the impropriety of his plea agreement. We previously addressed these arguments in Chapman 1, and we will not revisit the same issues clothed in a different appeal. See Hamill v. State, 948 P.2d 1356, 1358 (Wyo.1997) ; McCarty v. State, 929 P.2d 524, 525 (Wyo.1996) (“This court has repeatedly held that issues which were raised and considered in a prior criminal appeal are res judicata, and cannot be relitigated by a defendant in a subsequent collateral attack.”); see also Mack v. State, 7 P.3d 899, 900 (Wyo.2000) (“A motion for a sentence reduction cannot be used to attack the validity of a conviction[.]”). The issue in front of us is whether the district court abused its discretion in denying Mr. Chapman's W.R.Cr.P. 35(b) motion to reduce his sentence.

[¶ 10] Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b) provides:

A motion to reduce a sentence may be made, or the court may reduce a sentence without motion, within one year after the sentence is imposed or probation is revoked, or within one year after receipt by the court of a mandate issued upon affirmance of the judgment or dismissal of the appeal, or within one year after entry of any order or judgment of the Wyoming Supreme Court denying review of, or having the effect of upholding, a judgment of conviction or probation revocation. The court shall determine the motion within a reasonable time.... The court may determine the motion with or without hearing.

[¶ 11] The purpose of Rule 35(b) is to give a convicted defendant a second opportunity to reduce his sentence by presenting additional information and argument to the sentencing judge. Boucher, 2012 WY 145, ¶ 10, 288 P.3d at 430. The sentencing court is “free to accept or reject such information at its discretion.” Hodgins, 1 P.3d at 1262.

[¶ 12] Mr. Chapman contends that he has shown “good cause” for a sentence reduction and that the district court failed to articulate “good cause” in denying his motion. The district court's order denying the motion provided no basis for the denial, but does expressly note that Mr. Chapman's “requests and the reasons stated therefor” were considered. There is no authority in Wyoming requiring a sentencing court to demonstrate good cause in denying a Rule 35(b) motion. Hodgins, 1 P.3d at 1262. “The fact that the order does not describe the specific information ... provided in support of [the] motion does not establish an abuse of discretion.”Boucher, 2012 WY 145, ¶ 12, 288 P.3d at 430.

[¶ 13] Mr. Chapman “feels that his sentence was a little harsh considering his age [48], and the amount of time other inmates have received with the same type of charges[.]” He claims his earliest parole eligibility date (approximately 66 years of age) and completion of his maximum sentence (approximately 91 years of age), compounded by his “serious medical issues,” amount to a life sentence.⁵ He claims “no one serving time for attempt of second degree murder charge is doing more than 20 to 30.” Mr. Chapman contends that his sentence is disproportionate to the crime and his circumstances, and he argues:

The [sentence] should be guided by objective criteria, including the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty. The sentences imposed on other criminals (Co–Defendant) in the same jurisdiction and the sentences imposed for commission of the same crime (Co–Defendant) in other jurisdictions.

Mr. Chapman's argument mirrors the language of the United States Supreme Court in Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290–91, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 3010, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983). In Solem, the Court established a three-element test for determining whether a sentence is proportional under the Eight Amendment.⁶

When sentences are reviewed under the Eighth Amendment, courts should be guided by objective factors that our cases have recognized. First we look to the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty....

Second, it may be helpful to compare the sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction....

Third, courts may find it useful to compare sentences imposed for commission of the same crime in other jurisdictions.

Solem, 463 U.S. at 290–91, 103 S.Ct. at 3010.

[¶ 14] Considering Mr. Chapman's pro se status, we will construe the substance of his Rule 35(b) motion to include the constitutional issue of cruel and unusual punishment. See Hawes v. State, 2014 WY 127, ¶ 8 n. 2, 335 P.3d 1073, 1076 n. 2 (Wyo.2014) ; Garnett v. State, 2014 WY 80, ¶ 2, 327 P.3d 749, 750 (Wyo.2014) (pro se appellant did not specifically state issue in his brief, however, this Court distilled the issue from the substance of his argument); Ragsdale v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co., 2007 WY 163, ¶ 4, 169 P.3d 78, 80 (Wyo.2007) (“[T]his Court looks to the substance of a motion in order to determine the appropriateness of the motion.”); see also Osborn v. Emporium Videos, 848 P.2d 237, 240 (Wyo.1993) (“The litigant acting pro se is entitled to ‘a certain leniency’ from the more stringent standards accorded formal pleadings drafted by lawyers[.]”).

[¶ 15] “Wyoming follows...