Com. v. Kazee

• Decision Date: 17 October 1952
• Citation: 252 S.W.2d 20
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. KAZEE.
• Court: Supreme Court of Kentucky

Page 20

252 S.W.2d 20

COMMONWEALTH v.KAZEE.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

Oct. 17, 1952.

A. E. Funk, Atty. Gen., Guy L. Dickinson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Claude P. Stephens, Lexington, for appellant.

No appearance for appellees.

MOREMEN, Justice.

The Commonwealth, by this appeal, has requested a certification of the law applicable to the following state of facts:

Bill Kazee was convicted of voluntary manslaughter on January 14, 1951.On January 17, 1951, judgment was entered and he was sentenced to confinement for a period of five years.On January 29, 1951, a motion was made to set aside the judgment of January 17, 1951.This motion was sustained on February 1, 1951, at which time the court, upon recommendation of the Commonwealth's attorney, suspended the rendition of judgment and released Kazee on probation for a period of five years.All of the foregoing actions were performed during the January term of the Pike Circuit Court.

The Commonwealth contends that the circuit court had no power to enter an order of probation after sentence had been imposed and insists that such action contravened the provisions of KRS 439.020, which reads in part:

'Any circuit court, subject to the provisions and conditions provided in this chapter, may postpone the entering of judgment and the imposing of sentence and probate any person arraigned before it and charged with crime.* * * Except in cases where punishment is life imprisonment or death, circuit courts, after a plea of guilty or after the returning of a verdict of guilty by the jury, may postpone the entering of judgment and the sentencing of the defendant and place the defendant on probation, or may impose a fine and also place the defendant on probation.'

Although counsel concedes that a circuit court has full control over judgment entered during term time, it...