Lenard v. State, CR-21-572

• Docket Number: CR-21-572
• Decision Date: 06 October 2022
• Parties: Ricky Lynn LENARD, Sr., Appellant v. STATE of Arkansas, Appellee
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

2022 Ark. 179
652 S.W.3d 569

Ricky Lynn LENARD, Sr., Appellant
v.
STATE of Arkansas, Appellee

No. CR-21-572

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Opinion Delivered: October 6, 2022

Potts Law Office, by: Gary W. Potts, Monticello, for appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., by: Rebecca Kane, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee.

BARBARA W. WEBB, Justice

Ricky Lynn Lenard, Sr., appeals from a jury verdict in Jefferson County Circuit Court finding him guilty of failure to comply with sex-offender reporting requirements. Lenard was sentenced to a three-year term of imprisonment. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in (1) its denial of his timely directed-verdict motions; and (2) finding that he was a person required to register as a sex offender. We affirm.

Originally, this case was filed in the court of appeals. However, we accepted certification to this court because our decision in one of Lenard's postconviction appeals,

652 S.W.3d 571

Lenard v. Kelley , 2017 Ark. 186, 519 S.W.3d 682 (per curiam), is central to Lenard's second point on appeal.

I. Relevant Procedural History

Lenard pleaded guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault¹ on November 4, 2010, in State v. Lenard , No. 35CR-09-575 (Jefferson Cnty. Cir. Ct.). In accordance with the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), he was required to register as a sex offender. He failed to satisfy this obligation. In July 2012, Lenard entered a negotiated plea in the Jefferson County Circuit Court to charges of felony theft of property and felony criminal mischief and was sentenced to sixty months’ probation. State v. Lenard , No. 35CR-11-288 (Jefferson Cnty. Cir. Ct.). In May 2013, Lenard entered a negotiated plea for violation of his probation terms with respect to his 2012 theft and criminal-mischief convictions in 35CR-11-288 and for the new offense of failing to register as a sex offender as required by his 2010 conviction in State v. Lenard , No. 35CR-13-207 (Jefferson Cnty. Cir. Ct.). Lenard was sentenced to an aggregate term of sixty months’ imprisonment for all three crimes.

The sentencing order relating to Lenard's convictions for theft, criminal mischief, and failure to register as a sex offender contained express findings that Lenard had committed an "aggravated sex offense" and that Lenard was designated a "sexually violent predator." See Lenard v. Kelley , 2017 Ark. 186, 519 S.W.3d 682. However, Lenard challenged these findings and, pursuant to the granting of Lenard's pro se motion, the court entered an amended sentencing order on July 15, 2013, that removed those findings and further found that Lenard was not required to register as a sex offender––for the subsequent offense of failure to register as a sex offender. Id. While this judicial finding did not alter his obligations under SORA for his fourth-degree sexual assault conviction, it was of pivotal importance with regard to his felony conviction for failure to register. In Lenard v. Kelley , we held that the Arkansas Department of Correction and the Arkansas State Parole Board abused its discretion by conditioning Lenard's parole eligibility on his participation in programs related to sexual offenders because failure to register was not a sexual offense. Id. Based on analysis of the amended sentencing order, we reasoned that the parole board had exceeded its statutory authority when it supported the denial of parole based on factors unrelated to Lenard's incarceration in the Arkansas Department of Correction. Id. These considerations included "the age of the victim" who was the subject of his misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault conviction and his failure to participate in the Reduction of Sexual Victimization Program (RSVP). We stated that "the Board's authority to grant or deny transfer must correspond to felonies for which the inmate is incarcerated." Id. at 8, 519 S.W.3d at 689.

652 S.W.3d 572

Prior to the trial in this case, Lenard filed a motion asking the circuit court to determine his registration status and dismiss the case. He argued that this court's above-cited opinion absolved him from registering as a sex offender for his 2010 conviction for fourth-degree sexual assault. The circuit court rejected Lenard's argument, finding that "[t]he case involved defendant's incarceration and parole eligibility on the offense of failing to register.... Contrary to defendant's argument, the opinion includes the finding that Lenard remains subject to the civil and criminal obligations in his conviction for sexual assault in the fourth degree." Accordingly, the circuit court concluded that Lenard was subject to the registration and reporting requirements under the sex-offender...