State v. McDonald
Decision Date | 19 October 2001 |
Docket Number | No. 85,696.,85,696. |
Citation | 272 Kan. 222,32 P.3d 1167 |
Parties | STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. ROBERT E. McDONALD, Appellant |
Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Shawn Minihan, assistant appellate defender, argued the cause, and Jessica R. Kunen, chief appellate defender, was with him on the brief for appellant.
Ian H. Taylor, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Nola Foulston, district attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This appeal contends constitutional due process rights were violated when Robert E. McDonald's term of probation was extended in proceedings where he was not afforded representation by an attorney.
The facts are undisputed. McDonald pled guilty to burglary and theft and was sentenced to an underlying prison term of 27 months, with probation granted for 24 months. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $4,087.24 and costs of $554.50.
A journal entry entered prior to the expiration of the 24-month probation period extended the term for an additional year or "until the defendant has paid all costs and restitution in full." A subsequent order likewise extended the term for an additional 1 year. Both orders showed the presence and consent of McDonald.
During the term of the second extension, McDonald appeared in person and by counsel at a parole revocation hearing conducted pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3716. Competent evidence, not challenged in this appeal, showed McDonald had violated the terms of his probation. The court so found and ordered the underlying prison sentence of 27 months to be served.
McDonald's notice of appeal stated that he appealed "the revocation hearing and all adverse rulings of the District Court."
McDonald failed to appeal either of the orders extending the term of his probation (and the time for such an appeal has long since expired, K.S.A. 22-3608). He now argues that both of those proceedings and the orders entered were lacking in jurisdiction because his due process rights were violated by his lack of counsel. Although McDonald's argument that he must be provided an attorney in any proceeding where the term of his probation is extended can be answered, the more difficult question is whether we have jurisdiction to consider what is in effect an attempt to collaterally attack two unappealed from orders. See State v. Delacruz, 258 Kan. 129, 137-39, 899 P.2d 1042 (1995) ( ); State v. Gardner, 264 Kan. 95, 106, 955 P.2d 1199 (1998) ( ); State v. Woodling, 264 Kan. 684, Syl. ¶ 2, 957 P.2d 398 (1998) ) .
We always have the obligation to question jurisdiction on our own motion, McDonald v. Hannigan, 262 Kan. 156, Syl. ¶ 1, 936 P.2d 262 (1997), and if the record discloses a lack of jurisdiction, the appeal must be dismissed.
McDonald attempts to legitimize his appeal by quoting the beginning sentence of K.S.A. 22-3504(1): "The court may correct an illegal sentence at any time." As we stated in State v. Johnson, 269 Kan. 594, Syl. ¶ 3, 7 P.3d 294 (2000): "K.S.A. 22-3504(1) is a statute of limited applicability and may not be used as a vehicle to breathe new life into appellate issues previously abandoned or adversely determined." There is nothing illegal about the sentence in this case and the only question is whether the term of probation had expired which would prohibit the revocation of probation or whether it was properly and lawfully extended by the orders to which McDonald consented.
One way for McDonald to have raised this issue would have been under a K.S.A. 60-1507 proceeding questioning the trial court's jurisdiction under subparagraph (a). However, we are well aware of the language of 60-1507(e) that "an application ... shall not be entertained if it appears that the applicant has failed to apply for relief by motion, to the court which sentenced said applicant...."
For the reasons stated above, the dismissal of this appeal might be proper. However, if McDonald is correct in his contention that he had the right to counsel when the term of his probation was extended, and he was not so advised or offered counsel, then he would be unlawfully incarcerated at this time. This would then raise a Sixth Amendment right to counsel argument which both the United States Supreme Court and our Kansas Supreme Court have viewed with more favor and a different approach.
We will not here attempt to restate an analysis of United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 30 L. Ed.2d 592, 92 S. Ct. 589 (1972), Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 19 L. Ed.2d 319, 88 S. Ct. 258 (1967), and Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 9 L. Ed.2d 799, 83 S. Ct. 792 (1963), which have held the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires that an indigent defendant in state court proceedings have counsel appointed for him or her. These cases, as well as Custis v. United States, 511 U.S. 485, 128 L. Ed.2d 517, 114 S. Ct. 1732 (1994), were cited by our opinion in Delacruz, which considered a collateral attack on an uncounseled conviction used for sentence enhancement. While our appeal is not of an enhancement of sentence, Delacruz, 258 Kan. at 139, is instructive:
(Emphasis added.)
Because McDonald contends he would not be incarcerated if he would have been provided counsel when the term of his probation was extended, we are obligated to consider this question of law. As stated in Custis, 511 U.S. at 494-95:
Our result is in accord with our most recent decision in this area, State v. Chiles, 260 Kan. 75, Syl., 917 P.2d 866 (1996), in which we held: Justice Abbott's opinion in Chiles cites Delacruz and Custis, as well as other decisions, and our consideration of the issue raised in the instant appeal is not in conflict with the Chiles decision and reasoning.
We now consider whether there is either a statutory or constitutional requirement for counsel to be present when a probationer is faced with the choice of voluntarily extending his or her probation or forcing the court to order the extension after a modification hearing and judicial finding of necessity.
The statutory authorization giving jurisdiction to the trial court in this case to extend defendant's probation period for nonpayment of restitution is K.S.A. 21-4611(c)(4) and (5):
Nowhere in the statute authorizing the extension of the probation period is the right to counsel mentioned. However, it is clearly found in K.S.A. 22-3716(b), which relates to revocation of probation. In setting forth the required revocation procedures, 22-3716(b) states: "The defendant shall have the right to be represented by counsel and shall be informed by the judge that, if the defendant is financially unable to obtain counsel, an attorney will be appointed to represent the defendant."
It is thus apparent there is no statutory right to counsel in Kansas at proceedings to extend the term of probation. Had the legislature determined that counsel should be mandated, it knew how to do so, as the provisions of K.S.A. 22-3716(b) clearly show.
The remaining question then becomes: Is counsel constitutionally required to be present when the term of probation is extended? We answer this question negatively.
We first point out our holding in a recent case involving right to counsel in proceedings where probation is revoked. See Brown v. Kansas Parole Board, 262 Kan. 903, 943...
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