State v. McKeown

Decision Date16 April 1985
Docket NumberNo. 15061,15061
Citation700 P.2d 74,108 Idaho 452
PartiesSTATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Randall W. McKEOWN, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals

David Z. Nevin, Boise, for defendant-appellant.

Jim Jones, Atty. Gen., Lynn E. Thomas, Sol. Gen., Boise, for plaintiff-respondent.

WALTERS, Chief Judge.

This is a companion case to State v. Anderson, 108 Idaho 454, 700 P.2d 76 (1985). Anderson and Randall McKeown were convicted, upon pleas of guilty, of second degree murder in connection with the death of Christopher Peterman. Peterman died as the result of a prolonged beating he received while incarcerated with five other youths in the Ada County Jail. On this appeal, McKeown contends the charge against him should have been transfered to juvenile court or dismissed. McKeown believes I.C. § 16-1806A, the statute excluding certain crimes from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, violates his due process and equal protection rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Alternatively, McKeown asserts section 16-1806A conflicts with I.C. § 16-1804, another provision of Idaho's Youth Rehabilition Act (YRA). McKeown argues that I.C. § 16-1804 should have controlled the jurisdiction of the charge against him. McKeown also contends the sentence imposed--an indeterminate term not to exceed twenty-five years--constitutes an abuse of sentencing discretion. We affirm.

In State v. Anderson, supra, we held that I.C. § 16-1806A did not violate any constitutional rights of the defendant. Nor did we find an irreconcilable conflict between section 16-1806A and other provisions of the YRA. Likewise, on a nearly identical record in this case, we hold that McKeown's constitutional rights of due process and equal protection were not infringed when he was charged as an adult. We also hold that McKeown did not have a right under the YRA to be proceeded against as a juvenile. It remains for us to determine whether imposition of an indeterminate twenty-five year sentence in this case constitutes an abuse of discretion.

The mitigating factors presented by McKeown that arguably support a lesser sentence--his relatively young age and the conditions in which the crime occurred--were also present in State v. Anderson, supra. The sentencing judge imposed the twenty-five year sentence because a previous "pattern of criminal activity" indicated a need to protect society from McKeown's future criminal conduct. Previous rehabilitative efforts had met...

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4 cases
  • State v. Espinoza
    • United States
    • Idaho Court of Appeals
    • 28 Junio 1995
    ...907, 702 P.2d 1365, 1367 (Ct.App.1985); State v. Matthews, 108 Idaho 453, 454, 700 P.2d 75, 76 (Ct.App.1985); State v. McKeown, 108 Idaho 452, 453, 700 P.2d 74, 75 (Ct.App.1985). We decline to revisit the issue in this We next address Espinoza's assertion that the district court abused its ......
  • State v. Whiteley
    • United States
    • Idaho Court of Appeals
    • 15 Abril 1999
    ...Whiteley was young or lacked life experience. However, these factors are not controlling in sentencing. See State v. McKeown, 108 Idaho 452, 453, 700 P.2d 74, 75 (Ct.App.1985). Whiteley further asserts that the district court should have placed greater weight on his good behavior while inca......
  • State v. Contreras
    • United States
    • Idaho Court of Appeals
    • 11 Enero 2000
    ...is not controlling in sentencing. See State v. Whiteley, 132 Idaho 678, 680, 978 P.2d 238, 240 (Ct. App.1999); State v. McKeown, 108 Idaho 452, 453, 700 P.2d 74, 75 (Ct.App.1985). Contreras further argues that the district court failed to properly consider his remorsefulness. However, the r......
  • State v. Matthews
    • United States
    • Idaho Court of Appeals
    • 16 Abril 1985
    ...WALTERS, Chief Judge. This is a companion case to State v. Anderson, 108 Idaho 454, 700 P.2d 76 (1985) and State v. McKeown, 108 Idaho 452, 700 P.2d 74 (1985) which we have also decided today. Sean Matthews, along with Anderson, McKeown and two others, were charged with first degree murder ......

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