State v. Valladarez

• Decision Date: 08 May 2009
• Docket Number: No. 99,891.,No. 99,724.,99,724.,99,891.
• Citation: 206 P.3d 879
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Aaron VALLADAREZ, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

206 P.3d 879

STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Aaron VALLADAREZ, Appellant.

No. 99,724.

No. 99,891.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

May 8, 2009.

Christopher S. O'Hara, of O'Hara & O'Hara, of Wichita, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.

Douglas W. McNett, of Larned, argued the cause, and John G. Sauer, county attorney, and Stephen N. Six, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by LUCKERT, J.:

This decision construes conflicting statutes to determine if a district magistrate judge has jurisdiction to conduct felony arraignments and accept guilty or no contest pleas to felony charges. Aaron Valladarez, who pled no contest to two felony charges before a district magistrate judge, argues a district magistrate judge does not have this authority and, as a result, his felony convictions are void. In addition, Valladarez argues the sentencing judge committed reversible error by not asking him personally if there was any legal reason judgment should not be rendered.

Applying rules of statutory construction to the conflicting statutes regarding arraignment jurisdiction, we conclude that a district magistrate judge who has been assigned to conduct felony arraignments by the chief judge of the judicial district has jurisdiction to conduct a felony arraignment and to comply with the due process requirements inherent in accepting a guilty or no contest plea, including determining if there is a sufficient factual basis to support the plea under K.S.A. 22-3210. In this case, the record on appeal is insufficient to determine if such an assignment was made. Consequently, the case is remanded with directions for further proceedings on that issue. On the sentencing issue, we conclude the sentencing judge erred in failing to ask Valladarez if there was any legal reason judgment should not be rendered, but the error was harmless and does not require resentencing if on remand it is determined the district magistrate judge had jurisdiction to conduct felony arraignments.

Factual and Procedural Background

These issues arise after two separate criminal cases were filed against Valladarez. In 07CR111, the State charged him with one count of sale of methamphetamine, a severity level 3 drug felony, in violation of K.S.A.2008 Supp. 65-4161. Several months later, in an unrelated case, 07CR373, the State charged him with one count of possession of methamphetamine, a severity level 4 drug felony, in violation of K.S.A.2008 Supp. 65-4160.

On July 26, 2007, Valladarez appeared with counsel before a district magistrate judge for a preliminary hearing in both cases. As the hearing began, the State announced it would amend the charge in 07CR111 to possession of methamphetamine in exchange for Valladarez' waiver of the preliminary hearing in each case and his agreement to plead guilty or no contest to both possession charges.

Following the parties' acknowledgment of the plea agreement, the district magistrate judge explained to Valladarez his right to a preliminary hearing in each case and the specific rights he would have at such a hearing. When asked, Valladarez indicated he understood his rights and had no questions. The district magistrate judge subsequently accepted Valladarez' waiver of his preliminary hearing in both cases.

Next, Valladarez was arraigned on the charges. After Valladarez waived a formal reading of the complaints, the district magistrate judge informed Valladarez of the maximum possible sentences under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act, K.S.A. 21-4701 et seq., for each criminal offense and explained the sentences could run concurrent or consecutive. Additionally, the district magistrate judge advised Valladarez of the constitutional rights he would be waiving by pleading guilty or no contest and inquired whether Valladarez had any questions and if he was satisfied with the advice and counsel of his defense attorney. Additional questions focused on the voluntariness of the pleas and on Valladarez' ability to understand the pleas and his rights. The State then proffered a factual basis to support each plea, which the district magistrate judge found to be sufficient. Valladarez entered no contest pleas, and the district magistrate judge ordered a presentence investigation report.

Valladarez was sentenced in the Ford County District Court by a district judge who denied Valladarez' motion for a dispositional departure sentence and imposed concurrent terms of 28 months' imprisonment on each felony drug conviction.

Valladarez timely appeals. Our jurisdiction arises from K.S.A. 20-3018(c) (a transfer from the Court of Appeals on this court's own motion).

Issue 1: District Magistrate Judge's Jurisdiction

a. Preservation of Issue and Scope of Review

The issue of the district magistrate judge's jurisdiction is raised for the first time on appeal. Typically, issues must be raised before a district court in order to be considered by an appellate court. State v. Trotter, 288 Kan. 112, Syl. ¶ 2, 200 P.3d 1236 (2009). There are exceptions to this general rule, however, including a well-recognized and long-standing exception allowing subject matter jurisdiction to be raised at any time. This exception recognizes that "`parties cannot confer subject matter jurisdiction by consent, waiver, or estoppel. Nor can parties convey jurisdiction on a court by failing to object to its lack of jurisdiction.' [Citations omitted.]" State v. Elliott, 281 Kan. 583, 588, 133 P.3d 1253 (2006). Thus, the fact that Valladarez failed to challenge subject matter jurisdiction in the district court does not bar his appeal. See Trotter, 288 Kan. 112, Syl. ¶ 4, 200 P.3d 1236; Elliott, 281 Kan. at 588-89, 133 P.3d 1253; State v. Minor, 197 Kan. 296, 299-300, 416 P.2d 724 (1966).

The issue that Valladarez now raises regarding the district magistrate judge's jurisdiction requires us to interpret the statutes that define the subject matter jurisdiction of a district court and its judges. See Kan. Const., art. 3, § 6(b) ("The district courts shall have such jurisdiction in their respective districts as may be provided by law."); State v. Woolverton, 284 Kan. 59, 67, 159 P.3d 985 (2007) (court's subject matter jurisdiction is governed by statute). Issues based on statutory interpretation present questions of law over which appellate courts exercise unlimited review. State v. Hall, 287 Kan. 139, 143, 195 P.3d 220 (2008); Woolverton, 284 Kan. at 67, 159 P.3d 985; State v. Johnson, 283 Kan. 649, 652, 156 P.3d 596 (2007).

The rules of statutory interpretation are well known, beginning with the fundamental rule that effect must be given to the intent of the legislature as expressed. Thus, when the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, courts must apply that language rather than determine what the law should or should not be, speculate as to legislative intent, add something not readily found in the statute, resort to canons of statutory construction, or consult legislative history. In re Adoption of A.A.T., 287 Kan. 590, 627, 196 P.3d 1180 (2008), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 2013, ___ L.Ed.2d ___ (2009). In this case, however, ambiguity arises because various statutes are in conflict and, as a result, the canons of statutory construction must be applied and legislative history may be consulted for indications of legislative intent.

b. Conflicting Statutes

In arguing that district magistrate judges do not have jurisdiction to conduct felony arraignments, Valladarez relies on K.S.A. 22-2202(3), which defines "arraignment" to mean "the formal act of calling the defendant before a court having jurisdiction to impose sentence for the offense charged, informing the defendant of the offense with which the defendant is charged, and asking the defendant whether the defendant is guilty or not guilty." (Emphasis added.) As Valladarez notes, under this statute a district magistrate judge lacks authority to arraign a defendant on felony charges because a district magistrate judge does not have jurisdiction to impose a felony sentence. See K.S.A. 20-302b(a) (limiting district magistrate judge's criminal trial jurisdiction to traffic and tobacco infractions and misdemeanor charges).

Valladarez suggests that this limitation is consistent with Congress' restriction of a federal magistrate judge's arraignment jurisdiction to cases where a defendant consents to the magistrate's accepting a plea. See, e.g., United States v. Montano, 472 F.3d 1202, 1204 (10th Cir.2007) ("A [federal] magistrate judge has jurisdiction to conduct a plea hearing and subsequently accept a defendant's plea where the defendant consents."); 2 Crim. Prac. Manual § 46:10, p. 46-9 (West 2009) (federal district magistrate judges are permitted to accept guilty pleas if defendant expressly consents); see also Gomez v. United States, 490 U.S. 858, 873-76, 109 S.Ct. 2237, 104 L.Ed.2d 923 (1989) ("additional duties" clause of 28 U.S.C. § 636[b][3] does not authorize a federal magistrate judge to conduct jury selection in felony trial without defendant's consent); United States v. Mendez-Lopez, 338 F.3d 1153, 1158-59 (10th Cir. 2003) (defendant's consent to federal magistrate judge's taking of verdict extended to magistrate judge's handling of the deliberating jury unless a need arose to consult the district judge). However, the United States Magistrate Judges Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 631, 636 (2006), does not apply to proceedings in a state court, and the choices Congress made in determining a federal magistrate judge's jurisdiction do not require the Kansas Legislature to impose similar limitations on Kansas district magistrate judges. Consequently, the federal authorities cited by Valladarez are neither controlling nor persuasive.

In addition to these federal authorities, Valladarez relies on three Kansas cases—State v. Boone, 218 Kan. 482, 543 P.2d 945 (1975), cert. denied 425 U.S. 915, 96 S.Ct. 1515, 47 L.Ed.2d 767 (1976); ...