Ward v. Kelley

• Decision Date: 15 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. CV–16–316,CV–16–316
• Citation: 2016 Ark. 471,506 S.W.3d 224
• Parties: Cody WARD, Appellant v. Wendy KELLEY, Director Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellee
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

2016 Ark. 471

506 S.W.3d 224

Cody WARD, Appellant

v.Wendy KELLEY, Director Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellee

No. CV–16–316

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Opinion Delivered December 15, 2016

Cody Ward, pro se appellant.

Leslie Rutledge, Att'y Gen., Little Rock, by: Kristen C. Green, Ass't Att'y Gen., for appellee

PER CURIAM

This is a pro se appeal from the dismissal of a petition for judicial review that was filed pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act–Arkansas Code Annotated sections 25–15–212 to –219 (Repl. 2014). After a thorough review, the State concedes that the 2014 amended sentencing order appears illegal on its face. The circuit court's dismissal of Ward's petition is affirmed, however the matter is remanded to the sentencing court to vacate the August 25, 2014 amended sentencing order.

Appellant Cody Ward pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and is incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) pursuant to a sentencing order entered by the Mississippi County Circuit Court on March 5, 2013. The order reflected a sentence of 240 months' imprisonment for the crime of manslaughter and the imposition of a consecutive firearm enhancement of 120 months' imprisonment pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 16–90–120 (Repl. 2006). The sentencing order further reflected that the crime had been committed on June 18, 2012, that Ward had a "0" criminal history score, and that Ward had not been sentenced as a habitual offender. The second page of the March 5, 2013 sentencing order reflected that the total term to be served "for all offenses" was 240 months' imprisonment.

The ADC initially calculated Ward's term of imprisonment to total an aggregate term of 240 months' imprisonment. However, Ward's time computation card was changed by the ADC on July 14, 2015, to reflect an increase in the time to be served from an aggregate term of 240 months' imprisonment to a term of 360 months' imprisonment. The ADC's recalculation of Ward's sentence moved his parole date from March 6, 2016, to November 5, 2017. In response to the recalculation of his sentence Ward filed a grievance and alleged that he was a first-time offender that had been convicted of a Class C felony offense which carried a maximum penalty of 120 months' imprisonment; that the enhancement of an additional 120 months' imprisonment was included in the total sentence of 240 months' imprisonment; and that the ADC had misinterpreted the sentencing order and had illegally increased his sentence for manslaughter by 120 months. Ward contended below, and in his argument on appeal, that the sentencing order itself was not illegal, but that the ADC had interpreted the order to illegally extend the duration of his incarceration.

While the ADC alleged that the Mississippi County Circuit Court had entered an amended sentencing order on August 25, 2014, which increased the aggregate sentence to 360 months' imprisonment, it did not include this amended order in the record that was initially brought before this court. Because the ADC failed to include the amended sentencing order in the record, and in view of Ward's allegations that the ADC had extended his term of imprisonment by misinterpreting the ambiguous sentencing order entered on March 5, 2013, we found that Ward had stated sufficient facts to raise a liberty interest that entitled Ward to judicial review of the ADC's actions under our holding in Clinton v. Bonds , 306 Ark. 554, 557–58, 816 S.W.2d 169, 171–72 (1991). We ordered the ADC to supplement the record with a certified copy of the...