Martin v. Commonwealth
557 S.W.3d 311
| Ky. Ct. App. | 2018Background
- Anthony Terrell Martin was charged with DUI (fourth offense) after an August 12, 2016 arrest; prior DUI convictions in 2007, 2015, and 2016.
- On April 9, 2016, KRS 189A.010 was amended to extend the DUI look-back period from five years to ten years.
- Because Martin’s 2007 conviction fell within the new ten-year window, the Commonwealth used it to enhance the 2016 charge to a fourth-offense DUI.
- Martin entered a conditional guilty plea reserving the right to appeal the application of the ten-year look-back period to his sentence.
- He appealed raising three principal claims: breach of prior plea agreements (contract), an invalid prior plea under Boykin v. Alabama, and an ex post facto violation.
- The trial court applied the amended look-back period and sentenced Martin to four years’ imprisonment; the appellate court affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract — use of pre-amendment convictions to enhance | Martin: prior plea agreements implicitly promised five-year look-back; using 2007 conviction breaches those bargains | Commonwealth: plea language and bargain do not immunize defendants from later statutory changes; identical-trial-vs-plea inconsistency would be absurd | Court: Contract principles do not bar applying the amended ten-year look-back; no breach of plea agreements |
| Boykin — voluntariness of earlier pleas | Martin: earlier guilty pleas are invalid under Boykin because they did not anticipate increased future consequences | Commonwealth: Boykin requires waiver of immediate, foreseeable constitutional rights; later legislative changes do not retroactively make pleas involuntary | Court: Boykin does not apply; unforeseen future legislative changes do not invalidate prior pleas |
| Ex post facto — retroactive punishment | Martin: applying the new look-back retroactively increases punishment in violation of ex post facto clauses | Commonwealth: amendment changed penalty calculation (look-back), not the substantive offense or penalty for the 2016 act; effective before charged offense | Court: No ex post facto violation; statute applied to offenses after amendment took effect |
Key Cases Cited
- Commonwealth v. Jackson, 529 S.W.3d 739 (Ky. 2017) (rejects contract, Boykin, and ex post facto challenges to applying 2016 DUI amendment)
- Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238 (1969) (plea must show waiver of privilege against self-incrimination, jury trial, and confrontation rights)
- McClanahan v. Commonwealth, 308 S.W.3d 694 (Ky. 2010) (plea agreements are contracts governed by contract principles)
- Commonwealth v. Ball, 691 S.W.2d 207 (Ky. 1985) (statutory penalty changes may be applied to later offenses without violating ex post facto)
- Pate v. Dep’t of Corr., 466 S.W.3d 480 (Ky. 2015) (ex post facto analysis: law forbidden if it punishes acts not punishable when committed or increases prescribed punishment)