State v. Jamerson
309 Kan. 211
| Kan. | 2019Background
- In 2001 Jamerson pled no contest to second-degree murder (severity 1), aggravated robbery (severity 3), and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery (severity 5); the court imposed a 288-month controlling sentence via grid and downward departures.
- In 2015 Jamerson moved to correct an illegal sentence, arguing his criminal history score was miscoded; the district court determined his correct score reduced the base (murder) criminal-history box from D to H.
- The resentencing court corrected the base murder term (reduced), but also recalculated and changed the two nonbase sentences: it increased aggravated robbery from 35 to 59 months and adjusted conspiracy from 35 to 34 months, and ordered all three to run consecutively for 279 months total.
- Jamerson appealed, arguing the court exceeded authority by changing legal (nonillegal) sentences; the Court of Appeals partially agreed and limited changes to only illegal sentences and certain concurrency changes.
- The Kansas Supreme Court reviewed whether, when correcting an illegal base sentence under K.S.A. 22-3504, the district court may modify nonillegal nonbase sentences and concurrency decisions.
Issues
| Issue | Jamerson's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a district court may modify nonillegal nonbase sentences when correcting an illegal base sentence under K.S.A. 22-3504 | Court may only correct illegal sentences; cannot alter legal nonbase sentences or their concurrency | Court can resentence under KSGA principles and thus may modify other sentences and concurrency decisions when resentencing | The court may only correct illegal sentences; it may not increase a legal nonbase sentence, but may resentence illegal sentences and decide concurrency for those resentenced counts |
| Whether K.S.A. 22-3504 incorporates KSGA resentencing authority (allowing broader resentence) | 22-3504 permits only correction, not broad resentencing; KSGA resentencing authority does not automatically apply | 22-3504 should be read with KSGA; correcting illegal sentences requires conforming to KSGA, allowing some resentencing discretion | Court reads 22-3504 together with KSGA for correcting illegal sentences but limits authority: only illegal sentences may be vacated and resentenced under KSGA rules |
| Whether Morningstar permits changing concurrency for other counts when primary sentence is vacated or illegal | Jamerson: Morningstar does not authorize changing legal other-count sentences or their concurrency absent vacatur | State: Morningstar allows reconsideration of concurrency when resentencing primary sentence | Court: Morningstar permits determining concurrency for resentenced (vacated/illegal) terms but does not authorize altering unrelated legal sentences |
| Correct disposition for Jamerson's sentences | Jamerson: Reinstate original legal 35-month aggravated robbery term; correct illegal murder and conspiracy sentences to appropriate grid terms and concurrency | State: District court had authority to increase aggravated robbery and make all sentences consecutive | Court: Reverse district court's increase of aggravated robbery; affirm corrections to murder (186) and conspiracy (34) and permit concurrency decision for resentenced counts; total controlling sentence set at 255 months |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Guder, 293 Kan. 763, 267 P.3d 751 (Kan. 2012) (limits district court authority to modify nonvacated sentences; only illegal or vacated sentences may be resentenced)
- State v. Morningstar, 299 Kan. 1236, 329 P.3d 1093 (Kan. 2014) (on remand the court may determine anew whether a resentenced primary term runs consecutive to other terms)
- State v. Warren, 307 Kan. 609, 412 P.3d 993 (Kan. 2018) (reaffirming Guder's limitation on district court authority at resentencing)