State v. Lee, 304 Kan. 416

Background

Amoneo D. Lee was convicted of a 1995 murder; sentenced to life with no parole eligibility for 40 years; conviction affirmed on direct appeal in State v. Lee.
Lee did not raise sentencing-procedure issues on direct appeal; his sentence became final before Apprendi was decided.
In 2008 Lee filed a K.S.A. 22-3504(1) motion to correct an illegal sentence alleging the jury was improperly excluded from sentencing; that motion was denied and the denial was affirmed in 2011.
In 2014 Lee filed a second motion to correct an illegal sentence relying on Alleyne and State v. Soto; the district court granted the motion, concluding Alleyne required jury findings for facts that increased parole ineligibility and ordered resentencing.
The State appealed; the Kansas Supreme Court reviews legality of sentences de novo and considers whether a motion to correct an illegal sentence may be used to raise Alleyne-type constitutional challenges.
The Kansas Supreme Court reversed the district court, holding a motion to correct an illegal sentence is not the proper vehicle for raising constitutional challenges under Alleyne and related cases, and vacated the resentencing order.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Lee's sentence was "illegal" under K.S.A. 22-3504 allowing collateral correction	Lee: Alleyne and later cases require jury findings for facts that increased his parole ineligibility; sentence illegal because judge, not jury, found aggravators	State: Motion to correct illegal sentence cannot be used to raise constitutional challenges; sentence conformed to statutes at time imposed	Court: Denied — constitutional Alleyne claim not cognizable in a K.S.A. 22-3504 motion; sentence not "illegal" on that basis
Whether retroactivity or unfairness justifies collateral relief	Lee: It is unfair to punish based on timing of decisions; Alleyne should apply	State: Timing irrelevant; statute and sentencing were valid when imposed	Court: Rejected — perceived unfairness does not convert a constitutional challenge into an "illegal sentence" claim
Whether later caselaw renders the 1997 statute void/unenforceable	Lee: Later decisions show statute conflicted with Sixth Amendment	State: The statute was not void when applied; no court had declared it void at sentencing time	Court: Agreed with State — statute was not void; Apprendi and Alleyne do not make the sentence "illegal" retroactively via 22-3504
Proper remedy for Alleyne-type claims in Kansas	Lee: Relief via motion to correct illegal sentence	State: Such claims must proceed through appropriate constitutional/collateral routes, not 22-3504 illegal-sentence motion	Court: Held motion to correct illegal sentence is improper vehicle; district court order granting resentencing reversed

Key Cases Cited

Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) (constitutional rule requiring jury finding for facts increasing maximum sentence)
Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013) (extends Apprendi to facts that increase mandatory minimums or parole ineligibility)
State v. Lee, 266 Kan. 804, 977 P.2d 263 (1999) (affirming Lee’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal)
State v. Soto, 299 Kan. 102, 322 P.3d 334 (2014) (Alleyne-type discussion in Kansas sentencing context)
State v. Moncla, 301 Kan. 549, 343 P.3d 1161 (2015) (holding motion to correct illegal sentence improper vehicle for Alleyne constitutional challenges)
State v. Mitchell, 284 Kan. 374, 162 P.3d 18 (2007) (defines "illegal sentence" under K.S.A. 22-3504 and bars constitutional challenges via that motion)
State v. Whisler, 272 Kan. 864, 36 P.3d 290 (2001) (Apprendi procedural change not retroactive in collateral attacks)
State v. Peirano, 289 Kan. 805, 217 P.3d 23 (2009) (failure to perform statutorily mandated balancing does not render sentence illegal)
State v. Noyce, 301 Kan. 408, 343 P.3d 105 (2015) (Alleyne issues not proper basis for motion to correct illegal sentence)
State v. Warrior, 303 Kan. 1008, 368 P.3d 1111 (2016) (same: Alleyne challenges inappropriate in motion to correct illegal sentence)