State v. Murdock
299 Kan. 312
| Kan. | 2014Background
- Murdock challenged the district court’s criminal history score, contending two prior Illinois robberies (1984, 1990) were misclassified as person offenses.
- The out-of-state offenses occurred before Kansas adopted the KSGA in 1993, and the Act does not expressly classify pre-1993 convictions.
- Murdock’s current offenses (Dec 2008) led to a sentence of 233 months; misclassification pushed him into criminal history category A, increasing punishment.
- If the Illinois convictions were nonperson offenses (not designated as person), Murdock would have fallen into a lower category (C).
- The Court of Appeals affirmed; this court granted review to resolve how pre-1993 out-of-state offenses should be classified.
- The majority ultimately held that the two pre-1993 convictions must be scored as nonperson offenses under 21-4710(d)(8), following Williams; the dissent disagreed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classification of pre-1993 out-of-state convictions | Murdock: offenses should be nonperson under 21-4710(d)(8). | State: Williams controls; use comparable offenses as of the offense date; pre-1993 designations not fixed. | Pre-1993 out-of-state robberies scored as nonperson offenses |
| Date to determine the comparable offense under Williams | Comparable offense determined as of offender’s conduct date and pre-1993 designations apply. | State: Williams applies; determine as of prior offense dates, not sentencing. | Comparable offense determined by the date of the out-of-state offenses, per Williams |
| Applicability of K.S.A. 21-4710(d)(8) to pre-1993 offenses | If unclassified, apply nonperson scoring under 21-4710(d)(8). | Statute refers to unclassified felonies, not to pre-1993 person/nonperson designations; Williams controls. | 21-4710(d)(8) does not compel a universal pre-1993 nonperson designation; court adopts Williams approach |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Vandervort, 276 Kan. 164 (2003) (comparable offenses need only be comparable, not identical)
- State v. Williams, 291 Kan. 554 (2010) (comparable Kansas offenses determined by date the out-of-state offenses were committed)
- State v. Guder, 293 Kan. 763 (2012) (standard of review for statutory interpretation is unlimited)
- State v. Coman, 294 Kan. 84 (2012) (statutory interpretation principles governing penalties and classifications)
- Farris v. McKune, 259 Kan. 181 (1996) (conversion/implementation of guidelines related to preguidelines sentencing)