Title: State v. Babcock

State: kansas

Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court

Document:

226 Kan. 356 (1979)
597 P.2d 1117
STATE OF KANSAS, Appellant,
v.
RAYMOND D. BABCOCK, Appellee.
No. 50,868

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed July 14, 1979.
Frank J. Yeoman, Jr., assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Robert T. Stephan, attorney general, and Gene M. Olander, district attorney, were with him on the brief for the appellant.
Robert M. Brown, of Topeka, argued the cause and was on the brief for the appellee.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
McFARLAND, J.:
Raymond D. Babcock was convicted of burglary (K.S.A. 21-3715), although the briefs of the parties refer to the offense as being theft (K.S.A. 21-3701). The disposition of the case is summarized in chronological order as follows: (1) October 4, 1977, defendant received a 1 to 10 sentence; (2) January 19, 1978, sentence was suspended and defendant was placed on probation with special conditions relative to transitionary stay at the Topeka Halfway House; (3) September 15, 1978, defendant's probation was revoked and original sentence was reinstated, with defendant to receive credit for time spent in custody; and (4) January 4, 1979, court ordered credit to include time spent in the Halfway House. There is no dispute that defendant should receive credit for all time spent in jail and in the Kansas Reception and Diagnostic Center (K.R.D.C.). The propriety of the Halfway House credit is the sole issue on appeal by the State, based on a question reserved.
The issue before us divides into two questions. The first is whether K.S.A. 21-4614 mandates the inclusion of the Halfway House time as credit on the sentence. The second question is whether, if such credit is not statutorily mandated, the trial court had discretion to grant it. We will first determine the question of whether such credit is mandated by the statute.
*357 The statute relative to jail time credit is as follows:
Prior to July 1, 1974, the granting of jail time credit was discretionary with the sentencing judge. The removal of the judge's discretion in this area by the above cited statute was discussed in State v. Thorn, 1 Kan. App.2d 460, 461, 462-63, 570 P.2d 1100 (1977), as follows:
....
Kansas appellate courts have approved credit under the mandatory credit statute in the following situations: (1) Time in a mental hospital on transfer from jail to be evaluated for competency to stand trial (State v. Mackley, 220 Kan. 518, 552 P.2d 628 [1976]); (2) time in jail by juvenile court order, prior to certification (State v. Thorn, 1 Kan. App.2d 460); (3) time in jail in another jurisdiction where defendant was being held solely for the Kansas court on warrant for violation of probation in case in question *358 (Thorn); and (4) all time in jail on the charge, whether prior to or after conviction (Thorn). Credit was not extended to time in jail on an unrelated charge (Campbell v. State, 223 Kan. 528, 575 P.2d 524 [1978]), or for time on probation (State v. Snook, 1 Kan. App.2d 607, 571 P.2d 78 [1977]).
Jail time credit is wholly a matter of statute and, as would be expected, varies widely among the states. California is apparently the only state which specifically authorizes credit for time spent in halfway houses. Cal. Penal Code § 2900.5 (West 1978 Supp.). By virtue of the great disparity in the language of the various statutes, case law of other jurisdictions is of little assistance in resolving the issue before us.
The following language from State v. Mackley, 220 Kan. at 519, concerning the nature of Mackley's confinement in the mental hospital, on transfer from jail to determine competency to stand trial, is relied on by both parties in support of their respective positions:
The State argues the halfway house fails the Mackley test and defendant argues the halfway house passes the Mackley test.
At this point we must go into some detail as to the circumstances in this case. At the time of original sentencing defendant was seeking probation. There was considerable discussion of defendant's past history of difficulty in complying with rules. The court sentenced defendant to incarceration, but was obviously waiting for a K.R.D.C. evaluation report before considering the matter of sentencing closed. On motion of defendant within the statutory 120-day period for sentence modification (K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 21-4603), the sentence was suspended and defendant was placed on four years of supervised probation subject to the general conditions of probation and certain special conditions.
The following excerpt from the transcript of the hearing reflects what was occurring:
"What is the average stay there, Mr. Marchand?
"DEFENDANT BABCOCK: Yes, I think so.
"DEFENDANT BABCOCK: Yes.
"DEFENDANT BABCOCK: Yes, sir."
The Halfway House is a privately operated facility that is not subject to control of the courts, corrections officials, or law enforcement agencies.
The order of probation went into effect and defendant moved into the Halfway House. On February 18, 1978, defendant was *360 returned to jail for alleged probation violation, and was released without hearing on February 27, 1978, to return to the Halfway House where he remained until July 18, 1978. On that date he was again returned to jail for alleged probation violations. He remained in jail until August 4, 1978, when he was released on bond, pending final disposition of his case.
In revoking defendant's probation, the trial court found:
It is apparent that defendant's stay at the Halfway House was a condition of probation (defendant received credit for every day he was confined in jail and no issue arises as to the days he spent in jail while on probation).
In determining whether time in a particular facility is required to be included as jail credit pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4614, the crucial question is whether the person is in custody. In such a determination the circumstances of placement of the person in the facility are of greater significance than the nature of the facility itself.
K.S.A. 21-3809 sets forth the crime of escape from custody. K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 21-3611(1)(d) (aggravated juvenile delinquency) provides that escape by a juvenile from a state training or rehabilitation facility is a class E felony if the defendant has previously escaped therefrom.
In State v. Pritchett, 222 Kan. 719, 567 P.2d 886 (1977), this court upheld a conviction of aggravated juvenile delinquency when the second escape was from a Topeka hospital where the defendant had been taken by the training facility for treatment. In so doing this court said:
We believe the same common thread referred to in Pritchett is present in determining the jail time credit question. K.S.A. 21-4614 requires that a defendant be given credit for "time spent in jail." The credit so granted is limited to time a defendant is in the actual or constructive control of jail or prison officials. This criteria was met only while defendant was in jail awaiting an opening in the Halfway House and while he was back in jail on allegations of probation violations. At all times when defendant was in the Halfway House he had a court probation officer. When problems arose, they were reported by Halfway House personnel to the defendant's court probation officer, who then took such action as he deemed appropriate. Defendant was not in the Halfway House under the control, actual or constructive, of the *362 jail officials  he was there solely to fulfill a condition of probation.
We therefore conclude K.S.A. 21-4614 does not require that a defendant be granted credit for time spent in a halfway house fulfilling a condition of probation.
We must then determine the second question of whether the trial court had the power, in its discretion, to grant credit for halfway time. It should be pointed out that the trial judge did not reduce defendant's sentence by halfway time. Rather, he gave credit for it on the sentence itself. Defendant received the minimum sentence for the crime for which he was convicted. The credit given resulted not in a reduction of the sentence, but in a back dating of the effective date of sentencing. Any reduction in sentence would have resulted in a sentence below the lawful limits of sentencing.
In State v. Snook, 1 Kan. App.2d at 607-08, the Kansas Court of Appeals stated:
K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 21-4603(2) provides in part:
See State v. Sargent, 217 Kan. 634, 538 P.2d 696 (1975); State v. Rios, 225 Kan. 613, 592 P.2d 467 (1979).
The legislature has prescribed the statutory limits of sentencing for the offense of burglary. The only authorization for sentencing below such limit is pursuant to K.S.A. 1978 Supp. 21-4603(2), above quoted, and inapplicable here.
The legislature has required credit for jail time and no discretion is granted to the court in allowing same. We therefore conclude the trial court was without authority to grant defendant credit on his sentence for time spent in the Halfway House.
Appeal sustained.