STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS
 

State of West Virginia, FILED 

Plaintiff Below, Respondent September 3, 2013 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

vs) No. 12-1530 (Jackson County 12-F-91) SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

Amanda Dawn Golden-Kerns, 

Defendant Below, Petitioner 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Amanda Dawn Golden-Kerns’s appeal, filed by counsel Kevin B. Postalwait, 

arises from the Circuit Court of Jackson County, which sentenced petitioner to one to five years 

in prison by order entered on November 16, 2012. Petitioner argues that the circuit court erred by 

not granting her probation. The State, by counsel Laura Young, filed a response in support of the 

circuit court’s order. 

This Court has considered the parties’ briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal 

arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided 

by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record 

presented, the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these 

reasons, a memorandum decision is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate 

Procedure. 

In September of 2012, petitioner pled guilty to first offense failure to register or provide 

notice of registration changes, a felony under West Virginia Code § 15-12-8(b).1 At sentencing, 

the State recommended that the circuit court order petitioner’s sentence to run concurrently with 

any sentence she may receive from current, similar charges in Marion County. In November of 

2012, the circuit court ordered petitioner to serve one to five years in prison. Petitioner now 

appeals this order. 

We review sentencing orders under the following standard: 

“‘The Supreme Court of Appeals reviews sentencing orders . . . under a deferential abuse 

of discretion standard, unless the order violates statutory or constitutional commands.’ Syl. Pt. 1, 

in part, State v. Lucas, 201 W.Va. 271, 496 S.E.2d 221 (1997).” Syl. Pt. 1, State v. James, 227 

W.Va. 407, 710 S.E.2d 98 (2001). Moreover, “‘[s]entences imposed by the trial court, if within 

statutory limits and if not based on some [im]permissible factor, are not subject to appellate 

review.’ Syllabus Point 4, State v. Goodnight, 169 W.Va. 366, 287 S.E.2d 504 (1982).” Syl. Pt. 

6, State v. Slater, 222 W.Va. 499, 665 S.E.2d 674 (2008). 

1 This requirement arose from petitioner’s prior conviction of third degree aiding and abetting 

sexual assault. 

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Petitioner argues that the circuit court erred by sentencing her to serve time in prison, 

rather than placing her on probation. Petitioner concedes that the circuit court sentenced her 

within the statutory bounds of West Virginia Code § 15-12-8(b), but asserts that for the 

conviction of similar charges in Marion County, she received probation. 

Our review of the record indicates no abuse of discretion by the circuit court. Petitioner 

pled guilty to first offense failure to register or provide notice of registration changes, as 

provided under West Virginia Code § 15-12-8(b). This section directs that anyone convicted of 

this felony shall face imprisonment of one to five years. The circuit court was not bound by the 

probationary sentence petitioner received in Marion County. The sentence imposed by the circuit 

court was within statutory limits and was not based on an impermissible factor. 

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm petitioner’s sentence. 

Affirmed. 

ISSUED: September 3, 2013 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Chief Justice Brent D. Benjamin 

Justice Robin Jean Davis 

Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

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