Opinion ID: 2499553
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: issue 7: departure sentence

Text: Gilliland also attacks his sentence on several grounds, including an argument that the sentencing court erred in denying his motion for departure. The record regarding whether the court departed and the reasons for the departure are very confusing. The sentencing court stated it was denying the motion to depart, and both parties take that position in their appellate briefs. But the court did not impose the statutorily defined sentence. Rather, the court departed from the life sentence to be imposed under Jessica's Law, K.S.A. 21-4643, and imposed a sentence under the Kansas Sentencing Guidelines Act (KSGA), K.S.A. 21-4701 et seq., of 586-months' incarceration. As we held in State v. Jolly, 291 Kan. 842, 846-47, 249 P.3d 421 (2011), a sentencing court departs from Jessica's Law if it does not impose a life sentence. If a different sentence is imposed, the sentencing court must state the substantial and compelling reasons for departure and must depart to the applicable KSGA grid box. Once the sentence becomes a guidelines sentence, the court is free to depart from the sentencing grid. However, departure findings must justify both steps. [T]he requirements of neither the first step into the guidelines nor the second step away from the presumptive guidelines sentence can be ignored, and all departure procedures must be followed. [Citation omitted.] Jolly, 291 Kan. at 847, 249 P.3d 421. Those requirements and procedures were not followed here. In the appellate briefs filed in this case, neither party mentioned the departure from the life sentence. At the oral argument, when members of the court asked for help in understanding the record, the State suggested the sentencing court had meant that Gilliland had a life sentence but must serve 586 months of his sentence before he would be eligible for parole. See K.S.A. 21-4643(a)(2)(B) (minimum mandatory sentence under Jessica's Law is 25 years unless the defendant's guidelines sentence would be longer than 25 years, in which case the minimum sentence is equal to the guidelines sentence). But the court's statements and the journal entry are not consistent with this suggestion. This leaves us in an unusual situation. The State did not object to the sentencing court's procedure and did not cross-appeal and argue there was a departure without accompanied findings. Yet, we cannot sensibly talk about Gilliland's contention that the sentencing court erred when it failed to grant a departure motion when, in effect, it appears the court departed. We conclude under these unusual circumstanceswhere the sentence is ambiguous because it is contrary to the law and to the explicit finding of the sentencing courtwe must vacate the illegal sentence and remand for resentencing. See State v. Anthony, 273 Kan. 726, 730, 45 P.3d 852 (2002) (finding appellate court has authority pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3504 to sua sponte correct an illegal sentence and remand for imposition of corrected sentence).