Opinion ID: 1122485
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Challenging the Sufficiency of the Charging Document and the Jurisdiction of the Court

Text: A defendant may challenge the sufficiency of the complaint, information, or indictment charging a felony crime during three stages of the proceeding. At the preliminary examination, the defendant may have the complaint dismissed if the complaint is defective or the State fails to produce evidence either that a crime has been committed or that the defendant committed the crime. If the magistrate finds from the evidence that a felony has been committed and there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense, the defendant is bound over for arraignment. K.S.A. 22-2902. Prior to trial, the defendant has a second opportunity to attack defects in the complaint, its failure to state a crime, and the jurisdiction of the court. Failure to present any such defenses or objections constitutes a waiver. K.S.A. 1992 Supp. 22-3208(3). The final opportunity for a defendant to challenge the sufficiency of the charging instrument or the jurisdiction of the court is by a motion to arrest judgment, which must be filed within a period of 10 days after the defendant is found guilty whether by trial or otherwise. K.S.A. 22-3502. See generally Hall, 246 Kan. 728. Motion to Arrest Judgment The court on motion of a defendant shall arrest judgment if the complaint, information, or indictment does not charge a crime or if the court was without jurisdiction of the crime charged. The motion for arrest of judgment shall be made within 10 days after the verdict or finding of guilty, or after a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, or within such further time as the court may fix during the 10-day period. K.S.A. 22-3502. If the court becomes aware of the existence of grounds which would require that a motion for arrest of judgment be granted, if filed, the court may arrest the judgment without motion. K.S.A. 22-3503. Prosecution for a felony is by complaint, information, or indictment. A motion for arrest of judgment is a post-verdict motion made to prevent the entry of judgment where the charging document is insufficient or the court lacked jurisdiction to try the matter. To grant a motion to arrest judgment, the charging document in some respect must be fatally defective and legally insufficient to support a judgment or the court must lack jurisdiction. The motion to arrest judgment reaches only these two situations. A motion for arrest of judgment does not test the sufficiency of the evidence to convict a defendant of the crime. It is fundamental that no valid judgment may be entered where no crime is charged in the complaint, information, or indictment. See Smith v. State, 1 Kan. 365, 389-90 (1863). The sufficiency of the charging document is measured by whether (1) it contains the elements of the offense intended to be charged, (2) it sufficiently apprises the defendant of what he or she must be prepared to meet, and (3) it is specific enough to make a subsequent plea of double jeopardy possible. The charging document is sufficient if it substantially follows the language of the statute or charges the offense in equivalent words or words of the same import. K.S.A. 22-3201; State v. Micheaux, 242 Kan. 192, 197, 747 P.2d 784 (1987). Jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear and decide a matter. Jurisdiction is not limited to the power to decide a matter rightly but includes the power to decide the matter wrongly. In re Estate of Johnson, 180 Kan. 740, 746, 308 P.2d 100 (1957). Sims claims that although the defendant must challenge the sufficiency of the charging document or the jurisdiction of the court within 10 days after a finding or verdict of guilty, under K.S.A. 22-3503, the court may arrest judgment on its own motion during the pendency of the proceedings. Sims does not state what, if any, limitation is placed on the judge's power to arrest judgment if the defendant fails to file a motion to arrest the judgment. The State claims that the power of the judge to arrest judgment is restricted by K.S.A. 22-2103, which limits unjustifiable expenses and delay. To determine this issue we must first review the statutes and apply the rules of statutory construction. When a statute is plain and unambiguous, the court must give effect to the intention of the legislature as expressed rather than determine what the law should or should not be. Martindale v. Tenny, 250 Kan. 621, Syl. ¶ 2, 829 P.2d 561 (1992). Legislative intent is to be determined from a general consideration of the entire act. Effect must be given, if possible, to the entire act and every part thereof. To this end, it is the duty of the court, as far as practicable, to reconcile the different provisions so as to make them consistent, harmonious, and sensible. Todd v. Kelly, 251 Kan. 512, 516, 837 P.2d 381 (1992). K.S.A. 22-3503 provides that whenever the court becomes aware of the existence of grounds which would require that a motion for arrest of judgment be granted, if filed, the court may arrest the judgment without motion. K.S.A. 22-3502 requires the defendant to file a motion to arrest judgment within 10 days after the verdict or finding of guilty. Therefore, the motion for arrest of judgment must be filed by the defendant, and a court's arrest of judgment without motion must be ordered, within 10 days after the verdict or finding of guilty. Sims finally concludes he is not claiming that the information lacked any elements necessary to prove the crimes charged. Sims points out that he was charged with the wrong crime. Sims asserts that K.S.A. 22-3208(3) is clear and that the question of whether an information is defective for failing to charge a crime is a separate question from whether the trial court lacked jurisdiction over the offense charged. To the extent this court believed in State v. Hall that an information could be challenged on jurisdictional grounds only if the charging document omitted essential elements of the crime charged, the defendant respectfully submits the opinion is in error. Sims cites no authority for the use of a motion to arrest judgment for this claim. The State disagrees with Sims' statement. Although neither party cites any authority, we note that this question has been previously decided by this court. In State v. McCool, 34 Kan. 617, 9 Pac. 745 (1886), McCool was charged in an information with the offense of stealing a trunk and some wearing apparel contained within the trunk, having an aggregate value of more than $25. McCool was convicted of grand larceny and sentenced to serve a term of three years. After his conviction, McCool filed a motion to arrest judgment, claiming that the evidence adduced at trial did not support the charge in the information but that if any offense was shown to be committed by the evidence, it was that of embezzlement (a separate crime) and not grand larceny. The district court denied McCool's motion to arrest judgment. McCool appealed. The McCool court noted that McCool claimed the evidence did not support the crime charged but a separate crime. It pointed out that the grounds upon which a judgment may be arrested are specifically prescribed in the statute and are: ` First, that the grand jury which found the indictment had no legal authority to inquire into the offense charged, by reason of its not being within the jurisdiction of the court; second, that the facts stated do not constitute a public offense.' 34 Kan. at 618. The McCool court observed that the cause alleged by the defendant was not among those enumerated in the statute and affirmed the trial court's denial of McCool's motion to arrest judgment. 34 Kan. at 618. See State v. Gibbens, 253 Kan. 384, 388, 855 P.2d 937 (1993). Where the evidence adduced at trial does not support the crime alleged in the charging document but supports a separate crime, the defendant cannot challenge the verdict on grounds of insufficiency of the evidence by a motion to arrest judgment. A motion to arrest judgment is a challenge to the charging instrument or the jurisdiction of the court to try the offense alleged in the charging document, whereas an insufficiency argument is a challenge to the verdict. Other statutory procedures are available to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence. Sims' final claim is without merit. Because the court did not have jurisdiction to arrest Sims' convictions for rape and aggravated criminal sodomy, the court's arrest of judgment is reversed and the matter remanded with directions to reinstate the convictions. Reversed and remanded. ALLEGRUCCI, J., concurs in the result.