State v. Mertz
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State v. Mertz
Opinion of the Court
Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction of the district court and an order of said court denying his motion to vacate the judgment.
On May 20, 1958, defendant appeared before the district court and plead guilty to the two prior convictions. The court adjudged him guilty and sentenced him to be imprisoned in the State Reformatory at St. Cloud until discharged by due course of law or by competent authority. Judgment was entered, judgment roll made and filed, and sentence was stayed until defendant completed a sentence previously imposed on him.
About 3 years and 7 months later, on December 11, 1961, defendant again appeared in said district court at which time an order of the court was made again staying execution of the May 20, 1958, sentence and placing defendant on probation for 2 years. The probation order was filed December 18, 1961.
More than a year thereafter on January 4, 1963, probation was revoked, defendant having plead guilty to the crime of forgery in the second degree. Thereafter, on July 9, 1963, defendant moved to vacate the judgment of conviction of May 20, 1958. Three days later an order was filed denying the motion.
In the instant case no appeal or motion for a new trial was made within the 6-month period for appeal provided by Minn. St. 632.01.
It is the contention of defendant that the order of the trial court dated December 18, 1961, by which defendant was placed on probation was unauthorized because it amounted to a change or modification of the sentence after expiration of the term at which it was imposed and that the effect of that order was to deprive the court of jurisdiction, entitling, defendant to immediate discharge. We cannot agree. When, on May 20, 1958, defendant entered a plea of guilty to the offense of “Grand Larceny in the First Degree and two prior convictions,” a valid judgment of conviction was entered. At that time defendant was serving a term in the St. Cloud Reformatory under sentence for another conviction. The trial court stayed execution until defendant had completed serving that sentence. It is apparent from the record that the trial court realized that under the sentence imposed defendant was subject to the drastic penalties under the multiple-offense statutes then in effect, Minn. St. 1961, §§ 610.28 and 610.29, and intended to reserve the right to suspend that sentence and place him on probation. The stay was properly entered pursuant to the provisions of Minn. St. 1961, § 610.33, then in effect, which stated in part:
“* * * when a person while under sentence for felony commits another felony, and is sentenced to another term of imprisonment such latter term shall not begin until the expiration of all prior terms.”
Assuming that the order granting probation was unauthorized, that order could not affect the validity of the sentence imposed May 20, 1958. The sentence would remain in effect and require immediate execution. 5 Wharton, Criminal Law and Procedure, § 2193; 24 C. J. S., Criminal Law, § 1618(11)b. The authorities on this issue are gathered in Annotation, 141 A. L. R. 1225, 1229, where it is said:
“According to the great weight of authority, where sentence has been pronounced in a criminal case, but a void order has been entered suspending the execution of the sentence, the defendant may be required to pay his suspended fine or serve his suspended term in' prison notwithstanding the making of the unauthorized order suspending the execution of the sentence. The enforcement of the sentence which has been suspended without authority may take place at any time after the suspension thereof, even after the expiration of the term at which the void order was entered.”
Moreover, we cannot agree that the order staying execution and placing defendant on probation was unauthorized. The authorities which hold that a trial court has no power to change or modify a sentence after expiration of the term at which it was imposed do not apply to actions of the court in exercising its probationary powers to stay execution of the sentence. See, Pernatto v. United States (3 Cir.) 107 F. (2d) 372; Kriebel v. United States (7 Cir.) 10 F. (2d) 762; United States v. Weiss (E. D. Pa.) 28 F. Supp. 598.
The trial court has broad probationary powers which permit it, at any time before the sentence is executed, to stay the execution of sentence and place defendant on probation (Minn. St. 609.135, superseding Minn. St. 1961, §§ 610.37 and 610.38), and in the event of a breach of conditions of probation thereafter to revoke the stay (Minn. St. 609.14, superseding Minn. St. 1961, § 610.39). It has been pointed out by Federal authorities, Pernatto v. United States,
Affirmed.
As a part of the procedural history herein and for the purpose of showing the sequence of the proceedings before the District Court of Hennepin
Minn. St. 632.01 provides: “Criminal cases may be removed by the de
See, State v. Pruitt, 264 Minn. 243, 119 N. W. (2d) 32.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
Whatever may have been the trial court’s actual intention, it is undisputed that on May 8, 1958, it imposed a valid sentence committing defendant to the State Reformatory. Execution of the sentence was stayed until the expiration of a prior sentence which defendant was then serving. It is significant that the court did not stay the imposition of sentence. Had it done so, the sentence it attempted to impose on December 11, 1961, would have been perfectly valid. The only effect of the court’s sentence in 1958 was to make that term run concurrently with the one for which the defendant was then confined.
The majority holds in effect that Minn. St. 1961, § 610.33, allowed' a new and different sentence to be imposed in 1961, at the time defendant’s previous term expired, because his conviction and sentence in 1958 occurred at a time when he was already in an institution. I respectfully suggest that this is not what the statute says. It does not provide that under these circumstances a subsequent sen-
The majority opinion construes Minn. St. 1961, §§ 610.37 and 610.38, in a way which is completely contrary to the wording of the statutes themselves. Section 610.38 provides in part:
“Such stay shall be for the full period of sentence; and during such time the person so sentenced may be placed on probation * * (Italics supplied.)
By the plain language of § 610.38 this does not mean that the court may change the sentence to probation “during such time.” It means that the original sentence may require that defendant be on probation “during such time” — the period of the stay. This is clear from the language of § 610.37 which unequivocally states:
“The several courts of record of this state having jurisdiction to try criminal causes shall have power, upon the imposition of sentence by such court * * * to stay the execution of such sentence which the court has imposed * * (Italics supplied.)
The statute goes on to limit the court’s right to impose probation subsequent to the original sentencing by stating:
“* * * [^4]¿ any time after the imposition of sentence in all cases where the sentence imposed is to a county jail, work farm or workhouse, any such court of this state shall have like power * * (Italics supplied.)
Obviously, the right to change a sentence to probation is limited to those cases where the original sentence is for a misdemeanor or a gross misdemeanor.
“*■ * * Except where otherwise provided by statute, it is the settled and apparently the universal rule that where the court has imposed a valid sentence it cannot change or modify such sentence after the expiration of the term at which it was imposed.”
There we pointed out that the court did have the power to postpone the imposition of sentence, and had this procedure been followed in the instant case no problem would have arisen.
We referred to the Carlson case with approval more recently in State ex rel. Bennett v. Rigg, 257 Minn. 406, 102 N. W. (2d) 17. It has been suggested that any different rule would constitute double jeopardy. The authorities on the subject have been collected in 15 Minn. L. Rev. 828 and in Rubin, The Law of Criminal Correction, p. 145, note 134.
In the instant case we allow a term which properly expired on December 11, 1961, to be further extended by the same court for the same offense 2V£ years after imposition of the sentence. I respectfully submit that this does violence to fundamental principles under which sentencing powers are properly limited. In overruling or ignoring our own precedents we fail to give proper regard to the serious impact our decision will have on the entire sentencing process.
I would reverse.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State v. Donald N. Mertz
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published