Summary 2013 WY 153

Summary of Decision December 18, 2013

District Judge Fenn delivered the opinion for the court. Affirmed.

Case Name: MICHAEL ANTONIO PATTERSON v. THE STATE OF WYOMING

Docket Number: S-13-0018

URL: http://www.courts.state.wy.us/Opinions.aspx

Appeal from the District Court of Laramie County the Honorable Thomas T.C. Campbell, Judge

Representing Appellant: Office of the State Public Defender: Diane Lozano, State Public Defender; Tina N. Olson, Chief Appellate Counsel; David E. Westling, Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel.

Representing Appellee: Gregory A. Phillips, Attorney General; David L. Delicath, Deputy Attorney Gerneral; Jeffrey Pope, Assistant Attorney General; Brenda Yamaji, Assistant Attorney General.

Date of Decision: December 18, 2013

Facts: This is Michael Patterson’s third appearance before this Court. On his first appeal his conviction was affirmed, but he did not challenge his sentence. On his second appeal this Court determined that Appellant’s sentence was illegal, and remanded the case to the district court for resentencing. Appellant returns to this Court to challenge the Amended Judgment and Sentence issued by the District Court for the First Judicial District following remand.

Issues: Appellant phrases the issues as follows: 1. Have Michael Patterson’s constitutional due process rights been violated by the failure of the trial court to afford Mr. Patterson a timely and speedy sentencing? 2. Is Michael Patterson being held under an illegal sentence? 3. Has the trial court erred by subjecting Michael Patterson to double jeopardy in violation of the principles of constitutional due process? The State raises a fourth issue: Are Mr. Patterson’s speedy sentencing and double jeopardy claims barred by res judicata?

Holdings/Conclusion: Under W.R.Cr.P. 35(a), an illegal sentence may be corrected at any time. When a case is remanded for resentencing, the corrected sentence still must be imposed without “unnecessary delay” under W.R.Cr.P.32. However, the one year presumption set out in Yates does not apply to resentencing. The Amended Judgment and Sentence was imposed without unnecessary delay once this Court had determined that his previous sentence was illegal, so there was no violation of Appellant’s right to a speedy sentencing. Appellant’s corrected sentence of 240-267 months is not illegal; it complies with the sentencing statute and was not imposed without notice or an opportunity to be heard. It also indicates that the trial court considered probation and found it to be inappropriate. Because Appellant’s previous sentence was illegal, he had no justifiable expectation of finality in his sentence. Therefore, there was no double jeopardy violation when his sentence was increased by three months after he had begun serving it. The Amended Judgment and Sentence is affirmed.

Summaries are prepared by Law Librarians and are not official statements of the Wyoming Supreme Court

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