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State v. Kralik12/19/2003
Appeal sustained.
On a question reserved, the State appeals whether and to what extent a district court should, for purposes of determining the existence of prior convictions for violation of K.S.A 8-1567, give deference to ambiguous findings or recitals in prior journal entries. We conclude that the district court erred in disregarding such findengs, and we sustain the State's appeal.
Factual and Procedural Overview
The State charged Troy Allen Kralik with driving under the influence (DUI) alternatively under K.S.A. 8-1567(a)(3) and K.S.A. 8-1567(a)(2), but charged the DUI as a felony on the basis that Kralik had two prior DUI convictions. The only evidence of two prior convictions was a single journal entry from a 1991 conviction, which contained the following reference: "The court further finds that the defendant had a prior DUI in 1988." The State was unable to locate any other evidence of a DUI conviction in 1988.
Prior to trial, in response to a question raised by Kralik on the matter, the State moved for a determination of whether the 1991 journal entry was sufficient to establish Kralik had two prior convictions of DUI. The district court refused to accept the 1991 journal entry as proof of two prior DUI convictions, finding without elaboration that it constituted evidence of only one prior DUI -- the 1991 conviction. Accordingly, the court ordered that the pending DUI offense be classified as a class A misdemeanor. See K.S.A. 8-1567(e) (second conviction of DUI is class A misdemeanor.)
Kralik pled guilty to a second-time DUI and received a sentence of 180 days' imprisonment. The court then suspended all but 10 days of the sentence and placed Kralik on probation.
The State filed a timely notice of appeal pursuant to K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 22-3602(b)(3), contending that the question reserved is one of statewide interest.
Standard of Review
The narrow question framed by this appeal requires only that we construe language contained within a journal entry of judgment. The interpretation and legal effect of written instruments are matters of law, and an appellate court exercises unlimited review. Unrau v. Kidron Bethel Retirement Services, Inc., 271 Kan. 743, 763, 27 P.3d 1 (2001); see State v. White, 23 Kan. App. 2d 363, 368-73, 931 P.2d 1250, rev. denied 261 Kan. 1089 (1997).
Threshold Issue on Reserved Question
An appeal on a question reserved by the prosecution will not be entertained merely to demonstrate that errors have been committed by the trial court. The question must be of statewide interest and vital to a correct and uniform administration of the criminal law. City of Overland Park v. Povirk, 262 Kan. 531, 532, 941 P.2d 369 (1997). The State contends that our prior cases fail to provide adequate guidance on the question reserved and that, given the importance of criminal history in sentencing, guidance on the question "would be welcomed by judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in all 105 counties." Although appellee disagrees, we elect to hear this appeal and address the question in the interest of achieving a correct and uniform administration of the criminal law in Kansas. See State v. Hernandez, 29 Kan. App. 2d 522, 523-24, 28 P.3d 1031, rev. denied 272 Kan. 1421 (2001).
Overview of Prior Case Law Addressing Proof of Criminal History
The State has the burden of proving a disputed criminal history and must do so by a preponderance of the evidence. K.S.A. 21-4724(c)(4); K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 21-4715(a). When a defendant properly contests the accuracy of his or her alleged criminal history and the State attempts to establish criminal hist
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