State v. Joslin, 364 Ark. 545

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas considered whether a circuit court could sentence a habitual offender convicted of a Class C felony to probation. The court held that Arkansas statutes required imprisonment within the habitual-offender sentencing range and prohibited probation, making the sentence illegal. The judgment was reversed and remanded for resentencing.

Holdings

1. The State may appeal the imposition of a void or illegal sentence, and the appeal was properly within the Arkansas Supreme Court's jurisdiction because uniform application of statutory sentencing procedures is important to the administration of criminal law.
2. The circuit court lacked authority to impose probation. A defendant convicted of a Class C felony as a habitual offender is subject to the statutory extended imprisonment range of three to twenty years, and Arkansas law expressly prohibits probation for a defendant convicted of two or more felonies under the habitual-offender statute.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State could appeal the circuit court's allegedly illegal sentence under the Arkansas rules governing State criminal appeals.
2. Whether a circuit court may impose probation on a defendant convicted of a Class C felony as a habitual offender when the habitual-offender statutes prescribe an extended term of imprisonment and prohibit probation.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded