State v. Holt, 874 P.2d 1183 (Kan. 1994)

Cases | State v. Holt, 874 P.2d 1183 (Kan. 1994) | 2018

The defendant pled no contest to theft for possession of a watch stolen during a residential burglary. The district court, sua sponte, called a hearing to consider the defendant’s earlier request for probation. The State objected to the court’s proceeding on the basis that the victims were not notified of the hearing. The court placed the defendant on probation for a period of 18 months under specified conditions and the State timely filed a notice of appeal. The supreme court denied the appeal. The granting of parole to a misdemeanor the defendant who has served a portion of the jail sentence imposed is purely discretionary with the trial court as is the holding of any hearing in connection therewith. However, the supreme court recommended that trial judges carefully consider holding a public hearing and notifying crime victims in cases where the court deemed it advisable and when it could be accomplished without undue burden on the judicial system.