Clampet v. State, 99 S.W.3d 414 (Ark. 2003)

Cases | Clampet v. State, 99 S.W.3d 414 (Ark. 2003) | 2018

The defendant pled guilty to the charge of first-degree criminal mischief. Among other things, he was ordered to pay $500.00 “restitution in lieu of a fine,” and $1,124.10 in victim restitution. Thereafter, the defendant was twice found to be in violation of his probation. At the first revocation hearing, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation, accepted his initial guilty plea, and ordered him to, among other things, pay the balance of what he owed on his restitution. At the second revocation hearing, the trial court revoked the defendant’s probation and sentenced him to 42 months in the Department of Correction, with an additional 30 months suspended. The defendant appealed after the second revocation hearing, arguing that the trial court lost subject-matter jurisdiction to modify his original sentence when it revoked his probation at the first revocation hearing. The Supreme Court of Arkansas reversed the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss, finding that when the trial court accepted the defendant’s original guilty plea and ordered the defendant to pay the balance of his “restitution in lieu of a fine,” that constituted a conviction. Thus, the trial court lost jurisdiction to amend or modify the sentence. Since a valid sentence was executed at the first revocation hearing, the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss the State’s petition to revoke his probation.