Meadows v. State, 899 S.W.2d 72 (Ark. 1995)

Cases | Meadows v. State, 899 S.W.2d 72 (Ark. 1995) | 2018

The defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of first degree battery. His sentence of twenty years imprisonment was suspended on the condition that, among other things, he pay $200 per month toward the victim’s medical bills. When the conviction judgment was filed five months later, it contained a blank where the restitution amount was to appear, and contained no directives as to how restitution was to be paid. Thereafter, a restitution hearing was held, following which, the trial court signed a restitution order, supplying the information that had been missing from the earlier order. The defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the original order was illegal because the trial court had no authority to suspend the execution of his sentence. The Supreme Court of Arkansas agreed with the defendant, noting that, at the time that the defendant committed his offense, the relevant statute did not authorize trial courts to suspend the execution of sentences. Thus, because the defendant’s sentence was unauthorized and illegal, the court reversed and remanded for resentencing.