Graham v. State

The opinion of the court was delivered by Defendant filed a second K.S.A. 60-1507 petition, claiming (1) the trial court violated his constitutional rights in admitting a prior uncounseled Arkansas plea conviction at trial and when computing his sentence and (2) he was denied effective assistance of counsel at trial and during his first K.S.A. 60-1507 hearing. Defendant requested that he be granted a new trial or his sentence be recalculated without including the prior Arkansas conviction. The district judge granted the defendant a new trial. The State appeals. 1. The Underlying Criminal Action In 1987, defendant Ronald Graham was tried and convicted in Geary County of possession of methamphetamine, K.S.A. 1987 Supp. 65-4127b(b)(2); possession of marijuana, K.S.A. 1987 Supp. 65-4127b(a)(3); and possession of cocaine, K.S.A. 65-4127a (Ensley). Evidence of Graham's two prior narcotics convictions, a 1983 Kansas and a 1985 Arkansas conviction, was admitted during the trial under K.S.A. 60-455. Because of the two prior felonies, Graham's sentence was statutorily enhanced to life imprisonment. K.S.A. 65-4127a (Ensley). His convictions were affirmed in State v. Graham, 244 Kan. 194, 768 P.2d 259 (1989). Graham's sentence was later commuted to 15 years to life by Governor Finney. Graham has served 10 years.