Background
Darius Burnett was convicted of three counts of residential burglary in 2013. He later pleaded guilty to offenses committed in 2019, including residential burglary, violation of a protective order, criminal mischief, and aggravated assault. A sentencing order entered on December 6, 2023, imposed an aggregate prison term of 120 months.
Burnett sought declaratory, injunctive, and mandamus relief, arguing that officials had wrongly deemed him ineligible for parole under Arkansas Code Annotated section 16-93-609(b)(2)(B). He maintained that his 2023 sentencing order had to expressly state that he was sentenced under that provision before his earlier residential-burglary conviction could affect his parole eligibility. The circuit court denied and dismissed his petition because he was sentenced after May 24, 2022.
The Court’s Holding
The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed. It held that the statute’s express-designation requirement did not apply to Burnett because his sentencing order was entered after May 24, 2022. Under the statute’s plain language, a pre-April 1, 2015 residential-burglary conviction may qualify as a prior violent felony without an express designation when the defendant was sentenced on or after May 24, 2022.
The court therefore concluded that Burnett was not eligible for parole on his 2023 conviction and that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by denying relief. It declined to consider Burnett’s ex post facto and discretionary-transfer arguments because he had not raised them in the circuit court. Justice Shawn A. Womack dissented, reasoning that sovereign immunity required dismissal rather than a decision on the merits.
Key Takeaways
- A post-May 24, 2022 sentencing order need not expressly invoke section 16-93-609(b)(2)(B) for an earlier residential-burglary conviction to affect parole eligibility.
- Burnett’s 2013 residential-burglary convictions rendered him ineligible for parole on the sentence imposed in December 2023.
- Arguments not presented to the circuit court, including Burnett’s ex post facto and discretionary-transfer theories, were waived on appeal.
Why It Matters
The decision clarifies the temporal reach of Arkansas’s statutory exception to the express-designation requirement for residential burglary. For defendants sentenced on or after May 24, 2022, parole ineligibility may follow from the statutory criteria even when the sentencing order does not expressly cite section 16-93-609.
The case also underscores the importance of preserving constitutional and statutory arguments in the trial court. The dissent separately highlights an unresolved disagreement within the court over sovereign immunity in civil actions challenging parole determinations.