Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., Esq. Scott A. Ash, Esq.
Attorney General Public Defender
Stephen B. Stockton, Esq. Princeton, West Virginia
Assistant Attorney General Attorney for the Appellant
Charleston, West Virginia
Attorneys for the Appellee
JUSTICE RECHT delivered the Opinion of the Court.
RETIRED JUSTICE MILLER sitting by temporary assignment.
JUSTICE ALBRIGHT did not participate.
1. "'In ascertaining legislative intent, effect must be given to each part of
the stature and to the statute as a whole so as to accomplish the general purpose of the
legislation.' Syl. pt. 2, Smith v. State Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, 159 W. Va.
108, 219 S.E.2d 361 (1975). Syl. pt. 3, State ex rel. Fetters v. Hott, 173 W. Va. 502, 318
S.E.2d 446 (1984)." Syl. pt. 2, State v. White, 188 W. Va. 534, 425 S.E.2d 210 (1992).
2. "In sentencing an offender, a court may either sentence the individual
to a period of incarceration or place the individual on probation. If the court wishes to
probate with a period of incarceration as a condition of that probation, West Virginia Code
§ 62-12-9(4) (1991) must be followed." Syllabus Point 3, State v. White, 188 W. Va. 534,
425 S.E.2d 210 (1992).
3. Under the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)), home
incarceration is not considered the same as actual confinement in a county jail. Therefore,
the time spent in home incarceration does not necessarily count toward the one-third time
of the minimum sentence, which can be ordered under the probation statute as a condition
for probation.
In Syl. pt. 2, State v. White, 188 W. Va. 534, 425 S.E.2d 210 (1992), we explained:
"'In ascertaining legislative intent, effect must be given to each
part of the stature and to the statute as a whole so as to
accomplish the general purpose of the legislation.' Syl. pt. 2,
Smith v. State Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, 159 W.
Va. 108, 219 S.E.2d 361 (1975)." Syl. pt. 3, State ex rel. Fetters
v. Hott, 173 W. Va. 502, 318 S.E.2d 446 (1984).
Accord Syl. pt. 8, State ex rel. Goff v. Merrifield, 191 W. Va. 473, 446 S.E.2d 695 (1994).
Thus we look to the general system of law as well as the specific provisions to determine the
general purpose of the legislation. In Syl. pt. 5 of State v. Snyder, 64 W. Va. 659, 63 S.E.
385 (1908), we stated:
A statute should be so read and applied as to make it accord
with the spirit, purposes and objects of the general system of
law of which it is intended to form a part; it being presumed that
the legislators who drafted and passed it were familiar with all
existing law, applicable to the subject-matter, whether
constitutional, statutory or common, and intended the statute to
harmonize completely with the same and aid in the effectuation
of the general purpose and design thereof, if its terms are
consistent therewith.
Accord Syl pt. 3, State ex rel. Water Development Authority v. Northern Wayne County
Public Service District, ___ W. Va. ___, ___ S.E.2d ___ (No. 22065 Oct. 27, 1995); Syl. pt.
1, Holstein v. Norandex, Inc., ___ W. Va. ___, 461 S.E.2d 473 (1995); Syl. pt. 7, State ex
rel. Goff v. Merrifield, supra; Syl. pt. 1 Hayes v. Roberts & Schaefer Co., 192 W. Va. 368,
452 S.E.2d 459 (1994); Syl. pt. 1, State v. White, supra; Syl. pt. 3, Shell v. Bechtold, 175 W.
Va. 792, 338 S.E.2d 393 (1985).
In the present case, the three statutes affecting Ms. Lewis' sentence use
different terms incarceration, confinement or detention to refer to penalty options and
because of the interplay among the statutes, the relationship of home incarceration to the
probation statute is not clear and unambiguous.See footnote 3 Because of the lack of a consistent use of
terms among the statutes involved, this Court must read the statutes and our case law
interpreting each statute to ascertain the "spirit, purposes and objects of the general system
of law." State v. Snyder, supra. We also seek to harmonize the statute with the existing law
to "aid in the effectuation of the [law's] general purpose and design." Id. Based upon these
principles, we find that home incarceration is not considered confinement within the meaning
of the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)) for the purposes of determining the maximum confinement allowed as a condition for probation. This determination is based on
the language of the probation statute, our cases analyzing the nature of home incarceration
and our cases analyzing the imposition of confinement as a condition for probation.
In the case at bar, the home incarceration statute allows the circuit court to
sentence Ms. Lewis to spend "[a]t least one year. . . [of her] confinement [which is]. . . not
subject to probation," in home incarceration under the shoplifting sentence statute (W. Va.
Code 61-3A-3(c) (1994)) and subsection 4(a) of the home incarceration statute (W. Va. Code
62-11B-4(a) (1994)).See footnote 6 However, the time Ms. Lewis actually spends in home incarceration may not exceed the sentence prescribed by the Code, which in the case of third degree
shoplifting is "not less than one year nor more than ten years." See supra note 1 for penalties
for shoplifting, third offense.
In this case, the circuit court decided to impose a period of confinement as a
condition to probation and therefore, the sentence is subject to the restrictions of the
probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)(4) (1994)), thus a third Code provision must be
considered. The probation statute limits the circuit court's authority to impose a period of
confinement as a condition of probation to one-third of the minimum jail sentence; provided,
such confinement does not exceed six months. Subsection 9(b) of the probation statute
(W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)) provides:
In addition the court may impose, subject to modification at
any time, any other conditions which it may deem advisable,
including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) That he shall make restitution or reparation, in whole or in
part, immediately or within the period of probation, to any party
injured by the crime for which he has been convicted.
(2) That he shall pay any fine assessed and the costs of the
proceeding in such installments as the court may direct.
(3) That he shall make contribution from his earnings, in such
sums as the court may direct, for the support of his dependents.
(4) That he shall, in the discretion of the court, be required to
serve a period of confinement in the county jail of the county in
which he was convicted for a period not to exceed one third of
the minimum sentence established by law or one third of the least possible period of confinement in an indeterminate
sentence, but in no case shall such period of confinement exceed
six consecutive months. The court shall have authority to
sentence the defendant within such six-month period to
intermittent periods of confinement including, but not limited to,
weekends or holidays and may grant unto the defendant
intermittent periods of release in order that he may work at his
employment or for such other reasons or purposes as the court
may deem appropriate: Provided, That the provisions of article
eleven-a [§ 62-11A-1 et seq.] of this chapter shall not apply to
such intermittent periods of confinement and release except to
the extent that the court may direct. If a period of confinement
is required as a condition of probation, the court shall make
special findings that other conditions of probation are
inadequate and that a period of confinement is necessary.
[Emphasis added.]
In State v. White, 188 W. Va. 534, 425 S.E.2d 210 (1992), we refused to allow
a sentence that included a condition of probation which exceeded the maximum time of
incarceration allowed by the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)(4) (1994)). Syl. pt.
4, State v. White, stated:
In sentencing an offender, a court may either sentence the
individual to a period of incarceration or place the individual on
probation. If the court wishes to probate with a period of
incarceration as a condition of that probation, West Virginia
Code § 62-12-9(4) must be followed.
In State v. Watters, 191 W. Va. 551, 553, 447 S.E.2d 15, 16 (1994)(per curiam), we noted
that the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)(4)) is the "only mechanism through
which the sentencing court can do both [sentence and probate an offender] under statute is by sentencing the offender to a period of incarceration as a condition of probation. [Footnote
omitted.]"See footnote 7
Ms. Lewis argues that home incarceration must be considered
confinement under the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)(4)) and that her sentence
of a four-month confinement in the Southern Regional Jail plus an eight-month home
incarceration exceeds one-third of the minimum sentence required for third offense
shoplifting (one year). The essence of Ms. Lewis' argument is that she equates home
incarceration with confinement under the probation statute.
However, when a statute does not directly address the option of home
incarceration, we have considered home incarceration to be analogous to probation. In State
ex rel. Moomau v. Hamilton, 184 W. Va. 251, 253, 400 S.E.2d 259, 261 (1990)(per curiam),
we noted that the Home Incarceration Act contained several broad "exceptions which enable
the offender to be away from actual home confinement. W. Va. Code, 62-11B-5(1)
(Footnote omitted.)." These broad exceptions led us to conclude that "a person sentenced
under this Act enjoys virtually the same freedom as a probationer." Id. Although section 5
of the home incarceration statute (W. Va. Code 62-11B-5 (1994)) was amended after
Moomau, the exceptions to actual home incarceration remain unchanged and the freedom remains similar to that of a probationer.See footnote 8 In Moomau, we refused to allow consideration of
home incarceration as an alternative sentence for DUI, third offense, because of the
mandatory imprisonment requirement for DUI, third offense, found in W. Va. Code 17C-5-
2(m). Thus Moomau concluded that home incarceration "is essentially analogous to
probation." Moomau, 184 W. Va. at 254, 400 S.E.2d at 262 (Miller, J. dissenting). See
State v. Morris, 187 W. Va. 737, 739, 421 S.E.2d 488, 490 (1992)(home incarceration "bears a close analogy to probation"). Although the Legislature has amended the DUI statuteSee footnote 9, our
previous determination that home incarceration is essentially analogous to probation is still
valid. See footnote 10
In each case, our determination of how to classify home incarceration
depended upon the statute under consideration.See footnote 11 In the present case, the probation statute
(W. Va. Code 62-12-9 (1994)) is to be considered and section 9(b)(4) of the probation statute
begins by stating that the circuit court can, as a condition for probation, require the offender
"to serve a period of confinement in the county jail. [Emphasis added.]" The subsection of
the probation statute then limits the period of "confinement" so that confinement will "not to exceed one third of the minimum sentence established by law or one third of the least
possible period of confinement in an indeterminate sentence, but in no case shall such period
of confinement exceed six months." See supra pp. 8-9 for the complete text of section 9(b)
of the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)). This provision of the probation
statute indicates that the Legislature intends to give the circuit court the option of requiring
an offender to serve a period of "confinement in the county jail." The specific language of
the probation statute refers to actual confinement in a secured facility and subsection 9(b)(4)
of the probation statute limits the period of actual confinement in the county jail. The
probation statute does not specifically include home incarceration within the meaning of
"confinement in the county jail." Inclusio unius est exclusio alterius.See footnote 12 If the legislature had
intended home incarceration to be subject to the "confinement" limitation of the probation
statute, it would not have specifically referred to "confinement in the county jail."
Accordingly, we find under the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)
(1994)), home incarceration is not considered the same as actual confinement in a county
jail. Therefore, the time spent in home incarceration does not necessarily count toward the
one-third time of the minimum sentence, which can be ordered under the probation statute
as a condition for probation.
Under the probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)), home
incarceration is not considered the same as actual confinement in a county jail; rather, home incarceration in the context of the probation statute is essentially analogous to probation. See
State ex rel. Moomau v. Hamilton, supra; State v. Morris, supra. Section 9(b) of the
probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)) also allows a circuit court to "impose. .
. any other conditions which it may deem advisable, including, but not limited to" those
listed therein. In sentencing Ms. Lewis, the circuit court determined that in addition to actual
"confinement in the county jail," Ms. Lewis must also serve eight months home
incarceration. This additional condition for probation is permitted under the probation
statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b) (1994)), and in this case, there was no argument that this
portion of Ms. Lewis' sentence constituted an abuse of discretion.
In this case, we find that Ms. Lewis' home incarceration is essentially probation
and therefore, the time she spends in home incarceration does not necessarily count toward
the one-third time of the minimum sentence which can be ordered under the probation statute
as a condition for probation. In certain circumstances, a circuit court, in its discretion, might
order home incarceration as a condition for probation and not impose any "confinement in
the county jail" and thereby bypass the confinement limitations of section 9(b)(4) of the
probation statute (W. Va. Code 62-12-9(b)(4) (1994)). In the present case, the maximum
amount of time Ms. Lewis could be required to spend in home incarceration was eight
months. That eight-month period plus the four-month county jail sentence equals the one
year minimum sentence for shoplifting, third offense. Any additional time in home
incarceration would have violated section 4(b) of the home incarceration statute (W. Va. Code 62-11B-4(b) (1994)), which limits the time spent in home incarceration to the term
prescribed for the offense.
Based on our consideration of the applicable statutes, we find that Ms. Lewis'
sentence did not violate the provisions of section 9(b)(4) of the probation statute (W. Va.
Code 62-12-9(b)(4) (1994)) and therefore, we affirm the decision of the Circuit Court of
Mercer County.
Affirmed.
Third offense conviction.
-- Upon a third or subsequent
shoplifting conviction, regardless of the value of the
merchandise, the person is guilty of a felony and shall be fined
not less than five hundred dollars nor more than five thousand
dollars, and shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less
than one year nor more than ten years. At least one year shall
actually be spent in confinement and not subject to probation:
Provided, That an order for home detention by the court
pursuant to the provisions of article eleven-b [§ 62-11B-1 et
seq.], chapter sixty-two of this code may be used as an
alternative sentence to the incarceration required by this
subsection.
See State v. Lewis I, 191 W. Va. at 637 n.3, 447 S.E.2d at 572 n.3. for the 1992 version of the shoplifting sentence statute.
Home incarceration shall not be available as a sentence if the
language of a criminal statute expressly prohibits its application.
In addition to other minor revisions to the shoplifting sentence statute, in 1994,
the Legislature added the provision to the shoplifting sentence statute, which provides that
"an order for home detention. . . may be used as an alternative sentence to the incarceration
required by this subsection." See note 1 for the text of the shoplifting sentence statute (W.
Va. Code 61-3A-3(c)(1994)).
An order for home incarceration of an offender under section
four [§ 63-11B-4] of this article shall include, but not be limited
to, the following:
(1) A requirement that the offender be confined to the
offender's home at all times except when the offender is:
(A) Working at employment approved by the circuit court or
magistrate, or traveling to or from approved employment;
(B) Unemployed and seeking employment approved for the
offender by the circuit court or magistrate;
(C) Undergoing medical, psychiatric, mental health treatment,
counseling or other treatment programs approved for the
offender by the circuit court or magistrate;
(D) Attending an educational institution or a program
approved for the offender by the circuit court or magistrate;
(E) Attending a regularly scheduled religious service at a place
of worship;
(F) Participating in a community work release or community
service program approved for the offender by the circuit court,
in circuit court cases; or
(G) Engaging in other activities specifically approved for the
offender by the circuit court or magistrate.