Request By:
Honorable Dale M. Morris
Larue County Attorney
Hodgenville, Kentucky 42748
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of September 27 in which you raise the following question:
"KRS 117.245 provides the procedure to be followed when a voter's rights to vote is disputed. KRS 117.995 sub-section 1 provides a penalty for violation of the provisions of that chapter. The penalty provides includes a $1000.00 fine and up to 1 year in jail.
"Therefore, the fine is one prescribed for a felony and the term of imprisonment is that prescribed for a misdemeanor.
"Please advise me as to the correct classification of these offenses so that I can proceed accordingly."
KRS 117.995(1) reads as follows:
"Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or who willfully does any act that will accomplish a result intended to be prevented, or that will prevent from being accomplished a result intended to be permitted, shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1000), or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both."
The above penalty provision authorizing a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1000, or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both, would, we believe, constitute a misdemeanor, both as to the fine and jail sentence.
As far as the imprisonment provision is concerned, KRS 532.090 of the Criminal Code provides, in effect, that a sentence of imprisonment for a Class A misdemeanor shall not exceed twelve (12) months, the same as that imposed by KRS 117.995(1).
With respect to the fine that may be imposed under KRS 117.995(1), we believe that such would be construed as an exception to those fines covered under the Code, Ch. 534 KRS, particularly KRS 534.030 [felonies] and 534.040 [misdemeanors] where both statutes provide for exceptions and neither are applicable to the penalty imposed by KRS 117.995(1).