State v. Chesnel
Annotate this CaseAfter pleading guilty to criminal charges, Terry Chesnel received judgments of conviction requiring him to pay $3700 in court fines. Soon after Chesnel was incarcerated, the Department of Corrections began withdrawing twenty-five percent of all funds deposited into Chesnel's prison account to satisfy his court fines. Chesnel later filed a petition for post-conviction review, asserting that he had been denied effective assistance of counsel. His petition did not mention the Department's collection of funds from his prison account. The superior court denied Chesnel's petition, and no appeal was taken. Two years later, Chesnel filed a motion to modify the conditions governing the collection of his court fines while he was in prison. The superior court denied the motion. Chesnel appealed, contending, inter alia, that the Department's collection of funds without notice or hearing was an unconstitutional taking and violation of due process. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that because Chesnel did not raise the issue through a petition for post-conviction review, the superior court did not have jurisdiction to entertain Chesnel's motion. Remanded to the superior court for a dismissal of the motion.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.