State v. Hartley

Michael Thomas Hartley appeals his exceptional sentence pronounced by the Cowlitz County Superior Court upon his plea of guilty to taking a motor vehicle without permission. The court found that the standard range sentence for the crime was 14 to 18 months in prison, but instead sentenced Hartley to 36 months. This appeal was argued pursuant to a motion for accelerated review, RAP 18.15. The commissioner referred the case to a panel of judges for disposition by published opinion because of its precedential value.

Hartley makes five contentions: (1) the record does not support the exceptional…