State v. Lambert

OPINION

AMDAHL, Chief Justice.

We granted the petition of the state for review of the decision of the Court of Appeals ruling that, absent legislative authorization, trial courts may not adopt local sentencing guidelines for misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases. Reversing, we hold that legislation is not needed for trial courts to adopt advisory nonbinding guidelines for such cases.

At 1:10 a.m. on Sunday, May 26, 1985, Jean Lambert was arrested for DWI. She submitted to a breath test, which showed she had a blood alcohol concentration of .12. Her attorney reached an agreement with the…