State of Minnesota v. Julian Sanchez-Sanchez

OPINION

HUDSON, Justice.

This case presents the issue of whether the Minnesota Rules of Evidence apply in a court trial, which was held in accordance with Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), to determine whether any aggravating sentencing factors exist. Following a straight guilty plea, appellant Julian Sanchez-Sanchez waived his right to have a jury determine whether aggravating factors existed to justify an upward durational departure in his sentence. Instead, Sanchez-Sanchez submitted the Blakely question to the district court. Without objection, the…