State v. Cadwallader

¶1 Madsen, J.

The petitioner was sentenced as a persistent offender to life in prison without the possibility of early release. He argues that his sentence is unlawful because one of the two predicate strike offenses “washed out” and that the Court of Appeals erroneously allowed the State to prove an out-of-state conviction to show that the wash out period was interrupted. Because it is the State’s burden to establish criminal history at sentencing (unless the defendant pleads guilty pursuant to a plea agreement), *870we agree that the State is not entitled to rely on the out-of-state conviction…