State v. Warren

Leben, J.:

When a small amount of marijuana was found in inmate Waddell Warren’s socks, he was convicted of introducing a controlled substance into a correctional facility and sentenced to an additional 122 months in prison. Warren asked that he be given a shorter sentence than called for under our sentencing guidelines, but the district court ruled that a lesser departure sentence — based on an argument that the amount of drugs was very small and thus less than typical for the offense — could not be considered.

We face two primary questions in deciding Warren’s appeal. First, we must determine…