State v. Case

The decision of the court was delivered by

Nuss, J.:

This case requires us to determine the effect, if any, on the defendant’s guilty plea pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 27 L. Ed. 2d 162, 91 S. Ct. 160 (1970), when he “stipulate[d] to the factual basis provided by the State.” A panel of the Court of Appeals held that Christopher Case stipulated to the facts, which eliminated the requirement that they be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt before they could be used to increase his sentence beyond the prescribed statutory maximum. See Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S.…