Groves v. State

The defendant appeals a departure sentence for the felony offense of driving under the influence (D.UI). He contends that he did not engage in a pattern of escalating criminal conduct as the trial court found, because all of the prior offenses relied on for the departure sentence were other DUI offenses. The state argues that an escalating pattern of criminal behavior was properly established inasmuch as the penalty for DUI became progressively more severe as the offense was repeated.

We conclude that the departure sentence was invalid and therefore reverse. The fact that the prior offenses…