State v. Nordby

(dissenting) — The Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 provides a structure for the exercise of discretion by public officials. The trial court escaped the confines of this *520structure to impose a sentence outside the act's presumptive sentencing range. I do not agree with the majority that two of the reasons articulated by the trial court justify the exceptional sentence imposed. First, the "particular vulnerability" of the victim as a pedestrian, while true, is present in too many vehicular assault cases for this one to be characterized as exceptional. Second, allowing a prosecutor to present proof…