State v. Thompson

OPINION

PAGE, Justice.

Respondent Margaret Louise Thompson pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft by swindle over $35,000. The district court sentenced Thompson to an executed term of 114 months in prison.1 One hundred and fourteen months is a double durational upward departure from the presumptive sentence under Minnesota’s Sentencing Guidelines. Thompson challenged her sentence on appeal, arguing the upward sentencing departure violated her right to a jury trial on sentencing enhancement factors as required under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). The…