State v. Morley

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 120,017 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellant, v. RONALD D. MORLEY, Appellee. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. When an appellate court is considering whether a sentencing court erred in granting or denying departure based on a nonstatutory mitigating factor, the reviewing court applies an abuse of discretion standard. 2. Appellate review of a district court's decision granting or denying departure based on a nonstatutory mitigating factor should follow a three-step framework: (a) determine whether the sentencing court's nonstatutory factor can be a mitigating…