State v. Garcia

Juan Garcia appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his nolo contendere plea before sentencing. The majority of the Court of Appeals panel affirmed the denial. Garcia’s primary contention is that the district court may have relied upon State v. Ford, 23 Kan. App. 2d 248,930 P.2d 1089 (1996), whose insistence on an allegation of innocence in a presentencing plea withdrawal motion has been rejected by this court.

Garcia’s second argument—that his prior convictions were used improperly to increase his sentence because they were not proved to a jury beyond a reasonable…