State v. Mendoza
Annotate this CaseLuiz Mendoza pleaded no contest to rape with a victim who was eleven years old. As part of the plea agreement, the State dismissed all other charges and agreed to recommend a downward departure to the sentencing grid. Mendoza filed a motion for a downward sentencing departure based on his lack of criminal history. The district court denied the departure motion and sentenced Mendoza to life in prison without parole for twenty-five years. The court also imposed lifetime postrelease supervision and lifetime electronic monitoring because Mendoza was convicted of a child sex offense. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed Mendoza's life sentence without parole eligibility, (2) vacated the parole condition of lifetime electronic monitoring because the imposition of parole conditions is the province of the parole board and lies outside the jurisdiction of the district court, and (3) affirmed the district court's denial of the downward departure motion.
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