State v. Johnson
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The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of a panel of the court of appeals reaching the merits of Defendant's appeal of his conviction and sentence, holding that this Court expressly overrules its prior opinion in State v. Duncan, 243 P.3d 338 (Kan. 2010), and to the extent that the panel relied on Duncan to reach the merits of the appeal the court of appeals erred.
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The court of appeals affirmed, thus rejecting Defendant's argument that his sentence was illegal because he was not advised of and did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to a jury trial on the upward departure aggravating factors. The Supreme Court reversed and dismissed the appeal, holding (1) a claim challenging the constitutional validity of a waiver relinquishing the statutory right under Kan. Stat. Ann. 21-6817(b) to have a jury determine the existence of upward departure aggravating factors falls outside the definition of an illegal sentence; and (2) absent a valid illegal sentence claim under section 22-3504, an appellate court has no jurisdiction to review a sentence resulting from an agreement between the State and the defendant that the court approves on the record.
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