State v. Solberg
Annotate this CaseAppellant entered a Norgaard plea to third-degree criminal sexual conduct. The district court imposed a downward durational departure from the presumptive sentence, concluding in part that Appellant’s remorse provided substantial reasons to depart from the presumptive sentence length. The court of appeals reversed the downward durational departure because Appellant’s remorse did not make his conduct "less serious than the typical offense.” The court further found that even if Appellant’s remorse were a mitigating factor, Appellant was not entitled to a downward departure based on one mitigating factor alone. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a single mitigating factor may provide a substantial reason to impose a downward durational sentencing departure; but (2) a downward durational departure was not warranted in this case because Appellant’s expressions of remorse did not diminish the seriousness of his offense.
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