Opinion ID: 2335407
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Aggravating factors to impose hard 50 sentence

Text: Harris next argues the hard 50 scheme is unconstitutional because it imposes additional punishment based on factors not submitted to the jury, and asks this court to revisit its decision in State v. Conley, 270 Kan. 18, 11 P.3d 1147 (2000), cert. denied 532 U.S. 932, 121 S.Ct. 1383, 149 L.Ed.2d 308 (2001), which affirmed the hard 50 scheme. This court has previously declined to revisit or overrule Conley, and has also affirmed a defendant's hard 50 sentence despite the claim that the sentencing scheme violated the defendant's Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. See State v. Washington, 280 Kan. 565, 574, 123 P.3d 1265 (2005), cert. denied 549 U.S. 1018, 127 S.Ct. 552, 166 L.Ed.2d 408 (2006) (Hard hard 50 sentence upheld after defendant convicted of first-degree murder argued Apprendi required aggravating factors to be submitted to the jury and asked the court to overrule Conley ). Similar rejections to challenges to the hard 50 sentencing scheme, as well as declined invitations to revisit Conley, are found in State v. Foster, 290 Kan. 696, 699, 233 P.3d 265 (2010); State v. Kirtdoll, 281 Kan. 1138, 1151, 136 P.3d 417 (2006); State v. Oliver, 280 Kan. 681, 707-08, 124 P.3d 493 (2005), cert. denied 547 U.S. 1183, 126 S.Ct. 2361, 165 L.Ed.2d 286 (2006); State v. James, 279 Kan. 354, 358, 109 P.3d 1171 (2005); State v. Buehler-May, 279 Kan. 371, 386, 110 P.3d 425, cert. denied 546 U.S. 980, 126 S.Ct. 549, 163 L.Ed.2d 465 (2005); State v. Robertson, 279 Kan. 291, 308, 109 P.3d 1174 (2005); State v. Hurt, 278 Kan. 676, 686-88, 101 P.3d 1249 (2004); State v. Wilkerson, 278 Kan. 147, 160, 91 P.3d 1181 (2004); State v. Hebert, 277 Kan. 61, 107-08, 82 P.3d 470 (2004); and State v. Douglas, 274 Kan. 96, 111-12, 49 P.3d 446 (2002), cert. denied 537 U.S. 1198, 123 S.Ct. 1268, 154 L.Ed.2d 1037 (2003). Harris provides no additional authority or facts not already included in these previous decisions that would warrant reconsideration of the issue.