Opinion ID: 852694
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mitchell Can Raise Blakely Claim

Text: We recently noted that both this Court and the Court of Appeals [review] many claims of sentencing error ... without insisting that the claim first be presented to the trial judge. Kincaid v. State, 837 N.E.2d 1008, 1010 (Ind.2005). In that case, we addressed whether an appellant could challenge his sentence on Blakely grounds without having first raised a specific Sixth Amendment objection at the sentencing hearing. In holding that he could, we stated that the defendant need only raise a particular sentencing claim in his or her initial brief on direct appeal in order to receive review on the merits. [3] Id. Because Kincaid had challenged his sentence on Blakely grounds in his initial appellant brief, we determined that he had adequately preserved the issue for review. Id. Like Kincaid, Mitchell challenged his sentence on Blakely grounds in the initial brief on direct appeal and thus, adequately preserved this issue for appellate review. [4] (Br. of Appellant at 26-32.)