Opinion ID: 2508569
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: dunlap was informed of the nature of the charges against him at the time of his plea

Text: There can be no question Dunlap was informed by his attorneys and the district court of his rights, the nature of the crime and consequences of a plea of guilty. However, he now posits a unique argument that because the law has changed his plea of guilty is no longer valid. The argument starts with the supposition that As elements of an offense, Dunlap had a right to a jury trial on the determination of whether aggravators existed beyond a reasonable doubt. This Court has held in Porter v. State, the statutory aggravators of I.C. § 19-2515 are not elements of the crime of first degree murder, ___ Idaho ___, 102 P.3d 1099 (2004). The section merely set forth the procedures that must be followed in order to impose a death sentence, defined the statutory aggravating circumstances, and required that at least one aggravating circumstance be found beyond a reasonable doubt before a defendant could be sentenced to death. Id. Ring requires a jury and not the judge to determine the existence of a statutory aggravator when imposing the death penalty. Id. As a result of our recent decision in Porter, we find that Dunlap did plead guilty to the proper elements of the crime of first-degree murder.