Court Opinion

ID: 9709913
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 03:57:15.74808+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:52.597665
License: Public Domain

TOMUANOVICH, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I agree with the majority that the statute prohibits the behavior of Dr. Poole and that his conviction was proper. I do not believe, however, that the court of appeals reduction of the sentence from 18 years to 12 years was appropriate.
A defendant may not be sentenced consecutively if the sentence unfairly exaggerates the criminality of the conduct. See, State v. Norton, 328 N.W.2d 142, 146-47 (Minn.1982). Dr. Poole’s 18-year sentence did not unfairly exaggerate the criminality of his conduct. Rather, I believe that the court of appeals reduction of the sentence to 12 years minimizes the criminality of his conduct. Under the banner of his profession, Dr. Poole used these young women as sexual toys. He appeared to feel that it was incumbent upon him to sexually initiate these young women. This is deplorable conduct.
The trial judge was in the best position to evaluate the criminality of the conduct. It was the trial judge who sat in court during the trial. He observed the defendant, he observed the victims and their families and was better able than the court of appeals to determine the sentence.
*37In reducing the sentence, the court of appeals decided to compare the sentence to the presumptive sentence for felony murder. If such comparisons are to be made, it would seem more appropriate to compare the sentence to one for 16 felony murders. This was not a one incident, one victim crime. A sentence should be evaluated in relation to the nature of the crime or crimes in each individual case, not by comparing it to the sentence for some other unrelated crime.
I would reinstate the 18-year sentence.