Court Opinion

ID: 9688792
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 18:05:39.826864+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:06:46.729674
License: Public Domain

COYNE, Justice
(concurring specially).
Inasmuch as we hold that the comparative gravity of criminal offenses and whether their consequences are more or less injurious are matters for the legislature’s determination, I see nothing incongruous in the imposition of a heavier sentence for possession of 10 grams or more of a mixture containing a narcotic drug than for the unlawful possession with intent to sell of a mixture containing any amount of a narcotic drug.
Accordingly, although I concur with the decision to reverse the trial court and reinstate the conviction on Count I, I would remand for sentencing without further comment upon the appropriateness of the presumed sentences pursuant to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines.