State of Minnesota, Respondent v. Jose Arriaga Soto, Jr., Appellant

Summary

The court held that the district court abused its discretion by staying the presumptive 12-year executed sentence for Soto’s first-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction. Although particular amenability to individualized treatment in a probationary setting may support a dispositional departure, the record did not show that Soto was particularly amenable to probation or otherwise present substantial and compelling circumstances distinguishing him from comparable offenders. The court vacated and remanded for resentencing, allowing the district court to conduct additional fact-finding. Justice Page, joined by Chief Justice Gildea and Justice Anderson, dissented and would have upheld the departure as within the district court’s broad sentencing discretion.