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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT Kenneth R. Martin Goshen, IN

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Steve Carter Attorney General of Indiana Monika Prekopa Talbot Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, IN

In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 20S04-0506-CR-00277 LISA C. MORGAN, Appellant (Defendant below), v. STATE OF INDIANA, Appellee (Plaintiff below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Elkhart Circuit Court, No. 20C01-0309-FA-00169 The Honorable Terry C. Shewmaker, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 20A04-0404-CR-00239 _________________________________ June 15, 2005 Shepard, Chief Justice. Lisa Morgan has appealed her sentence for dealing methamphetamine on a variety of grounds, including an adequately preserved claim under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. __, 124 S.Ct. 2531 (2004). Her appeal produces three conclusions about post-Blakely sentencing under our then existing code: 1) aggravators that may be found by a judge alone must still be weighed to determine whether they warrant sentence enhancement; 2) sentence enhancements may rest upon facts acknowledged by the defendant; and 3) observations a court makes about

such factors may reflect on the weight of acknowledged facts or prior convictions but are not themselves separate aggravators.

Facts and Procedural History

On September 23, 2003, Lisa Morgan was arrested while attempting to arrange the sale of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. Following her apprehension, police searched Morgan and her vehicle and uncovered thirty-eight grams of methamphetamine, several items of drug paraphernalia, and a drug ledger.

The State charged Morgan for possession of methamphetamine in excess of three grams with intent to deliver, a class A felony. Ind. Code Ann.

Download Lisa C. Morgan v. State of Indiana.pdf

Indiana Law