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State v. Oehlert
State: Kansas
Court: Supreme Court
Docket No: 101207
Case Date: 02/19/2010
Preview:IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS No. 101,207 No. 101,345 STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. JARED OEHLERT, Appellant.

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. This court has recognized three exceptions to the general rule that constitutional issues, in general, cannot be raised for the first time on appeal: (1) The newly asserted claim involves only a question of law arising on proved or admitted facts and is determinative of the case; (2) consideration of the claim is necessary to serve the ends of justice or to prevent the denial of fundamental rights; and (3) the district court is right for the wrong reasons.

2. The proper analysis for whether a punishment is cruel or unusual is controlled by the following three-prong test: (1) The nature of the offense and the character of the offender should be examined with particular regard to the degree of danger present to society; relevant to this inquiry are the facts of the crime, the violent or nonviolent nature of the offense, the extent of culpability for the injury resulting, and the penological purposes of the prescribed punishment; (2) a comparison of the punishment with punishments imposed in this jurisdiction for more serious offenses, and if among them are found more serious crimes punished less severely than the offense in question, the challenged penalty is to that extent suspect; and (3) a comparison of the penalty with punishments in other jurisdictions for the same offense.

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3. We have held that the three-prong test for whether a punishment is cruel and unusual includes both legal and factual inquiries and that no single factor controls the outcome.

Appeal from Saline district court; RENE S. YOUNG, judge. Opinion filed February 19, 2010. Affirmed.

Rachel Pickering, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, was on the brief for appellant.

Christina Trocheck, assistant county attorney, Ellen Mitchell, county attorney, and Steve Six, attorney general, were on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

DAVIS, C.J.: On April 18, 2008, Jared Oehlert pled guilty and was convicted of rape in violation of K.S.A. 21-3502(a)(2) which carries with it a mandatory life sentence or minimum of not less than 25 years and postrelease supervision for life pursuant to K.S.A. 21-4643 and K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 22-3717. The district court granted his downward durational motion, and he was sentenced to 60 months with the Department of Corrections and postrelease supervision for life.

For the first time on appeal, Oehlert challenges his postrelease supervision for life as cruel or unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and
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