WY- Wyo high court orders new sex offender sentencing

2-12-2009 Wyoming:

CHEYENNE -- The Wyoming Supreme Court has ruled that a district judge should not have weighed a convicted sex offender's decision to have a jury trial in sentencing him.

A jury in 2007 found Keith E. Guinn guilty of having improper sexual contact with a 9-year-old girl.

Laramie County District Judge Peter Arnold sentenced Guinn to eight to 10 years in prison. According to the Supreme Court ruling released Monday, Arnold told Guinn at sentencing that he took into account in handing down sentences whether or not a defendant pleaded guilty.

"I know that generally speaking when I arrive at a sentence for someone who has pled guilty, I take into account the acceptance of responsibility," Arnold said at the hearing, according to the Supreme Court ruling. "I take into account the saving of the effort that the guilty plea represents to the state.

"I take into account the saving of anxiety of witnesses who would otherwise be expected to testify if a defendant does not plead guilty. I take those things into account when I arrive at a sentence for someone who pleads guilty."

The Supreme Court ruled that Arnold's statements were improper and that the district court violated Guinn's right to a jury trial. The justices said courts can grant leniency for someone who's pleaded guilty, but they can't punish someone for exercising their right to a jury trial.

"While there is certainly some truth to the state's position, we simply cannot ignore the fact that the district court positively declared at sentencing that it was appropriate to consider the fact that the appellant chose to go to trial," the justices said.

The Attorney General's Office argued on behalf of the district court, saying the sentence of eight to 10 years was "substantially less" than the maximum prison term of 15 years that Guinn faced. ..News Source.. by Trib.com