Vandergriff v. State
Court of Appeals of Alaska
125 P.3d 360 (2005)
Vandergriff (defendant), with multiple prior property-offense felony convictions, pleaded to forgery, burglary, and theft charges after a burglary spree, leaving sentencing to the trial judge's discretion; the judge imposed three consecutive three-year terms (three years suspended), totaling six years served, exceeding the five-year statutory maximum for any single offense. Vandergriff appealed, arguing the consecutive sentences improperly exceeded the presumptive term for his most serious offense, partly relying on Blakely v. Washington's limits on judicial fact-finding for sentencing.
Whether, under state law, a judge may impose consecutive sentences that exceed the maximum term for the defendant's most serious offense if the judge determines that the sentencing is necessary to protect the public.