Sauser v. State

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's application for postconviction relief, holding that a factual basis did not exist for the element of confinement to support Defendant's guilty plea to the crime of kidnapping in the second degree.In her postconviction relief application Defendant asserted that her trial counsel was ineffective for permitting her to plead guilty to kidnapping because no facts were presented to show that she impeded the victim's movement by pointing a handgun at the victim for a period of time before shooting and killing him. The district court denied Defendant's application, finding that a factual basis for confinement existed to support the plea of guilty. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the record did not contain a factual basis to demonstrate that Defendant confined the victim in a manner to support an independent kidnapping charge. View "Sauser v. State" on Justia Law