Dharminder Vir Sen, 337 P.3d 1156

Dharminder Vir Sen appealed his sentence of "life according to law" imposed by the Sheridan County District Court and sought resentencing.
The parties filed a stipulated motion to remand for a new sentencing hearing.
The Wyoming Supreme Court reviewed the motion in light of its recent decision in Bear Cloud v. State, which applied the Roper/Graham/Miller line of cases to juvenile homicide offenders receiving de facto life-without-parole aggregate sentences.
The Court concluded the district court did not apply Miller-era individualized sentencing analysis to the full sentencing package and agreed resentencing is required.
The Court clarified that, on remand, the district court is neither required nor authorized to specify a period of parole ineligibility for a sentence of life according to law because Wyoming’s amended parole statutes make juvenile life sentences parole-eligible after 25 years by operation of law.
The Court vacated the district court’s March 19, 2014 judgment and remanded for resentencing; oral argument was vacated and the Court retained no jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether resentencing is required under Miller and Wyoming precedent when aggregate juvenile sentences are the functional equivalent of LWOP	State agreed resentencing was appropriate under Bear Cloud	Sen argued district court failed to apply Miller-era individualized sentencing analysis to the aggregate sentencing package	Court ordered remand for resentencing consistent with Bear Cloud/Miller teachings
Whether the district court must (or may) specify a period of parole ineligibility when imposing a sentence of "life according to law" on a juvenile	State conceded Wyoming law makes such juveniles eligible for parole after 25 years regardless of judge’s statement; court need not specify in judgment	Sen argued the district court’s imposition of 35 years parole ineligibility conflicted with statutory scheme	Court held the district court is neither required nor authorized to set parole ineligibility on remand; juvenile life sentences are governed by amended parole statutes (25 years)

Bear Cloud v. State, 2014 WY 113, 334 P.3d 132 (Wyo. 2014) (requires individualized Miller-era sentencing analysis for juveniles whose aggregate sentences are de facto LWOP)
Miller v. Alabama, 132 S. Ct. 2455 (2012) (mandatory life-without-parole for juveniles unconstitutional; requires individualized sentencing considering diminished culpability and prospects for reform)
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (juveniles are categorically less culpable; death penalty unconstitutional for crimes committed under 18)
Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010) (life without parole for non-homicide juvenile offenders unconstitutional; emphasizes juveniles’ greater capacity for change)
State v. Mares, 2014 WY 126, 335 P.3d 487 (Wyo. 2014) (clarified that juvenile offenders serving former-life sentences are eligible for parole after 25 years under amended parole statutes)