State v. Reese, 300 Kan. 650

Reese was arrested for DUI in July 2009, convicted June 6, 2011, and sentenced August 10, 2011; a presentence report listed four prior DUI convictions all before July 1, 2001.
At the time Reese committed the offense, Kansas law applied a lifetime look-back for prior DUIs to enhance sentences; effective July 1, 2011, the statute was amended to limit the look-back to convictions on or after July 1, 2001.
Reese moved to strike priors under the July 1, 2011 amendment; the district court denied the motion and sentenced him as a fourth-or-subsequent offender under the prior lifetime rule.
The Kansas Court of Appeals affirmed, holding the amended limited look-back was a substantive change and could not be applied retroactively to offenses committed before its effective date.
The Kansas Supreme Court granted review to decide whether the amended look-back provision applies at sentencing for sentences imposed on or after July 1, 2011.
The Supreme Court reversed, holding the limited look-back in K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 8-1567(j)(3) governs DUIs sentenced on or after July 1, 2011, vacated Reese’s sentence, and remanded for resentencing.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether K.S.A. 2011 Supp. 8-1567(j)(3) (limited look-back to convictions on/after July 1, 2001) applies to a DUI sentence imposed after July 1, 2011 though the offense occurred earlier	Reese: amendment is ameliorative and should apply at sentencing occurring after the amendment’s effective date, excluding pre-7/1/2001 priors	State/Ct. of Appeals: defendant is sentenced under law in effect when crime committed; amendment is substantive and thus prospective only (not retroactive)	The Supreme Court: statutory text and DUI sentencing practice show prior convictions are determined at sentencing; the limited look-back applies to sentences imposed on or after July 1, 2011; reversed and remanded for resentencing

State v. Williams, 291 Kan. 554 (court uses law at time of offense as general rule) (policy of fixing penalties at offense date explained)
Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. 208 (2012) (federal ameliorative-sentencing application example; discussed but held not controlling)
State v. Key, 298 Kan. 315 (prior DUI convictions are sentencing enhancements, not elements)
State v. Osoba, 234 Kan. 443 (legislature amended statute after this decision to make sentencing-date analysis controlling)
City of Dodge City v. Wetzel, 267 Kan. 402 (legislative response to Osoba and context on statutory amendments)