State v. Smith, 123452

Shane W. Smith pleaded guilty to felony DUI as a fourth-or-subsequent offense stemming from an April 21, 2020 incident; other related charges were dismissed under the plea deal.
The State agreed to recommend the statutory minimum: 90 days' imprisonment, 12 months' probation, and a $2,500 fine.
At the plea hearing the court informed Smith it was not bound by the plea agreement; Smith acknowledged that warning.
At sentencing the parties agreed Smith's criminal history score was H and the State reiterated its recommendation; defense asked the court to follow the plea agreement.
The district court rejected the plea recommendation and imposed the statutory maximum of 12 months' imprisonment (with possible work release after 72 hours).
Smith appealed, arguing the district court abused its discretion by refusing to follow the plea agreement; the court also addressed whether the claim was preserved.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Smith)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Preservation of appellate claim	Smith opposed the imposed sentence at sentencing and thus preserved the issue	Smith failed to object to the sentence, so the claim is not preserved	Preserved — Smith requested the plea sentence and opposed the imposed sentence; further objection unnecessary
Abuse of discretion in refusing plea recommendation	The harsher, maximum sentence was unreasonable and would not prevent recidivism	Court acted within its discretion; sentence is within statutory range and justified by Smith's extensive DUI history and public-safety concerns	No abuse of discretion — imposing a statutory-maximum sentence was reasonable and consistent with the DUI statute; affirmed

State v. Mosher, 299 Kan. 1 (2014) (abuse-of-discretion standard and rejection of presumed error when court imposes a sentence different from plea recommendation)
State v. Reese, 300 Kan. 650 (2014) (DUI statute is self-contained for elements and sentencing; increasing penalties for repeat offenders justified)
State v. Godfrey, 301 Kan. 1041 (2015) (discusses preservation issues where defendant agreed to the State's interpretation of the plea agreement)