Supreme Court of Colorado

Rutter v. People

December 21, 20152015 CO 71

Summary

The court affirmed the rejection of Rutter’s Eighth Amendment challenge to his ninety-six-year habitual-criminal sentence. It held that courts, rather than the legislature, determine whether offenses are grave or serious for proportionality review, and concluded that the unchanged triggering offense of manufacturing methamphetamine remained grave or serious, so the sentence did not create an inference of gross disproportionality.