The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner v. Michael Quinn Tate, Respondent; Tenarro Banks, P — Coats, J…

Summary

Justice Coats concurs that the constitutional decision discussed in the opinion announced a new criminal-procedure rule that does not apply retroactively to judgments already final after direct review. He disagrees that the rule requires judicially created individualized sentencing or permits the court to redefine statutory life imprisonment, instead viewing it as requiring individualized proportionality review and constitutionally compliant resentencing when necessary. Justice Rice, concurring in part and dissenting in part, likewise would reject a judicially created sentencing procedure and would cure the statutes through severance.