Aggravated sentencing: Blakely v Washington—legal considerations for state sentencing systems

Abstract

Few Supreme Court decisions have engendered as much uncertainty in state and federal courts as Blakely v. Washington. This report, the second in a series on the practical implications of the ruling, examines the legal issues raised by Blakely and prior related decisions. The Court found that under the Sixth Amendment a judge cannot increase a criminal sentence based on facts not proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt (or admitted by the defendant). This report is intended as a primer for those charged with responding to Blakely