The Blakely Effect: Managing the Uncertainty

On June 24th, the Supreme Court decided a case that has sent a virtual shock-wave through the criminal justice system and threatens to upset the long-established practice of sentencing defendants under the federal Sentencing Guidelines. In <i>Blakely v. Washington</i>, 124 S.Ct. 2531 (2004), the Court invalidated a defendant's sentence imposed under the State of Washington's sentencing guidelines by holding that the Sixth Amendment prohibits a judge from increasing a defendant's sentence based on facts beyond those found by the jury or admitted by the defendant.

21 minute read August 31, 2004 at 09:39 AM

By

Laurence A. Urgenson, Tyler D. Mace And Jason Hernandez