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How Blakely Affects Sentencing in Tax Cases

By Stuart E. Abrams
September 30, 2004

Ever since the Supreme Court rendered its landmark decision in the case of Blakely v. Washington, lawyers and judges have been cast in the role of prognosticators, trying to predict how the courts — most importantly the Supreme Court itself — will apply Blakely to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. We will soon know the answer, as the Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on Oct. 4, 2004, after expedited briefing. Until then, however, lawyers must prognosticate — at the risk of guessing wrong.

Blakely and Its Aftermath

For those not completely aware of what the Blakely fuss is all about, here is a brief re-cap. The Court held that a Washington State sentencing scheme which established statutory sentencing ranges ran afoul of the Sixth Amendment's guaranteed right to jury trial because it permitted the imposition of sentences in excess of the statutory range based on factual findings made by a judge rather than a jury. The Court stated in an unadorned footnote that the decision did not address the constitutionality of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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