Another fascinating Blakely front

Part of what makes Blakely such a big deal is that there seems to be no limit to the arenas and settings in which Blakely issues might arise. We get more evidence of this fact from California today, where in People v. Sykes, a California Court of Appeal had to confront a defendant's claim that, under Blakely, "he was entitled to a jury trial as to those factors which determine whether consecutive sentences may be imposed [because an applicable statute] grants trial courts the authority to impose consecutive sentences" in certain situations. In other words, the defendant in Sykes argued under California law "that the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Blakely requires that a jury, not a judge, find whether the factors which warrant consecutive sentencing are present."

The Court of Appeal ultimately rejects the defendant's claim, saying:

Neither Blakely nor Apprendi purport to create a jury trial right to the determination as to whether to impose consecutive sentences. Both Blakely and Apprendi involve a conviction for a single count. The historical and jurisprudential basis for the Blakely and Apprendi holdings did not involve consecutive sentencing.... [T]he consecutive sentencing decision can only be made once the accused has been found beyond a reasonable doubt to have committed two or more offenses—this fully complies with the Sixth Amendment jury trial and Fourteenth Amendment due process clause rights. Those facts which affect the appropriate sentence within the range of potential terms of incarceration for each offense are subject to Blakely and Apprendi; this constitutional principle does not extend to whether the sentences for charges which have been found to be true beyond a reasonable doubt shall be served consecutively.

Though I am not an expert on California law, these conclusions certainly seem debatable. And, notably, we now have word that these conclusions will be debated by the California Supreme Court, which today granted review of just this issue. Specifically, in People v. Black, the California Supreme Court has now asked the parties to brief the following questions:

(1) What effect does Blakely v. Washington (2004) 124 S.Ct. 2531 have on the validity of defendant's upper term sentence? (2) What effect does Blakely have on the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences?