All about Apprendi

Though I often talk of Blakely as the earthquake case which shook the foundations of structure sentencing reform, this recent article is a fitting reminder that the Apprendi decision really started the sentencing tremors.  The article takes stock of Apprendi's impact and has this clever opening: "The most influential lawmaker to emerge from South Jersey in recent years arguably has not been a governor, senator or member of the House.  It's a citizen who appealed his sentencing for a crime — Charles C. Apprendi Jr."

Among the interesting tidbits to be found in this article is a claim by Charles Apprendi's defense lawyer that the Apprendi decision has already been cited in nearly 30,000 cases and thus is "the third most-cited case in all of American law, behind only the court's 1973 ruling in Roe vs. Wade, ... and the 1966 case of Miranda v. Arizona."  Also, the article states that Charles Apprendi ultimately served only about 1/3 of his prison term before being released to a halfway house, and that he is now eligible for parole and may "soon may be a free man."