Another helpful (future FSR) resource

I have just received from Professor Stephanos Bibas — who, to my knowledge, is the first law professor ever to have his AALS directory entry cited in a Supreme Court opinion, see Blakely, slip op. at 16 — a draft of the article he is preparing for the forthcoming special issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter covering Blakely. Entitled “Blakely’s Federal Aftermath,” it’s another stunningly impressive effort to take stock of the post-Blakely federal sentencing landscape. Here’s a key introductory paragraph noting the paper’s themes and coverage:

Blakely raises far more questions than it resolves. In this limited space, I will try to address five clusters of issues. Part I will discuss how far Blakely is likely to go, and in particular whether it reaches the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Part II addresses a host of transitional issues, especially what is left of the Federal Guidelines if Blakely applies to them. Part III discusses possible Blakely fixes or patches. Part IV considers briefly how plea bargaining might look different in a post-Blakely world. Finally, Part V muses on some of the fascinating jurisprudential issues raised by Blakely, such as the tension between formalism and pragmatism and the role of 18th-century history in our 21st-century world.

Stephanos has noted this “draft is preliminary,” though “people are free to cite it.” He welcomes suggestions for additions and changes in the next few weeks before the Federal Sentencing Reporter issue is ready to goes to press. Here’s the document in pdf form:
Download bibas_blakelys_federal_aftermath.pdf