Blakely developments in Arizona
A few recent news articles suggest that Arizona will be an interesting state to watch for Blakely developments. First, this article highlights that in Arizona, defense attorneys “find themselves in rare agreement with prosecutors on one issue: there’s no need for the Legislature to rush to change state law in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that may affect the way Arizona sentences criminals.” I highly recommend reading this entire article, which is rich with information about coping efforts and plans for Arizona state sentencing. Among the interesting tidbits:
Maricopa County Public Defender James Haas said the criminal justice system’s response to the ruling so far varies, with some counties using plea agreements that have defendants waive the need for jury findings, some reluctance by judges to impose sentences beyond the presumptive terms and one judge reportedly declaring that the ruling doesn’t apply to Arizona.
Also, there is apparently a healthy collaborative spirit as the system is thinking about long-term fixes:
[D]efense attorneys are reaching out to prosecutors, scheduling informal meetings in coming weeks. “We may not agree on what we’re going to do but at least we ought to talk together.”… However, it’s likely that numerous sentencing issues stemming from the ruling will still have to be fought out in court – no matter what the Legislature does in response, Haas said. “Every time you talk to people you come up with new issues.”
And to provide a ground level view of post-Blakely life in Arizona, here is an article describing Blakely‘s impact on a manslaughter prosecution of Lee Parulski. Here’s an interesting snipit:
During Thursday’s hearing, Jim Coil, the prosecutor, said that he offered three options to Mike Rollins, Parulski’s attorney, after the Blakely ruling. Coil said Parulski could waive his Blakely rights; a new plea agreement in which Parulski would plead guilty to second-degree murder could be signed; or a jury could be called. Rollins said he rejected the waiver or a new plea agreement. He said calling a jury would be acceptable. However, there is no procedural mechanism under Arizona law to call a jury in a case involving a plea agrement.