Minnesota’s a leader again

Not long after I suggest that the feds learn from the states, I see this report of how Minnesota is sensibly handling Blakely:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered a review of the state’s sentencing procedures so they’ll comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Friday. He said the court decision “appears to have major ramifications” for Minnesota’s criminal justice system and asked the Sentencing Guidelines Commission to make both short-term and long-term recommendations for changes. The short-term recommendations will be due in 30 days.

Minnesota is rightly praised for leading the states in the development of sound guideline sentencing reforms — see, e.g., Richard Frase, Sentencing Guidelines in Minnesota, Other States, and the Federal Courts: A Twenty-Year Retrospective, 12 Federal Sentencing Reporter 69 (1999) — and it is nice to see Minnesota taking the lead again.