Evening media round-up on Blakely

The news and commentary on Blakely no longer takes even a night off. The Washington Post has this detailed article discussing the Fourth Circuit’s intriguing order in Hammoud. And I had a chance to contribute a few thoughts at the end of a well-done discussion of federal sentencing on NPR’s Talk of the Nation today, which can be accessed here. In the NPR segment, David Savage, Supreme Court reporter for the LA Times, and James B. Comey, U.S. Deputy Attorney General (and author of the famed Comey memo) were particularly effective, and the questions from callers reflected well on the insightfulness of NPR’s audience.

In noteworthy state news, this article discusses a Minnesota sex offender’s case has been sent back for resentencing. The article also reports that:

The Minnesota County Attorneys Association and the Minnesota Urban County Attorneys Board [have] recommend[ed] procedures to minimize overturned sentences. “The whole validity of sentencing guidelines is an issue right now,” said [County Attorney Doug Johnson].

This article also from Minnesota discusses the same case, but also provides these few details about the forthcoming report from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission:

On Friday, Minnesota’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission will present a report to Gov. Tim Pawlenty that lists short-term actions the state can take to meet the demands of the federal court ruling. Barbara Tombs, the commission’s executive director, wouldn’t divulge the recommendations on Tuesday. A more comprehensive report should be done by late September, she said.

Last but not least, Jason Hernandez at the Blakely Blog has links here to a number of good Blakely articles I missed in my morning media coverage. Tony Mauro’s piece here from Legal Times is particularly thoughtful.