The full Blakely in Washington state

Continuing the trend of rapid-fire state Blakely decisions of great insight and important, on Monday in State v. Harris, 2004 WL 2378276 (Wash. App. Div. 1, Oct. 25, 2004), a Washington appellate court thoughtfully reviews an array of Blakely issues — ranging from severability to court power to double jeopardy — in the course of reaching this result:

We conclude that the exceptional sentence statutes are not facially invalid. But because Harris’ stipulation at trial did not admit the facts the court relied on to support the exceptional sentence, we reverse the sentence. We also hold that the superior court on remand has authority to empanel a jury to consider aggravating factors.

The decision can also be accessed here, although it is easier to read on Westlaw. Strangley, though, this important concurring opinion in Harris is not right now appearing on Westlaw. The concurrence starts with this paragraph:

I agree with the majority that our statutes, governing case law, and court rules support the conclusion that trial courts have inherent power to empanel juries to try alleged aggravating sentencing circumstances. I write separately to emphasize that whether courts invoke that power is another matter, requiring careful consideration of the circumstances and the interests of justice in each case.