Debating the structure of post-Blakely sentencing

This article from the Seattle Post Intelligencer entitled “Lawyers work to recraft sentencing guidelines” provides a thoughtful and intriguing account of the on-going debate in Washington over how to amend the state’s guidelines to best accommodate the demands of Blakely.  The article details that prosecutors and defense attorneys are dickering over how to define and structure aggravating and mitigating sentencing factors, although there are apparently significant points of consensus:

Defense attorneys and prosecutors agree that prosecutors should declare their intention to seek above-standard sentences when they file charges, and that juries generally would consider aggravating circumstances during the trial.

The article closes by noting that some of Washington’s state judges are actually advocating the most radical response to Blakely.  According to the article, the “state Superior Court Judges’ Association favors a simple solution: making the guidelines voluntary.”