A potent argument for Apprendi‘s retroactivity

Because they all reach the same conclusion in the same basic way, I have not often noted the many district court rulings that Booker (or Blakely or Apprendi) is not to be applied retroactively to final cases.  Also, I am often a bit peeved when some of these cases summarily rely on Schriro to support the non-retroactivity conclusion even though, as explained here many months ago, Schriro only concerned retroactive application of the jury right and not the application of the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard.

These matters issue got my attention recently after I was alerted to a Note in the March 2005 issue of the Harvard Law Review which thoughtfully argues not only that “Apprendi‘s reasonable doubt holding demands retroactive application,” but also that the holding in Schriro actually supports the retroactivity of Apprendi‘s reasonable doubt holding.  See Rethinking Retroactivity, 118 Harvard Law Review 1642 (2005).

Of course, prisoners with final convictions need to hope this Note’s potent arguments capture the attention of some courts.  Ever biased by my Gannett House days, I close by suggesting that the power of a Harvard Law Review Note should not be understated.  After all, District Judge Young’s opinion in Green, which presaged Blakely (details here), relied heavily on a HLR Note, and Justice Breyer cited an HLR comment on Blakely at the tail end of his Booker dissent.