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Fascinating state Blakely rulings

By Douglas Berman

With so much Booker action in the circuits (examples here and here), it is dangerously easy to forget about all the interesting state Blakely stories.  Fortunately, readers help me discover notable state Blakely developments, and this week I have seen these quite interesting Blakely rulings from state intermediate appellate courts:

  • From Arizona, a lengthy decision in State v. Aleman, 2005 WL 749679 (Ariz. App. Div. 2, Apr. 04, 2005), thoughtfully covers a range of Blakely issues surrounding what it calls “Blakely-compliant” and “Blakely-exempt” aggravating factors.
  • From Minnesota, a thoughtful decision in State v. Thompson, No. A04-1401 (Minn. App. Apr 05, 2005) (available here), holds that “in order to constitute a valid waiver of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial [under Blakely], a defendant must explicitly acknowledge and waive, either in writing or orally on the record, her right to testify, to have prosecution witnesses testify in open court in her presence, to question the prosecution witnesses, and to require any favorable witnesses to testify in her defense.”
  • From Washington, a thoughtful decision in State v. Griffin, 2005 WL 746052 (Wash. App. Div. 1, Apr. 04, 2005), rejects a Blakely objection to judicial fact-finding to support revoking the defendant’s driver’s license for one year; the court concluded that the revocation was not a form of “punishment” to which Blakely applied.