The enduring the importance of Almendarez-Torres

Thanks to fellow bloggers, I see some two interesting developments on the “prior convictions” front: (1) Michael Ausbrook over at INCourts has this insightful post which discusses an Indiana Supreme Court ruling on the application of the state’s repeat sexual offender sentencing enhancement; and (2) Appellate Law & Practice reports here on the Fifth Circuit’s mass rejection of  appeals challenging sentencing enhancements based on prior convictions.  Both items reinforce my sense that the Almendarez-Torres “prior conviction exception” is a terribly important aspect of the modern sentencing universe and that the Supreme Court ought to definitely resolve its status as soon as possible.