An update, and insights, on Blakely in Ohio
I have done many posts on the status of Blakely in Ohio, in part because Ohio’s sentencing laws and practices make the state a Blakely bellwether (background here and here), and in part because there have been a number of interesting twists and turns, as detailed here and here, as these Blakely issues slowly work their way up to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Thanks to helpful readers, I can now report that the Ohio Supreme Court has scheduled, as noted here, two Blakely cases before it, State v. Foster, 2004-1568, and State v. Quinones, 2004-1771, for oral argument on July 26, 2005. I have also learned that these oral arguments can be watched on-line next month here at the Ohio Supreme Court’s website.
Though we all have to wait still another six weeks for these Ohio Blakely arguments, I can in the meantime share one of the briefs in the case. Available for download below is the “Brief of Amicus Curiae Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers In Support of Appellee Jason Quinones.” It provides a wonderful primer on Ohio’s sentencing structure and on the potentially profound impact of Blakely in the Buckeye State.