Divided Washington Supreme Court finds Blakely inapplicable to consecutive sentencing

As I was driving up to Cleveland this morning, I was thinking that there has not been a major state Blakely ruling in some time.  And then, lo and behold, the news arrives that the Washington Supreme Court today in State v. Cubias, No. 75109-9 (Wash. Oct. 6, 2005), declares in this en banc opinion “that the principle set forth in Apprendi and Blakely does not apply to the imposition of consecutive sentences.” 

The chief ruling itself is not surprising; the decision notes that its “holding is also in line with the position taken in most other jurisdictions that have faced this issue” and cites four federal circuit decisions and 12 state rulings for this proposition.  But this lively partial dissent, which garners four state Justices’ votes, highlights that this issue remains quite debatable.