A Blakely threesome from the Oregon Supreme Court

The recent FSR issue on Blakely in the States and this list of state Blakely rulings highlight that, despite all the Booker attention, the most interesting (and intricate) sentencing story of 2005 concerned the many dynamic state Blakely developments.  To cap off a remarkable state sentencing year, the Oregon Supreme Court today issued three important and interesting decisions addressing various constitutional issues that involve what might be called “second generation” Blakely claims.

The Blakely threesome from Oregon Supreme Court — State v. Heilman, No. S51479 (Or. Dec. 30, 2005) (available here) and State v. Upton, No. S52316 (Or. Dec. 30, 2005) (available here) and State v. Sawatzky, S52332 (Or. Dec. 30, 2005) (available here) — covers a wide array of important issues and defy brief summaries.  My quick review suggests that the Court is breaking important (and perhaps new) ground concerning, inter alia, defendant’s rights of notice and the application of the ex post facto and double jeopardy principles in the post-Blakely world.  Significantly, in this ménage à trois of high court opinions coming from the house of Oregon , the defendant’s constitutional claims consistently get little love (although they are handled with care).