The Blakely Train Rolls On

Two major developments in the past 24 hours indicate that the Blakely freight train currently blazing its way through the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines will frequently wind up in D.C. First, the Ninth Circuit weighed in, becoming the second Circuit Court to declare the Guidelines unconstitutional in the wake of Blakely. The Ameline decision is much more substantial than the Seventh Circuit's Booker decision and provides a good discussion of plain error review for Blakely issues (that I promptly inserted into my briefs). Second, the acting Solicitor General filed petitions with the Supreme Court seeking certiorari review of two lower court decisions. One is Booker, the other a district court case from Maine. If the Government gets its way, oral arguments would be scheduled for before the Court's traditional opening of term in October.