Tens of thousands of cases have been affected by this decision, past and present. Essentially the Blakely decision strikes down most State sentencing guidelines and throws into question whether or not even the 20-year-old Federal guidelines are constitutional under the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

For federal and state prisoners who have gone to trial and received anything except the minimum sentence, the Blakely decision means that they now will have a chance to be resentenced to the lowest possible term. The number of cases potentially affected is staggering," said Acting Solicitor General Paul Clement, who asked the justices to hold a special session to clarify their ruling. According to Clement, "There are approximately 64,000 federal criminal defendants sentenced under the guidelines each and every year,".

In the months since the Blakely decision, federal judges have taken several different approaches to sentencing, and many sentences have been reduced. The 6th and 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared the federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional, but the 5th Circuit has ruled that the Blakely decision does not apply to federal sentencing guidelines. Other federal appeals courts are still assessing the Supreme Court ruling.

So how does Blakely work in the real world. Prior to Blakely, Congress had delegated to the U.S. Sentencing Commission the authority to set the exact sentences for each offense in the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act. They in turn and most States wrote a Sentencing Guidelines Manual. Most if not all crimes were assigned a low, mid and high recommendation (to state it simply) based on what they called enhancements and/or findings. For example; the weight of the drugs, the defendants position in hierarchy of the gang, and/or the way the crime was committed.

Normally, sentencing guidelines apply points for each aspect of the crime. The sentencing guidelines allow the judge to increase the base level or minimum recommendation upon how the offense was committed. If the judge thinks that the person was a leader or organizer of the drug offense, the level gets increased by X number of points. So lets say a drug dealer starts out at a base level of 30 points and a judge decides to apply enhancements and/or findings, which raise the sentence recommendation 4 points to 34.

This is a major change. For a first time offender a level 30 carries a sentence of 8 - 10 years in prison. For a first time offender a level 34 carries a sentence of 12 - 15 years ... about five extra years! If you have been sentenced to those five extra years put down this paper and do a celebration dance - Blakely is cutting five years from your sentence!

Furthermore, the Blakely decision goes on to say, any enhancement the court wishes to apply must, by the thrust of Blakely, be made by a jury based on "reasonable doubt" rather than the "preponderance of the evidence" the standard now used. Reasonable Doubt requires the government to meet a significantly higher threshold of proof.

So is Blakely A Get Out Of Jail Free Card ... not exactly. But for many brothers unfairly sentenced to maximum sentences it can be a great trump card. Even if the inmate pleaded guilty in a plea bargain, Blakely could give him another bite at the apple in reducing his sentence. It will not require a sophisticated pleading, nor an extensive one. The Supreme Court has set the stage for a simple remedy for those incarcerated to unusually long sentences. It will be a matter of going through the steps, which admittedly won't be as fast a solution as most will want, but, a solution never the less. All an inmate has to do is; Write to their former lawyer; File their own petition for habeas corpus; Hire a new lawyer; Write to the trial judge and ask to have a lawyer appointed.

It is time to enforce the people's power over the judiciary. It is well past time! "While the jury does have the power to bring a verdict "in the teeth of both law and facts (Horning v. District of Columbia), over the years, the judiciary has encroached on this fundamental Sixth Amendment concept. Get the media involved; Make up flyers; Forward this email to your network of online friends. Tell the people the good news. The Supreme Court has just declared a renewed standard that the courts must meet.

For more background info on the Blakely Decision and how it affects your States Sentencing Guidelines simply run a search on any search engine using the key words "Blakely v. Washington" or read the official Supreme Court Brief at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/24june20041200/www.supremecourtus. gov/ opinions/03pdf/02-1632.pdf

Brother Jim Neusom will be keeping the Black community updated on the most current social and technology news. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

To subscribe to Neusom's column join the Afromerica email list to receive new information as it is updated. Or E-mail Neusom at: jneusom@yahoo.com

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