Blakely Blog

Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to prove appellant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct; we therefore affirm appellant's conviction. But because the district court failed to inform appellant of his right to have a jury determine whether he committed a predatory offense and because appellant's jury trial waiver did not explicitly include a waiver for purposes of sentencing enhancement, we reverse the imposition of a 40-year sentence as unconstitutional under Apprendi v New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000), and remand for sentencing not inconsistent with the United States Supreme Court's recent decision in Blakely v. Washington, ___ S. Ct. ___, 2004 WL 1402697 (June 24, 2004).