U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON - When a closely divided Supreme Court clamped down on judges' sentencing power at the end of its term, Justice Stephen G. Breyer dissented.
The court held that juries, beyond a reasonable doubt, rather than judges by the lesser preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, must make the findings that justify boosting a sentence above the normal range. Blakely v. Washington, 124 S.Ct. 2531 (U.S. Sct., June 24, 2004).
Breyer complained that, under th... (continued)