Petitioner was serving a 33-year term including both upper terms and consecutive sentences, a judgment which was final at the time the opinion in Blakely v. Washington was issued. In this petition he contended that the Blakely decision applies retroactively to cases which were final when the decision was issued. The appellate court rejected appellant’s argument. Since Blakely merely clarified, or, at most, extended the procedural rule announced in Apprendi, Blakely does not apply retroactively to cases like petitioner’s which are already final. Further, petitioner failed to establish that the judge was unaware of his discretion to sentence him concurrently on the offenses.
Case Summaries