9th Circuit Bars Sentence Enhancements

The 9th Circuit joined the Blakely fray Wednesday, ruling that the Supreme Court decision bars federal judges from using facts not found at trial to increase sentences. Defense attorneys said the ruling will help judges figure out what to do with hundreds of cases thrown into disarray by the high court opinion, which called into question federal sentencing guidelines. Said one: "It does something that none of the other opinions have done -- look at consequences."

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