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The little Ice case that could (but probably won't)...

By Douglas A. Berman

be a major Sixth Amendment ruling.  As detailed here at SCOTUSblog, Tuesday afternoon the Supreme Court will hear argument in Oregon v. Ice, which explores whether the Apprendi/Blakely rule limiting judicial fact-finding at sentencing extends to determinations required under state law for the imposition of consecutive sentences. I did a preview of this case for the ABA, which can be downloaded below.  Here is a snippet of my analysis from that preview:Continued uncertainty about what the current Justices now think about the Sixth Amendment rule championed in Apprendi and Blakely increases the uncertainty over whether the Court?s decision in Ice will be bold and significant.  If a group of five or more Justices remains eager to limit certain judicial fact-finding at sentencing, the Court could produce a broad and consequential decision that not only favors the defendant, but also suggests that lower courts should be applying the Sixth Amendment in an array of new sentencing settings...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).