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New York's highest court rejects again Sixth Amendment challenge to its persistent felony offfender law

By Douglas A. Berman

A helpful reader alerted me to a new opinion from the New York Court of Appeals, which turns down yet again a Sixth Amendment attack on New York's persistent felony offender sentencing scheme.  Here is how the unanimous opinion in NY v. Quinones, No. 14 (N.Y. Feb. 24, 2009) (available here), gets started: This appeal presents another Apprendi challenge to New York?s discretionary persistent felony offender sentencing scheme. The primary issue before us is whether, in light of Cunningham v California (549 US 270 [2007]), this sentencing scheme violates Apprendi and defendant?s due process and Sixth Amendment rights.  We again uphold the constitutionality of New York?s discretionary persistent felony offender sentencing scheme and further hold that defendant?s constitutional rights were not violated...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on February 25, 2009 (boomark / email).