Opinion ID: 177345
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Consolidated Appeal and Panel Opinion

Text: Because the legal question presented by the three petitioners is identicalspecifically, whether New York's recidivist sentencing scheme runs afoul of the Supreme Court's holding in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004)their appeals were consolidated by our Court. [3] The case was argued in front of a three-judge panel on April 16, 2008, and on March 31, 2010, the panel answered that question in the negative. Besser v. Walsh, 601 F.3d 163, 169 (2d Cir.2010). According to the panel, the Sixth Amendment principle announced in Blakely prohibits the type of judicial fact-finding resulting in enhanced sentences under New York's PFO statute. Id. We ordered this rehearing en banc and, for the reasons stated below, we conclude that the state courts did not engage in an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent to conclude otherwise. Each of the petitions is therefore denied.