Opinion ID: 2638942
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Blakely and Consecutive Sentences

Text: ¶ 16 Lastly, Louis contends that the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences for his kidnapping convictions violated his Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law. This is so, he submits, because the jury did not determine that the convictions arose from separate and distinct criminal conduct. He relies on the United States Supreme Court decisions in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 491-92, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and Blakely, 124 S.Ct. at 2538, in support of his contentions. ¶ 17 We recently addressed the precise issue that Louis raises in State v. Cubias, No. 75109-9, 155 Wash. 549, 120 P.3d 929, 2005 WL 2491468 (Wash. Oct. 6, 2005). We indicated there that the principle set forth in Apprendi and Blakely has no application to consecutive sentencing decisions so long as each individual sentence remains within the statutory maximum for that particular offense, as is the case here. Cubias, No. 75109-9, 155 Wash. at 554-555, 120 P.3d at 934-935, 2005 WL 2491468. We are not inclined to depart from our decision in Cubias and, therefore, affirm the trial court's decision that the kidnapping sentences imposed on Louis run consecutively. [6]