Opinion ID: 2540167
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sixth Amendment Jury Sentencing Cases Are Distinguishable From Taylor's Case

Text: Because the record clearly shows that Taylor strategically waived jury sentencing after weighing the costs and benefits of facing a jury, his case is distinguishable from Apprendi, Ring, Blakely, Whitfield, and their progeny. [18] Unlike Taylor, the defendants in these other cases did not knowingly and strategically plead guilty and waive jury sentencing based on a belief that jury sentencing would offer harsher consequences than would judge sentencing. Unlike the defendants in the other cases, Taylor strategically sought judge sentencing because he believed that judge sentencing was more likely to result in leniency or mercy. Nothing in Ring or its progeny extends Sixth Amendment jury sentencing protections to defendants who strategically plead guilty and purposefully waive jury sentencing. And Blakely expressly recognizes that defendants can acquiesce to having their sentences imposed by a judge, rather than by a jury, and thereby waive their rights to having a jury find the facts essential for a sentence. See 542 U.S. at 310, 124 S.Ct. 2531. While the defendant in Blakely was surprised by his enhanced sentence, Taylor knew that the judge was considering the State's recommendation for the available enhanced sentence (the death penalty), yet he still sought judge sentencing because he believed that it would be to his benefit and that jury sentencing would be to his disadvantage. As such, contrary to Taylor's arguments, it is not instructive that the defendant in Blakely was provided Sixth Amendment jury sentencing relief after his guilty plea, as Blakely did not involve a defendant who clearly, intentionally, and strategically waived jury sentencing because it was not in his interest. Similarly, Whitfield also is not instructive in Taylor's case. In Whitfield, this Court held that the principles articulated in Ring applied retroactively to a defendant who did not waive a jury trial and whose sentence was imposed by a judge after the jury deadlocked during the penalty phase. Whitfield, 107 S.W.3d at 256. Unlike Taylor, however, the defendant in Whitfield made a clear choice to have his guilt and punishment decided by a jury, yet he then was denied that choice when the judge undertook to determine his punishment after the jury deadlock. Id. at 256, 261. Taylor, in contrast, purposefully and strategically rejected jury sentencing altogether. Because the record clearly shows that Taylor knowingly, purposefully, and strategically avoided jury sentencing, he is not entitled to habeas relief based on the distinguishable holdings in Apprendi, Ring, Blakely, Whitfield, or their progeny.