Opinion ID: 787516
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Blakely v. Washington

Text: 111 We now turn to the issue that prompted us to hear this case en banc: the effect of Blakely on the federal sentencing guidelines. 14 The question we must address is whether the rationale of Blakely (and Apprendi before it) requires indictment and a jury finding, beyond a reasonable doubt, of facts that result in an increase in the offense level and corresponding guideline range. Little more than a month after Blakely was handed down, the federal courts are already divided over this question. The Seventh and Ninth Circuits have ruled that Blakely does impact the guidelines. See United States v. Ameline, 376 F.3d 967, 974 (9th Cir.2004); United States v. Booker, 375 F.3d 508, 511 (7th Cir.2004) ( Blakely dooms the guidelines insofar as they require that sentences be based on facts found by a judge.), cert. granted, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 11, ___ L.Ed.2d ___, 73 USLW 3073 (U.S. Aug. 2, 2004) (No. 04-104). In contrast, the Fifth and Sixth Circuits have held that Blakely does not affect the guidelines. See United States v. Koch, 2004 WL 1870438, at  (6th Cir. Aug.13, 2004) (en banc) (order affirming judgment of the district court) (We hold ... that the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Blakely ... does not invalidate the appellant's sentence under the federal Sentencing Guidelines.); United States v. Pineiro, 377 F.3d 464, 465-66 (5th Cir.2004) (Having considered the Blakely decision, prior Supreme Court cases, and our own circuit precedent, we hold that Blakely does not extend to the federal Guidelines ....). The Second Circuit certified questions regarding the application of Blakely to the guidelines to the Supreme Court, see United States v. Penaranda, 375 F.3d 238, 247 (2d Cir. 2004), but in the meantime has declined to apply Blakely to the guidelines, see United States v. Mincey, 380 F.3d 102, 2004 WL 1794717, at  (2d Cir. Aug.12, 2004) (per curiam). Other circuits have acknowledged the potential impact of Blakely on the guidelines but have not directly addressed the question. See, e.g., United States v. Duncan, 381 F.3d 1070, 1075-76, 2004 WL 1838020, at - (11th Cir. Aug.18, 2004) (holding that any Blakely error was not plain under plain error standard of review); United States v. Cianci, 378 F.3d 71, 107 (1st Cir.2004) (deferring decision on sentencing issues pending supplemental briefing regarding Blakely ). And, on the day we heard argument in this case, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two cases involving Blakely and the federal sentencing guidelines. See United States v. Booker, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 11, ___ L.Ed.2d ___, 73 U.S.L.W. 3073 (U.S. Aug. 2, 2004) (No. 04-104); United States v. Fanfan, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 12, ___ L.Ed.2d ___, 73 U.S.L.W. 3073 (U.S. Aug. 2, 2004) (No. 04-105). These cases are scheduled for argument on October 4, 2004. 112 On close examination of Blakely, we conclude that the Supreme Court simply applied — and did not modify — the rule articulated in Apprendi. We have previously held that the rule of Apprendi does not affect the application of the guidelines. See United States v. Kinter, 235 F.3d 192, 198-202 (4th Cir.2000). Nothing in Blakely requires us to abandon our prior holding. We therefore decline to apply the holding of Blakely to the guidelines.

113 All felonies in Washington State are legislatively classified as either A, B, or C felonies. See Wash. Rev.Code § 9A.20.010(b) (Westlaw 2004). For crimes committed after July 1, 1984, Washington statutory law provides a maximum term of imprisonment of life for Class A felonies, a maximum sentence of ten years for Class B felonies, and a maximum sentence of five years for Class C felonies. See id. § 9A.20.021(1) (Westlaw 2004). 114 In addition to the maximum penalties specified in the felony classification statutes, the Washington State Sentencing Reform Act of 1981 created a second level of statutory sentencing. Under this system, each criminal offense is characterized according to its seriousness level, ranging from Level I for relatively minor offenses such as malicious mischief 2 up to Level XVI for aggravated murder 1. Wash. Rev.Code § 9.94A.515 (Westlaw 2004). Also, every convicted criminal defendant is assigned an offender score based largely on the defendant's prior criminal history. See id. § 9.94A.525 (Westlaw 2004). The statute also sets forth a sentencing grid that prescribes a minimum and maximum sentence based on the offense seriousness level and the offender score. See id. § 9.94A.510 (Westlaw 2004). 15 115 The trial court must sentence the defendant within this statutory sentencing range unless there are substantial and compelling reasons justifying an exceptional sentence above or below the prescribed range. Id. § 9.94A.535 ¶ 1 (Westlaw 2004). Factual findings underlying an exceptional sentence are to be made by the court, employing a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. See Wash. Rev.Code § 9.94A.530(2) (Westlaw 2004). 116 The calculations underlying the selection of the sentencing range are reviewable on appeal, but the choice of a particular sentence within the statutory range is not. See State v. McCorkle, 137 Wash.2d 490, 973 P.2d 461, 462 (1999) (en banc). However, on appeal from an exceptional sentence the reviewing court will assess the validity of, and the factual support for, the departure and will consider whether the sentence imposed is excessive. See State v. Halgren, 137 Wash.2d 340, 971 P.2d 512, 514-15 (1999) (en banc). 117 The Washington guidelines are legislatively determined. Washington State does have a sentencing guidelines commission, but its role is wholly advisory — the legislature has never delegated its authority to set sentencing policy. See Wash. Rev. Code § 9.94A.850(2)(a)-(c) (Westlaw 2004); David Boerner & Roxanne Lieb, Sentencing Reform in the Other Washington, 28 Crime & Just. 71, 83-85 (2001) (noting that the Washington commission's role was advisory from the beginning and that [t]he legislature retained its authority over sentencing, with the guidelines commission serving in an advisory capacity); State of Wash. Sentencing Guidelines Comm'n, Powers and Duties of the Commission, at http://www.sgc.wa.gov/powersandduties.htm (last visited Aug. 25, 2004) (stating that the statutory mandate of the commission is limited to [e]valuating and monitoring adult and juvenile sentencing policies and practices and recommending modifications to the Governor and the Legislature and [s]erving as a clearinghouse and information center on adult and juvenile sentencing).
118 In October 1998, Ralph Howard Blakely, Jr. accosted his wife at their home, binding her with duct tape and forcing her at knife point to climb into a coffin-like plywood box in the bed of his pickup truck. State v. Blakely, 111 Wash.App. 851, 47 P.3d 149, 152 (2002). As he did so, he importuned her to dismiss the divorce suit and trust proceedings she had instituted against him. After the couple's son, Ralphy, arrived at the home, Blakely drove away with his wife in the back of the truck. Blakely forced 13-year-old Ralphy to follow in Mrs. Blakely's car, threatening to harm Ralphy's mother if he did not comply. Ralphy escaped when the family stopped at a gas station; Blakely continued with his wife to a friend's house in Montana. The friend subsequently called the police, and Blakely was arrested without incident. 119 Blakely pleaded guilty to one count of second degree domestic violence kidnapping and one count of second degree domestic violence assault. Under the felony classification system, second degree kidnapping (committed without a sexual motivation) is a Class B felony subject to a maximum penalty of ten years. See Wash. Rev.Code § 9A.40.030(3)(a) (Westlaw 2004). Under the Sentencing Reform Act, second degree kidnapping is a level V offense; this level, combined with Blakely's offender score, resulted in a statutory sentencing range of 49-53 months. Thus, according to Washington State law, the statutory maximum sentence was 53 months. The prosecution recommended that Blakely be sentenced at or near the maximum. Instead, the trial court imposed an exceptional sentence of 90 months based on its finding that Blakely had acted with deliberate cruelty and that he had committed domestic violence in front of his son. See Wash. Rev.Code § 9.94A.535(2)(a), (2)(h)(ii) (Westlaw 2004). 120 After the state court of appeals affirmed and the state supreme court denied discretionary review, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed, holding that the exceptional sentence violated the constitutional principles articulated in Apprendi. See Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___-___, 124 S.Ct. at 2536-38. The Court began by noting the precise manner in which the sentencing scheme at issue in Apprendi had offended the Constitution: the judge had imposed a sentence greater than the maximum he could have imposed under state law without the challenged factual finding. Id. at 2537. The Court found the same defect in Blakely's sentence, noting that the trial court imposed an exceptional sentence because Blakely had acted with deliberate cruelty — a fact not admitted by Blakely in connection with his plea. 121 The Court rejected the State's claim that there was no Apprendi problem because even the exceptional sentence was within the ten-year maximum applicable to Class B felonies: 122 Our precedents make clear ... that the statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant. In other words, the relevant statutory maximum is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings. 123 Id. (citations omitted). The Court concluded that this statutory maximum was 53 months, the top of the statutory sentencing range, because the sentencing judge could not exceed that maximum without making additional factual findings. See id. at 2538 (Had the judge imposed the 90-month sentence solely on the basis of the plea, he would have been reversed.). Therefore, the Court ruled, [t]he `maximum sentence' is no more 10 years here than it was 20 years in Apprendi (because that is what the judge could have imposed upon finding a hate crime) or death in Ring [ v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002)] (because that is what the judge could have imposed upon finding an aggravator). Id. The Court also rejected as immaterial the State's assertion that the sentence did not run afoul of Apprendi because the list of aggravating factors in the state sentencing guidelines is illustrative rather than exhaustive: Whether the judge's authority to impose an enhanced sentence depends on finding a specified fact (as in Apprendi ), one of several specified facts (as in Ring ), or any aggravating fact (as here), it remains the case that the jury's verdict alone does not authorize the sentence. Id.
124 Shortly after Apprendi was decided, we held that it did not affect the sentencing guidelines. See United States v. Kinter, 235 F.3d 192, 198-202 (4th Cir. 2000). While we acknowledged that the argument for applying Apprendi to the guidelines was not without support, id. at 200, we ultimately concluded that the claim failed in light of the quintessentially judicial nature of the tasks performed by the Sentencing Commission, see id. at 201 ([T]he Commission's act of establishing sentencing ranges in the Guidelines is categorically different from the legislative act of setting a maximum penalty in a substantive criminal statute.); id. (The Sentencing Guidelines do not create crimes. They merely guide the discretion of district courts in determining sentences within a legislatively-determined range ....). We now re-examine this question in light of Blakely. 125 Blakely did not change — indeed, it reaffirmed — the question we must ask in determining whether application of the federal sentencing guidelines is subject to the rule of Apprendi: When a defendant is to be sentenced pursuant to the guidelines, what is the prescribed statutory maximum? After Apprendi but before Blakely, this and the other circuit courts of appeals had unanimously concluded that the maximum the defendant could receive if punished according to the facts reflected in the jury verdict alone, Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 483, 120 S.Ct. 2348, was the maximum penalty provided in the statute setting forth the offense of conviction (or whatever penalty statute was referenced by the statute setting forth the offense of conviction), not the top of the guideline sentencing range mandated by those facts. See United States v. Reyes-Echevarría, 345 F.3d 1, 6-7 (1st Cir.2003); United States v. Garcia, 240 F.3d 180, 182-84 (2d Cir.2001); United States v. Williams, 235 F.3d 858, 862-63 (3d Cir.2000); United States v. Doggett, 230 F.3d 160, 166 (5th Cir.2000); United States v. Lawrence, 308 F.3d 623, 634-35 (6th Cir.2002); United States v. Knox, 301 F.3d 616, 620 (7th Cir.2002); United States v. Walker, 324 F.3d 1032, 1041 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 124 S.Ct. 247, 157 L.Ed.2d 178 (2003); United States v. Ochoa, 311 F.3d 1133, 1135-36 (9th Cir.2002); United States v. Jackson, 240 F.3d 1245, 1249 (10th Cir.2001); United States v. Harris, 244 F.3d 828, 829-30 (11th Cir.2001); United States v. Fields, 251 F.3d 1041, 1043-44 (D.C.Cir.2001). 126 Blakely not only did not change the inquiry we must make, it also adhered to the rule the Court had announced in Apprendi: `Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.' Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2536 (quoting Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348, and explaining that [t]his case requires us to apply the rule we expressed in Apprendi  (emphasis added)). Therefore, in view of the fact that Blakely changed neither the question nor the rule for answering the question, we must determine what it is in Blakely that has prompted some courts to abandon the previously held view that the rule of Apprendi does not affect the guidelines. 127 We think the most likely culprit is the broad language found in parts of Blakely, particularly the following passage: 128 Our precedents make clear ... that the statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes is the maximum sentence a judge may impose solely on the basis of the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant. See Ring, supra, at 602, 122 S.Ct. 2428 (`the maximum he would receive if punished according to the facts reflected in the jury verdict alone' (quoting Apprendi, supra, at 483, 120 S.Ct. 2348)); Harris v. United States, 536 U.S. 545, 563, 122 S.Ct. 2406, 153 L.Ed.2d 524 (2002) (plurality opinion) (same); cf. Apprendi, supra, at 488, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (facts admitted by the defendant). In other words, the relevant statutory maximum is not the maximum sentence a judge may impose after finding additional facts, but the maximum he may impose without any additional findings. When a judge inflicts punishment that the jury's verdict alone does not allow, the jury has not found all the facts which the law makes essential to the punishment, Bishop, supra, § 87, at 55, and the judge exceeds his proper authority. 129 Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2537 (parallel citations omitted). 130 In light of this language, it is hardly surprising that several courts have held that Blakely signals the demise of the guidelines. See, e.g., Booker, 375 F.3d at 511. Viewing the above-quoted passage alone, and noting the quotation marks surrounding the term statutory maximum, it is not that farfetched to conclude that the Court intended to encompass within its holding any situation in which a binding maximum — whether statutory or not — is increased by virtue of a judicial finding. Indeed, Justices O'Connor and Breyer expressed concern that the decision in Blakely necessarily implied the invalidity of important aspects of the federal guidelines system. See Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2550 (O'Connor, J., dissenting) (If the Washington scheme does not comport with the Constitution, it is hard to imagine a guidelines scheme that would.); id. at 2561 (Breyer, J., dissenting) (Until now, I would have thought the Court might have limited Apprendi so that its underlying principle would not undo sentencing reform efforts. Today's case dispels that illusion.... Perhaps the Court will distinguish the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, but I am uncertain how.). 131 We think that those courts which have held that the Blakely Court redefined the term statutory maximum, see Booker, 375 F.3d at 514, have failed to account for the factual and legal context in which Blakely was decided. Under Apprendi, a jury verdict or plea of guilty authorizes the sentencing judge to impose a sentence up to the legislatively prescribed maximum specified in the statute that sets forth the offense of conviction. See Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 482, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (noting that the judge's task in sentencing is to determine, within fixed statutory or constitutional limits, the type and extent of punishment after the issue of guilt has been resolved (alteration & internal quotation marks omitted)). Blakely required the Court to apply this principle to a sentencing scheme involving two legislatively prescribed statutory maximum penalties. See Blakely, ___ U.S. at ___, 124 S.Ct. at 2537 (describing the top of the sentencing range under the Washington State Sentencing Reform Act as a statutory maximum); Booker, 375 F.3d at 518 (Easterbrook, Circuit Judge, dissenting) ( Blakely arose from a need to designate one of two statutes as the `statutory maximum'.). 132 This understanding of Blakely is consistent with Apprendi, in which the Court repeatedly used language indicating that jury protections come into play when legislatively prescribed penalties are at issue. 16 See Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 481, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (noting history of judicial discretion to sentence within the range prescribed by statute (emphasis omitted)); id. (observing that our periodic recognition of judges' broad discretion in sentencing ... has been regularly accompanied by the qualification that that discretion was bound by the range of sentencing options prescribed by the legislature  (emphasis added)); id. at 484, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (noting heightened stigma that attaches when a defendant faces punishment beyond that provided by statute  (emphasis added)); id. at 487 n. 13, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (limiting McMillan to cases that do not involve the imposition of a sentence more severe than the statutory maximum for the offense established by the jury's verdict (emphasis added)); id. at 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (Other than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. (emphasis added)). There is no reason to believe that this explicit linking of Sixth Amendment rights to legislatively prescribed penalties was ill-considered or accidental. Cf. Booker, 375 F.3d at 518 (Easterbrook, Circuit Judge, dissenting) (Why did the Justices deploy that phrase [`statutory maximum'] in Apprendi and repeat it in Blakely (and quite a few other decisions)? Just to get a chuckle at the expense of other judges who took them seriously and thought that `statutory maximum' might have something to do with statutes? Why write `statutory maximum' if you mean `all circumstances that go into ascertaining the proper sentence'?). 133 Our understanding of Blakely also comports with the prior guidelines decisions of the Supreme Court. The Court has upheld guidelines sentencing against every constitutional challenge thus far brought before it; a holding that Blakely renders important aspects of guidelines sentencing unconstitutional would undermine, if not outright nullify, several of these decisions. 17 134 We begin with Mistretta v. United States, 488 U.S. 361, 109 S.Ct. 647, 102 L.Ed.2d 714 (1989), in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the guidelines against nondelegation and separation of powers challenges. Characterizing the guidelines as Congress' considered scheme for resolving the seemingly intractable dilemma of excessive disparity in criminal sentencing, id. at 384, 109 S.Ct. 647, the Court concluded that Congress' establishment of the Sentencing Commission did not violate separation of powers principles, see id. at 380-411, 109 S.Ct. 647. Of particular relevance here, the Court noted that 135 Although the Guidelines are intended to have substantive effects on public behavior..., they do not bind or regulate the primary conduct of the public or vest in the Judicial Branch the legislative responsibility for establishing minimum and maximum penalties for every crime. They do no more than fetter the discretion of sentencing judges to do what they have done for generations — impose sentences within the broad limits established by Congress. 136 Id. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 647 (emphasis added). Mistretta thus makes clear that the guidelines do collectively what federal district judges previously did individually — select a sentence within the range of penalties specified by Congress. See Kinter, 235 F.3d at 201 ([T]he Commission's act of establishing sentencing ranges in the Guidelines is categorically different from the legislative act of setting a maximum penalty in a substantive criminal statute.). 137 In short, the Mistretta Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the guidelines on the basis that the Sentencing Commission performs not a legislative function, but a judicial one. Application of Blakely to the guidelines, however, necessarily would require a conclusion that the Sentencing Commission performs not a judicial function, but a legislative one. This is so because Blakely applies to the guidelines only if the Blakely Court redefined the term statutory maximum to include any fact that increases a defendant's potential sentence — regardless of its status as a statute or regulation and regardless of its provenance. Under such a definition of statutory maximum, the Commission performs a legislative function in contravention of Mistretta. 18 138 A similar problem appears when we consider other Supreme Court decisions addressing the guidelines. One such case is Edwards v. United States, 523 U.S. 511, 118 S.Ct. 1475, 140 L.Ed.2d 703 (1998). The Edwards defendants were charged with a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving cocaine and cocaine base (crack). See id. at 512-13, 118 S.Ct. 1475. The district court instructed the jury that it must find that the defendants' conduct involved crack or cocaine, and the jury returned a general verdict of guilty. See id. at 513, 118 S.Ct. 1475. The court then determined that the defendants' relevant conduct involved both forms of cocaine and premised its guidelines computations on this finding. See id. A unanimous Supreme Court upheld these computations, noting that [t]he Sentencing Guidelines instruct the judge in a case like this one to determine both the amount and the kind of controlled substances for which a defendant should be held accountable. Id. at 513-14, 118 S.Ct. 1475 (internal quotation marks omitted). 139 The Court rejected the defendants' claim that the district court was required by the Constitution or the relevant statute to presume that the jury found that the conspiracy involved only cocaine, reasoning that such a presumption would have little effect because the district court would still be required to impose a sentence based on all relevant conduct, including conduct found by the judge but not the jury. See id. at 514, 118 S.Ct. 1475. The Court added, [P]etitioners' statutory and constitutional claims would make a difference if it were possible to argue, say, that the sentences imposed exceeded the maximum that the statutes permit for a cocaine-only conspiracy. Id. at 515, 118 S.Ct. 1475. This was not the case, however, because the sentences imposed ... were within the statutory limits applicable to a cocaine-only conspiracy. Id. 140 In short, the Court concluded in Edwards that the district court was required by the guidelines to go beyond the facts found by the jury and determine for itself the type and quantity of drugs involved in the offense, and it rejected any possible constitutional challenge to this scheme precisely because the sentence imposed — based, as it was, on judicial findings of fact — was not more than the legislatively prescribed statutory maximum authorized by the finding of guilt by the jury. Edwards is entirely consistent with the rule adopted in Apprendi, which requires a jury finding for facts that establish the maximum potential statutory penalty. See Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 487, 120 S.Ct. 2348 n.13 (explaining that Apprendi rule applies to the imposition of a sentence more severe than the statutory maximum for the offense established by the jury's verdict). Edwards is also consistent with our understanding of Blakely, i.e., that in Blakely the Court simply applied the rule of Apprendi to a new set of facts. If one understands Blakely as having broadened the definition of statutory maximum, however, Edwards is no more. Under a supposed Blakely redefinition of statutory maximum, the Court could not have brushed aside the constitutional question presented in Edwards simply by stating that the findings made by the district court did not cause the sentence to exceed the maximum that the statutes permit for a cocaine-only conspiracy. Edwards, 523 U.S. at 515, 118 S.Ct. 1475. To the contrary, under the asserted Blakely redefinition of statutory maximum, the Edwards Court would have faced a substantial constitutional question because the findings made by the district court regarding drug type and quantity would have increased the statutory maximum, thereby creating a right to jury findings on those questions. 141 We must also be mindful of the effect of an incorrect reading of Blakely on United States v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148, 117 S.Ct. 633, 136 L.Ed.2d 554 (1997) (per curiam). In Watts, the Supreme Court thought it so obvious that judges could consider acquitted conduct in sentencing a defendant under the guidelines, see id. at 157, 117 S.Ct. 633, that the case was decided without oral argument despite Watts' claim that such a rule posed constitutional problems under the Double Jeopardy Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Sixth Amendment, see Respondent Watts' Brief in Opposition, United States v. Watts, 519 U.S. 148, 117 S.Ct. 633, 136 L.Ed.2d 554 (1997) (No. 95-1906), 1996 WL 33413758, at -. 142 The sentence challenged in Watts was based in part on acquitted conduct, i.e., factual allegations that the jury determined had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court nevertheless upheld this sentence, noting the lower standard of proof applicable to sentencing proceedings and reiterating its previous holding that application of the preponderance standard at sentencing generally satisfies due process. Watts, 519 U.S. at 156, 117 S.Ct. 633 (citing McMillan v. Pennsylvania, 477 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 2411, 91 L.Ed.2d 67 (1986)). If Blakely redefined the term statutory maximum, however, consideration of acquitted conduct in establishing the guideline range would violate the Due Process Clause precisely because of the lower standard of proof. 143 In summary, we conclude that the fundamental question under Apprendi and Blakely is not simply whether judicial fact finding increases a defendant's sentence relative to the sentence that would otherwise be imposed. Such a reading of these cases fails to take into account the context in which they were decided — a context which included the prior statements of the Supreme Court regarding the federal sentencing guidelines and Congress' intent in enacting the Sentencing Reform Act — and thus misapprehends the rule they impose. In fact, the pertinent question is whether a judicial factual finding has increased the defendant's sentence beyond what the legislature has authorized as the consequence of a conviction or guilty plea. There is thus a very real difference between federal statutes (which define crimes and set forth statutory penalty ranges, a legislative function) and the federal sentencing guidelines (which channel judicial discretion in selecting a penalty within the range authorized by Congress, a judicial function). We therefore conclude that Blakely, like Apprendi before it, does not affect the operation of the federal sentencing guidelines.
144 We previously instructed district courts within the Fourth Circuit to continue sentencing defendants in accordance with the guidelines, as was the practice before Blakely. See Hammoud, 378 F.3d 426, 2004 WL 1730309, at . We further recommended that those courts announce, at the time of sentencing, a sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a) (West 2000 & Supp.2004), treating the guidelines as advisory only. 145 We believe that announcing — not imposing — a non-guidelines sentence at the time of sentencing will serve judicial economy in the event that the Supreme Court concludes that Blakely significantly impacts guidelines sentencing. 19 The announcement of a non-guidelines sentence may require the district court to consider issues not generally pertinent in guidelines sentencing, thereby requiring the investment of additional time at the sentencing hearing. If the Supreme Court does not apply Blakely to the guidelines, this will be wasted effort. If the Court does apply Blakely to the guidelines, however, the district court and the parties will have made at least substantial progress toward the determination of a non-guidelines sentence, at a time when the facts and circumstances were clearly in mind. While a new hearing may have to be convened in order to impose the previously determined and announced non-guidelines sentence, we anticipate that the district court and the parties will need to spend far less time preparing because the issues will already have been resolved. We therefore continue to recommend that district courts within the Fourth Circuit announce, at the time of imposing a guidelines sentence, a sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C.A. § 3553(a), treating the guidelines as advisory only.