Summary
United States Supreme Court decision utilizing CJLF arguments to reject a Washington sex offender's challenge to his sentence. The case involved a 47-year-sentence given to Lonnie Burton for the rape and robbery of a 15-year-old boy and the burglary of his parents' home. Because of Burton's multiple prior felony convictions, he qualified for an increased sentence under Washington law. While a challenge to his sentence was being reviewed by the state's highest court, Burton launched a separate challenge to his conviction in federal court on habeas corpus. Federal law generally allows only one round of habeas corpus review of a criminal judgment. After his state challenge failed, Burton asked the federal court to consider claims against his sentence on habeas corpus. The federal court agreed to hear the case, but refused to overturn his sentence. In 2004, after the U.S. Supreme Court announced new sentencing rules in Blakely v. Washington, Burton amended his appeal to claim that the Blakely ruling applied retroactively to invalidate his sentence. CJLF joined the high court review of the case to argue that the federal courts do not have jurisdiction to review Burton's second petition. The Court's decision said exactly that. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
