Reading Between The Sentences; The Blakely ruling may have ushered in not just a period of chaos but a serious review of what a sane criminal-justice policy looks like.

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 26-JUL-04

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Byline: Ellis Cose

For some 20 years judges have pretty much known what they were doing. If the job wasn't always easy, the rules--at least when it came to sentencing--were reasonably clear. But thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, that clarity has vanished, leaving judges and prosecutors stumbling in confusion and the fate of thousands of convicts and defendants up for grabs.

It all started in Washington state when a troubled husband kidnapped his long-suffering wife. Ralph Howard Blakely apparently hoped to persuade her (with the help of a knife and a shotgun) to drop divorce proceedings. Incensed at Blakely's behavior, a judge sentenced him to considerably more time than Blakely had plea-bargained for--taking advantage of a Washington...

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