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A Utah federal judge on Tuesday declared sentencing guidelines unconstitutional in a sexual exploitation case, setting the stage for an appeal that could affect sentences in federal courts nationwide.
"I take no pleasure in striking down the guidelines today," said U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell, who issued a 39-page ruling a few hours later, noting that his holding has "potentially cataclysmic implications."
The quickness of his action, which came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that could stop judges from exceeding sentencing guidelines, surprised some of the defense lawyers who packed Cassell's Salt Lake City courtroom.
Several predicted a swift appeal on the issue that might even bypass the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and go straight to the nation's highest court.
Although Cassell's ruling applied only to the case of Brent Croxford, he has ordered attorneys in about 20 other upcoming sentencings to prepare arguments on whether the guidelines can be legally applied to their clients. In addition, the defense lawyers said other judges could follow suit and throw out the 15-year-old guidelines, which are used to calculate sentences based on various factors such as criminal history and the severity of a crime.
"It's a huge case," Croxford's attorney, David Finlayson, said. He added, "I don't see that any judge in this district is going to find other than what Judge Cassell did."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that portions of Washington state's sentencing guidelines were in violation of the right to a trial by jury. In Washington, a judge, rather than a jury, made findings about factors that could enhance a sentence.
The ruling, Blakely v. Washington, seems to give defendants the right to demand that every factor that could increase a sentence be decided by a jury, according to some legal experts. Judges have routinely determined the amount of money laundered or the amount of drugs sold, for example.
Although the decision technically applies only to Washington state, the U.S. Justice Department was examining it to see how it would affect federal sentencing guidelines, which also give judges the power to determine factors that support aggravated sentences.
Cassell said the decision does affect federal cases in Utah that have aggravating factors, including Croxford's, in which he was required to determine whether there had been a second victim. In his ruling, he wrote "the inescapable conclusion of Blakely is that the federal sentencing guidelines have been rendered unconstitutional in cases such as this one."
He also wrote, "A sentence may not be enhanced when doing so requires the judge to make factual findings which go beyond the defendant's plea or the verdict of the jury. Given this rule, there is no way this court can sentence Croxford under the federal sentencing guidelines without violating his right to trial by jury as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment."
In future plea bargains, he suggested, federal prosecutors could require defendants to agree to facts necessary to enhance a sentence.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah had no comment Tuesday. The U.S. Justice Department in Washington, D.C., has been studying the issue since last week's Supreme Court decision.
Cassell wrote that he considered waiting to address the constitutional issues in Croxford's sentencing until the Justice Department weighed in, but decided that was unrealistic because there are more than 1,000 criminal cases pending in federal court in Utah.
Still, Cassell gave the Justice Department until July 19 to ask him to reconsider his ruling and set a hearing for Aug. 2. He will wait until then to make his Tuesday ruling final, he wrote.
Until the U.S. Supreme Court resolves the legality of the federal sentencing guidelines, Cassell said he will announce two sentences in every case, one using the guidelines and one without them.
Defense attorneys were trying to sort out the issue after Tuesday's hearing. Scott Williams said Cassell's decision also could lead to two-part trials, the first to determine guilt and the second to deal with sentencing issues.
"We don't know if it's retroactive," Williams added.
After the Blakely ruling, federal prosecutors in Utah began asking for delays in sentencings in cases where there could be aggravating factors. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell granted a motion to reschedule sentencing in an embezzlement case, where the amount of money stolen will help determine the length of the sentence.
Cassell, however, rejected a request from both sides to delay Croxford's sentencing, saying he did not want to make the victims wait any longer for a resolution. Under a plea bargain, the South Jordan man was to receive a 10-year term. But the judge said that because the guidelines were unconstitutional in this case, he had the authority to sentence Croxford up to 20 years behind bars, the maximum allowed by law.
In the end, Cassell meted out a sentence of about 12 1/2 years, an increase over the original agreement. He cited the second victim and the fact that Croxford had fled shortly before his scheduled trial on charges that he had taken pictures of a young girl in sexually explicit poses.