Blakely Blog is reporting that in the Western District of Texas the chief judge has declared the guidelines unconstitutional.
The intriguing statement reported is that "[h]is holding was that to uphold the Guidelines as would be allowable under Blakely would 'allow the Government to select the charges and the punishment for the offense in question,' violating the Separation of Powers provision of the US Constitution."
I'm not sure how that's any different from pre-Blakely. The prosecutor was able to decide what to charge and through that the potential penalties. I'd like to see the judge's reasoning. As BB said: "We eagerly await an opinion."
[addendum] SL&P has reported (via a comment) that the Northern District of Oklahoma has declared the guidelines unconstitutional.
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