State Ex Rel. Smith v. Conn

THOMPSON, Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 Petitioner State of Arizona brings this special action to challenge the trial court’s order denying the state’s motion to add an allegation of aggravating factors to the indictment and request for jury trial. According to the trial court, Blakely v. Washington, — U.S. —, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), as applied to the Arizona statutory scheme, prohibits the imposition of an aggravated sentence, and there is no mechanism for imposing a sentence greater than the presumptive. For the following reasons, we accept special action jurisdiction and grant relief.