United States v. Harris

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SCHWAB, District Judge.

As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stated in her dissent in Blakely v. Washington, — U.S. —, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), it is difficult to read the majority opinion of Justice Antonin Scalia without coming to the conclusion that the United States Sentencing Guidelines are unconstitutional. This is the conclusion reached by most, although certainly not all, federal courts to have considered the issue. 1

While not conceding that a decision striking down Washington’s sentencing scheme would necessarily invalidate the United States Sentencing…