State v. Allen

BRADY, Justice.

The primary question presented for review is whether sentencing errors which violate a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to jury trial pursuant to the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 159 L. Ed. 2d 403 (2004), may be deemed harmless. We conclude that Blakely errors are structural and modify and affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals remanding defendant’s case to Gaston County Superior Court for resentencing.

Preliminarily, this Court must also examine the effect of Blakely on criminal sentencing in North Carolina. We…