State v. Brown

OPINION

HURWITZ, Justice.

¶ 1 The court of appeals held in this case that a defendant pleading guilty to a criminal offense may be sentenced to a term greater than the presumptive sentence solely on the basis of facts found by the trial judge upon a showing of “reasonable evidence.” State v. Brown (McMullen), 205 Ariz. 325, 333 ¶ 27 & n. 9, 70 P.3d 454, 462 & n. 9 (App.2003). We granted review to examine that opinion in light of the constitutional principles set forth in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and its most recent progeny, Blakely v.…