Gerald Ross Pizzuto, Jr. v. A.J. Arave, Warden

First, I object to the premature filing of this opinion. The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Arizona v. Ring, 200 Ariz. 267, 25 P.3d 1139 (2001), to decide whether Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), overrules Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 110 S.Ct. 3047, 111 L.Ed.2d 511 (1990), and requires that a jury, rather than a judge, find the aggravating factors that expose a defendant to death. Because Pizzuto raises the same objection to Idaho’s judge-sentencing scheme, the Supreme Court’s resolution of this issue may be dispositive on the…