State v. Simpson

WYNN, Judge.

Although Blakely 1 errors arising under North Carolina’s Structured Sentencing Act are reversible per se, our Supreme Court in State v. Allen 2 limited the application of this rule to cases that were not final as of 21 July 2005. In this case, Defendant contends the use of a sentencing aggravating factor that was neither submitted to a jury nor stipulated by Defendant constituted a Blakely error. Because Defendant’s case was final as of 23 December 2003, Allen requires us to hold that he is not eligible for a new sentencing hearing.

The facts pertinent to this appeal indicate that…