State v. Ramirez

This criminal case is the latest in a series of cases that reflect the efforts of the Court of Appeals and of this court to understand, follow, and apply the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 US 466, 120 S Ct 2348, 147 L Ed 2d 435 (2000), and Blakely v. Washington, 542 US 296, 124 S Ct 2531, 159 L Ed 2d 403 (2004). In those cases, the Court held that a criminal defendant has a right under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution to have a jury determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, virtually all facts legally essential to the sentence that a…