Blakely v. Washington applies to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and requires all facts that increase the defendant's punishment beyond the Guidelines range applicable to the offense of conviction to be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, the provision of the federal sentencing statute that makes the Guidelines mandatory is stricken, and in imposing sentences, district courts must instead focus on a broader range; appellate courts are to review sentences for "reasonableness." Decided January 12, 2005 (argued October 4, 2004). Opinion of the Court: Stevens (in part) Dissenting: Stevens (in part), Scalia (in part), Thomas (in part). Applied: the Sixth Amendment → go there Topic: Other criminal sentences. United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), is a United States Supreme Court decision on criminal sentencing. The Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to jury trial requires that other than a prior conviction, only facts admitted by a defendant or proved beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury may be used to calculate a sentence exceeding the prescribed statutory maximum sentence, whether the defendant has pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. The maximum sentence that a judge may impose is based upon the facts admitted by the defendant or proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Wiki link