The Court of Appeal holds that the trial court’s imposition of the middle term, instead of the presumptive lower term per PC 1170(b)(6) as enacted by AB 124, did not violate defendant’s Sixth Amendment jury trial right, despite the fact that in imposing the middle term the trial court relied on aggravating factors that were not found true beyond a reasonable doubt or stipulated to by defendant. The court reasons that imposition of the middle term in this context does not implicate Sixth Amendment concerns because PC 1170(b)(6) “creates a potential reduced term, as opposed to an increased term.”
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