P. v. Ellis
A jury found defendant Ryan James Ellis guilty of assault with a firearm (Pen. Code, 245, subd. (a)(2)),[1] with a true finding that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the offense ( 12022.5, subds. (a), (d)). The jury subsequently found true the allegation that defendant had sustained a prior robbery conviction that qualified as a strike within the meaning of the three strikes law. ( 667, subds. (b)-(i).) Sentenced to a nine-year state prison term, defendant appeals. His sole contention is that the doubling of his sentence as a second strike based on a prior juvenile adjudication violated his federal jury trial guarantee as articulated by the United States Supreme Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey (2000) 530 U.S. 466, 490 [147 L.Ed.2d 435, 455] and Blakely v. Washington(2004) 542 U.S. 296, 303305 [159 L.Ed.2d 403, 413-415]. Since the briefs were filed, the California Supreme Court has settled the issue. In People v. Nguyen (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1007 (Nguyen), the state high court rejected the type of constitutional challenges defendant raises here. Following Nguyen, Court shall affirm the judgment.
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