Among the biggest decisions handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court this year was Blakely v. Washington, which said that a judge can’t increase a sentence beyond its normal maximum based on facts judge alone determines. The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled ruled today that North Carolina’s sentencing system has the same problem as Washington’s — a judge can sentence someone to a longer sentence in the “aggravated range” based on such facts. Expect to hear more about this as convicts serving such aggravated sentences move to have them shortened.