Chontos v. Berghuis, No. 08-1031

In habeas proceedings arising following the imposition of a 40-year maximum sentence and a 225-month minimum for first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a person under the age of thirteen and various other offenses, denial of the petition is affirmed where: 1) there was no jury-trial right violation because judge-found facts did not increase defendant's sentence beyond the statutory maximum for Apprendi purposes; and 2) the district court properly rejected defendant's claim that the trial court violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights by sentencing him more harshly for insisting on going to trial and for not explicitly admitting his guilt. 

Read Chontos v. Berghuis, No. 08-1031

Appellate Information

Argued: June 11, 2009

Decided and Filed: November 10, 2009

Judges

Opinion by Circuit Judge Cook

Counsel

For Appellant:  Rosemary Gordon Panuco, Law Office, Tucson, Arizona

For Appellee:  Janet A. Van Cleve, Michigan Attorney General's Office, Lansing, Michigan