202
Stevens, J., dissenting
point.31 The question in this case, then, boils down to whether the plurality's line between entry of judgment and a verdict is a demarcation of Simmons' applicability that is (1) consistent with Simmons; (2) a realistic and accurate assessment of the probabilities; and (3) a workable, clear rule. I believe the plurality fails on each score.
It is important to emphasize the precise basis for the uncertainty the plurality perceives. The plurality limits the relevant uncertainty to things known before the time of sentencing. Events developing the day after sentencing, which might lend uncertainty to a defendant's eventual parole ineligibility do not make Simmons inapplicable, the plurality says. Ante, at 176. What I understand the plurality to be concerned about is whether the facts, as known at or prior to sentencing, cast any doubt on whether, after sentencing, the defendant will become parole ineligible. Even if nothing definitive has happened yet by the time of sentencing, the facts as known at that time might well give rise to uncertainty as to the defendant's parole ineligibility.
The question, then, is what were the facts as known at the time of Ramdass' sentencing that might cast doubt on whether he would be found parole ineligible after sentencing. The facts to which the plurality points are, first, that judgment had not yet been entered on the verdict, and second, that the verdict could have been set aside if Ramdass had
31 The plurality's claim, ante, at 169, that Ramdass seeks an extension of Simmons is therefore unfounded. And its criticism that "[p]etitioner's proposed rule would require courts to evaluate the probability of future events" ignores the fact that Simmons itself did the very same thing. Ante, at 169. The irony of that comment, moreover, is that it criticizes the rule for requiring an assessment of the future on the ground that such an inquiry is inherently speculative. Yet speculation about the future is precisely what is required when the jury is asked to assess a defendant's future dangerousness. The speculation, however, becomes reasoned prediction rather than arbitrary guesswork only when the jury is permitted to learn of the defendant's future parole status. See supra, at 194-199. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.
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