His Blogesty links a story from the AP about a plea bargain agreement with the head of a charity accused of funneling money to al-Qaeda. That charge has nominally been dropped in favor of a lesser one, but:

“We are prepared to prove that he did support al-Qaida when that issue is addressed at sentencing,” Attorney General John Ashcroft said.

The article also notes that hearsay evidence, not typically allowed in trial, can be brought up during sentencing. This is merely one instance of a much larger trend: crimes not brought during trial — even “relevant conduct” of which the defendant has been formally acquitted — can be and frequently are raised at the sentencing under a much lower standard of evidence. Under federal sentencing guidelines, that “relevant conduct” can dramatically increase the length of the sentence. I’m not going to weep any tears for this guy, but it’s not clear how to square the right to a jury trial with a judge’s ability to give you an extra five years because he believes you’ve done what a jury has decided that you weren’t shown to have done beyond a reasonable doubt.