Can Almendarez-Torres be squared with the history undergirding the Sixth Amendment; and if not, should this Court overrule Almendarez-Torres?

QUESTION PRESENTED The Sixth Amendment protects the right “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation.” U.S. Const. amend. VI. “[F]act[s] that increase[] the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” except for prior convictions. Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 488-90 & n.15 (2000). The Court rooted the general rule in common-law historical practices, see id. at 477-83, and relied on an earlier opinion — Almendarez-Torres v. United States — for the prior-conviction exception, see id. at 487-90 (citing Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998)). Can Almendarez-Torres be squared with the history undergirding the Sixth Amendment; and if not, should this Court overrule Almendarez-Torres? i