The U.S. Supreme Court has set aside a Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling that upheld an extremely long prison sentence for a man convicted of shooting a Punchbowl homeowner during a botched robbery.

In a brief, unsigned order issued Monday, the court instructed the state high court to consider the prison term given to Miti Maugaotega Jr. in light of a recent ruling that struck down California's sentencing law.

The decision was the latest in a string of decisions that made clear that juries, not judges, must determine facts that justify harsher prison sentences.

Maugaotega, 21, received a sentence of life in prison without parole after being convicted of the second-degree attempted murder of homeowner Eric Kawamoto in June 2003. Kawamoto was critically wounded when he was shot in the chest, but has recovered.

Maugaotega was also sentenced to 10 consecutive life terms with the possibility of parole for three other violent robberies, including one in which he raped a 55-year-old woman.