Until recently, the law in California required that anyone with two prior serious or violent convictions who then picks up a third felony of any type had to be sentenced to 25 years to life. One significant exception to that was the Romero exception which referred to a case by the same name. That case allowed a Judge to strike a prior violent or serious conviction if the ends of justice, in the Judge’s opinion, required it. If a Judge found that striking a prior conviction for a particular Defendant was appropriate then that Defendant would not be sentenced to 25 years to life. Despite the Romero exception however, many Defendants faced a difficult battle even if the new felony was relatively minor like possession of a controlled substance or a theft offense.

Then, in an effort to be fairer to Defendants and perhaps to lessen the prison population, the California legislature passed a law known as the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012 in November of 2012. That law states that a Defendant will only be subject to a 25 year to life sentence if the new crime (or third strike) is a serious or violent one. Serious or violent crimes would include residential burglary, Assault with Great Bodily Injury, Car Jacking, some Sex Offenses, and Attempted Murder among others. However, crimes like Possession with Intent to Sell a Controlled Substance and Grand Theft are not considered serious or violent and thus would not trigger the 25 to life sentence requirement.

By some estimates there are 3000 inmates who are serving 25 to life sentences for situations where the third strike was not a serious or violent offense. Those inmates are entitled to immediate review of their cases. The Law Offices of William W. Bruzzo can be retained to file a Motion for Resentencing consistent with the new law. It should be noted that the District Attorney can fight this attempt at resentencing if they present evidence at the hearing that shows the Defendant poses an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Regardless, for Defendants in this situation, it provides a great opportunity to get their life back. (See People v. Superior State of California, Kaulick-Real Party in Interest. 2013 DJDAR 5571).

Here is a CBS News video discussing the Motion for Resentencing, you can see the video here.

Criminal Law Updates by the Law Offices of Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney William W. Bruzzo (714) 547 4636

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California was one of the first to adopt the Three Strikes Law in 1994 – the law which can send a repeat offender to prison for 25 years to life when he/she is convicted of a third strike.

The Three Strikes law significantly increases the prison sentences of persons convicted of felonies who have been previously convicted of two violent crimes or serious felonies, such as: murder, robbery of a residence in which a deadly or dangerous weapon is used, rape and other sex offenses, burglary of a residence and assault with intent to commit a robbery or rape and murder. Although the prior strikes have to be serious violent crimes, the third strike does not have to be such. So a person can go to prison for 25 years to life for shoplifting golf clubs if he/she already has two prior strikes.

California’s counties tend to enforce the Three Strikes Law in different ways. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who supports the law, almost never charges a nonviolent offense as a third strike. But just 100 miles north in Kern County, District Attorney Ed Jagels almost always does and explains, “I don’t know one of these individuals who wouldn’t have re-offended had he gotten a short sentence instead of a longer one.”

District Attorney Jagels prosecuted a man who was arrested for stealing a pack of doughnuts worth about a dollar. Because this man had two strikes for robbery, he faced 25 years to life for the doughnuts. But it’s highly unlikely that the doughnut guy would be prosecuted with a third strike in Los Angeles County. The Orange County District Attorney falls somewhere in the middle. They might allege a relatively minor offense as a third strike but then agree to remove it later as part of a plea deal so that the Defendant is not looking at a life sentence.

While Los Angeles District Attorney Cooley almost never charges a nonviolent offense as a third strike, he supports the three strikes law but just thinks it needs to be changed or it will not last. More than likely though, the three strikes law is unlikely to be changed anytime soon. It has become iconic in our state’s criminal justice system– “Three Strikes and You’re Out.”