California Three Strikes Defense Lawyers – California penal code 667

Three Strikes Law – Strike Sentencing Guidelines -California Penal Code section 667 

 

 

 

25 years to life in prison

As stated above, if a defendant has two or more prior serious or violent felony convictions and the defendant is later convicted of a third felony he or she shall be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment. More importantly, the defendant will serve a minimum sentence of 25 years in state prison or 3 times the sentencing term provided as punishment for the current felony conviction.

Five year enhancement

Under California Penal Code section 667(a)(1), any person convicted of a serious felony who previously has been convicted of a serious felony in the state of California, or in any other state, shall receive, in addition to the sentence imposed by the court for the current crime, a five-year enhancement for such prior conviction on charges brought and tried separately. In other words, a defendant convicted of a prior serious felony, such as rape, and currently convicted of another serious felony, the defendant will receive a five year enhancement tacked on to the conviction of the current crime. More importantly, the prison terms of the current crime and each enhancement are served consecutively.

Applicability of five year enhancement on individuals convicted of a methamphetamine crime

The five year enhancement stated immediately above does not apply to a person convicted of selling, furnishing, administering, or giving, or offering to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor any methamphetamine-related drug. However, the prior conviction of a methamphetamine crime will count as a strike if the prior conviction was a “serious” felony as described in California Penal Code section 1192.7.

No prior strikes allow for enhanced sentence

Under the Three Strikes law, even if defendant has not been previously convicted of a serious or violent felony, the defendant may face sentencing enhancements for a prior felony conviction. Under California Penal Code section 667(e)(1), if defendant has one prior felony conviction that has been pled and proved, the determinate prison term or minimum term for an indeterminate prison term shall be twice the prison term otherwise provided.

When the Defendant has only one strike

Every crime includes a sentencing provision. The sentencing provisions in California usually include a lower, middle, and upper term. For example, conviction of carjacking (Penal Code section 215) results in defendant being imprisoned for 3, 5, or 9 years. In determining the sentence for a person who has one strike on their record, the judge will double the base term for current offense. Therefore, in our above example, a defendant who has one strike and is convicted of carjacking, he or she will face 6, 10, or 18 years in prison. However, the judge cannot double enhancements, such as using a gun.

Eligibility for Parole

Typically, a defendant convicted of a felony and who does not have a prior strike, the defendant is required to complete 50% of the sentence prior to being eligible for parole. For example, if the defendant is sentenced to 3 years in prison, the defendant must serve 50% or 1 and a half years of the prison sentence before eligible for parole. However, if defendant has been convicted of second strike the time for parole increases by 30%, which means the defendant must serve 80% of the prison sentence prior to being eligible for parole.