What Criteria Must the Court Consider in Determining Whether to Impose the Mitigated Term?

If a court reviews the circumstances of the crime and finds that mitigating factors exist to show that the crime was highly out of character for the defendant or the circumstances less offensive than typical for the crime, the court will likely impose the mitigated term, which is the lowest prison term allowed for the charged crime.

Under California Rules of Court, Rule 4.428, the court considers the following circumstances in mitigation:

(a)        Factors relating to the crime

Factors relating to the crime include that:

(1)The defendant was a passive participant or played a minor role in the crime;

(2)The victim was an initiator of, willing participant in, or aggressor or provoker of the incident;

(3)The crime was committed because of an unusual circumstance, such as great provocation, that is unlikely to recur;

(4)The defendant participated in the crime under circumstances of coercion or duress, or the criminal conduct was partially excusable for some other reason not amounting to a defense;

(5)The defendant, with no apparent predisposition to do so, was induced by others to participate in the crime;

(6)The defendant exercised caution to avoid harm to persons or damage to property, or the amounts of money or property taken were deliberately small, or no harm was done or threatened against the victim;

(7)The defendant believed that he or she had a claim or right to the property taken, or for other reasons mistakenly believed that the conduct was legal;

(8)The defendant was motivated by a desire to provide necessities for his or her family or self; and

(9)The defendant suffered from repeated or continuous physical, sexual, or psychological abuse inflicted by the victim of the crime, and the victim of the crime, who inflicted the abuse, was the defendant’s spouse, intimate cohabitant, or parent of the defendant’s child; and the abuse does not amount to a defense.

(b)        Factors relating to the defendant

Factors relating to the defendant include that:

(1)The defendant has no prior record, or has an insignificant record of criminal conduct, considering the recency and frequency of prior crimes;

(2)The defendant was suffering from a mental or physical condition that significantly reduced culpability for the crime;

(3)The defendant voluntarily acknowledged wrongdoing before arrest or at an early stage of the criminal process;

(4)The defendant is ineligible for probation and but for that ineligibility would have been granted probation;

(5)The defendant made restitution to the victim; and

(6)The defendant’s prior performance on probation or parole was satisfactory.