BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1751
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1751 (Ammiano) - As Introduced: February 8, 2010
SUMMARY : Deletes a prior juvenile adjudication from the
definition of "prior felony conviction" for the purposes of
sentencing under the "Three Strikes" law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a prior juvenile adjudication shall constitute a
prior conviction for the purposes of sentence enhancement
under the Three Strikes law if all the following apply:
a) The juvenile was 16 years of age or older at the time he
or she committed the prior offense.
b) The prior offense was one of the enumerated offenses for
which a minor 14 years of age older can be certified to
adult court for trial as an adult, or would be a "serious"
or "violent" felony under adult law.
c) The juvenile was found to be a fit and proper subject to
be dealt with under the juvenile court law.
d) The juvenile was adjudged to be a ward of the court
because the juvenile committed one of the above offenses.
[Penal Code Section 667 (d)(3)(A) to (D).]
2)Provides that if a defendant is convicted of a felony offense
and it is pled and proved that the defendant has previously
been convicted of two or more serious or violent offenses as
specified, the term for the current conviction is an
indeterminate term of life in prison with the minimum term
calculated as the greater of 25 years, three times the term
provided for each current felony conviction, or the
determinate term which would otherwise be imposed including
enhancements. (Penal Code Sections 667 and 1170.12.)
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3)Provides that if a defendant is convicted of a felony offense
and it is pled and proved that the defendant has been
convicted of one prior serious or violent offense as defined,
the term of imprisonment is twice the term otherwise imposed
for the current offense. (Penal Code Sections 667 and
1170.12.)
4)Provides that affected defendants may not receive probation,
there is no limitation on the aggregate term, conduct credits
are limited to 20% of the term, and any additional convictions
must be sentenced consecutively. [Penal Code Sections 667(c)
and 1170.12(a).]
5)Does not require that prior qualifying convictions arise in
separate cases, and "strike" convictions need not arise from
separate transactions that can otherwise not be separately
punished. [Penal Code Section 667(a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Since
California's Three Strike Law was passed by voters in 1994,
tens of thousands of Californians have been handed enhanced
sentences for felony crimes. While voters passed this law to
punish horrific crimes like murder, assault with a deadly
weapon, and rape, many of those who are serving under Three
Strikes are serving life sentences for drug possession and
other nonviolent crimes.
"Furthermore, this law has aggravated the prison overcrowding
crisis. The California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation currently houses approximately 170,000 inmates.
A substantial percentage of those are serving an enhanced
sentence for a second or third strike. Unfortunately, no
evidence exists to suggest that Three Strikes deters criminals
or reduces the recidivism rate. Thus, the law has
significantly contributed to prison overcrowding.
"Juveniles are subject to three strikes. However, as a rule,
juvenile offenders are not afforded the right to a jury trial.
Moreover, there are some offenses that will serve as a strike
for a juvenile even though they are not strikes for adults.
There is no 'wash-out' period and crimes committed by a
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juvenile can be counted as a strike decades later, even if the
crime occurred prior to the passage of Three Strikes.
"Most importantly, Three Strikes is contrary to the
rehabilitative purposes of the juvenile justice system. Our
entire system has been built on the premise that young people
can reform with proper care and should not be unfairly
penalized later in life for past indiscretions. It's wrong
that a juvenile crime can be used later as a strike. It's
even worse than the Three Strikes Law can sentence a juvenile
to a life sentence.
"This bill is meant to correct these problems by clarifying that
juvenile crimes may not be counted as strikes."
2)Additional Three Strikes Information : The Three Strikes law
was enacted by AB 971 (Jones/Costa), Chapter 12, Statutes of
1994, and by Proposition 184. Mandatory provisions beyond
those listed in "Existing Law" above include:
a) A juvenile adjudication (finding by a juvenile court
judge that a minor committed a crime) may constitute an
adult strike prior, although a minor is not entitled to a
jury trial;
b) A person sentenced under the Three Strikes law may not
be committed to any facility other than prison;
c) Three Strikes law prohibits plea-bargaining;
d) Three Strikes eliminates any "washout" period, requiring
that any prior or serious or violent felony conviction be
used regardless of when the conviction occurred;
e) Requires the prosecuting attorney to plead and prove
each prior felony conviction; and,
f) Three Strikes may only be amended by a two-thirds vote
of the Legislature or a ballot measure approved by the
electorate.
3)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 2447 (Wright), of the 1999-2000 Legislative Session,
would have amended the Three Strikes law to require that
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the current conviction be a "serious" or "violent" felony
in order to sentence a defendant to a minimum term of
25-years-to-life in the state prison. AB 2447 failed
passage on the Assembly Floor.
b) AB 1652 (Goldberg), of the 2001-02 Legislative Session,
would have prohibited a felony conviction for the simple
possession of a controlled substance from being used as a
second or third strike for the purpose of the Three Strikes
law. AB 1652 was substantially amended on the Assembly
floor into an unrelated subject matter.
c) AB 1790 (Goldberg), of the 2001-02 Legislative Session,
would have amended the Three Strikes law to require that
the current conviction be a "serious" or "violent" felony
in order to subject a defendant to an enhanced sentence.
AB 1790 was held under submission in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
d) AB 112 (Goldberg), of the 2003-04 Legislative Session,
would have amended the Three Strikes law to require that
the current conviction be a "serious" or "violent" felony
in order to subject a defendant to an enhanced sentence.
AB 112 was moved to the Inactive File on the Assembly
floor.
4)Argument in Support . According to the California Public
Defenders Association , "Despite the fact that proceedings are
not as formal and adversarial in juvenile court, the "Three
Strikes law," for the first time, allowed the use of juvenile
cases, for which the youth did not receive a jury trial, to be
used against the youth when he became an adult and was charged
with any felony. The existence of one prior offense would
double a potential sentence, and the existence of two prior
charges, even if they occurred on the same occasion, would
mean a sentence of twenty five years to life. As an example
of how this works, imagine a youth who at 17 stole a fellow
student's ipod, and also took another students $3.00 lunch
money by threatening him. In the juvenile court, the youth
admitted or was adjudicated a ward for two felony charges that
qualify as strikes. He has no prior record, is remorseful,
and the court places him on probation with numerous condition,
all of which he fulfills. He successfully completes
probation. However, at age 18, imagine this same youth is
arrested for possession of a small amount of drugs, or for
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getting in a fight, or stealing from a store. Any such felony
case, even if nonviolent, and non-serious, would subject that
youth at age 18 to a lifetime sentence. Moreover, even if the
youth remained crime free all of his life until say, age 65,
those prior offenses he committed at 16, could STILL be used
against him some fifty years later to elevate the sentence to
a lifetime commitment.
"The problem and unfairness of using juvenile adjudications as
strikes is exacerbated by the fact that youth in juvenile
court are denied the right to a jury trial. Because the
prosecution need not prove their case to a jury, and because
the adult rules of evidence are relaxed, juvenile cases may be
over-filed, and adjudications less reliable. Additionally,
youth---who as we know, are unable to weigh long-term
consequences---may readily admit offenses that are defensible
simply because the short-term consequences are minimal."
5)Argument in Opposition . According to the California District
Attorneys Association, ''In People v. Nguyen (2009) 46
Cal.4th1007, the California Supreme Court held that the use of
juvenile adjudications as prior convictions for purposes of
the Three Strikes was lawful. We concur in this holding and
therefore must oppose this measure, which attempts to abrogate
that part of the holding in Nguyen.
"We note that the Three Strikes law narrows the class of prior
juvenile adjudications that can be used as strikes. Namely,
the juvenile must have been 16 years of age or older at the
time the prior offense was committed and the offense must be
listed in the Welfare and Institutions Codes Section 707(b),
the statutory list of "serious and violent" juvenile offense."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Asian Law Caucus
Books Not Bars
California Public Defenders Association
Drug Policy Alliance
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Opposition
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California Correctional Supervisors Organization
Crime Victims United
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744