BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1751
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1751 (Ammiano)
As Introduced February 8, 2010
2/3 vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-4
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Beall, Hill, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, |
| |Skinner | |Bradford, |
| | | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| | | |Davis, |
| | | |De Leon, Hall, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Hagman, Gilmore, |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| |Portantino | |Nielsen |
| | | | |
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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.
AB 1751
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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.
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.
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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown significant ongoing GF savings depending on
the number of persons admitted to state prison under a second or
third strike term on the basis of a juvenile strike who would
otherwise serve a significantly shorter term. Though CDCR
currently has no data on the number of strikers with a juvenile
strike - the Bureau of State Audits is scheduled to release a
related audit that may include such figures - but, for example,
if five percent of the strikers committed to state prison in
2009 had a juvenile strike, annual savings would be in the tens
of millions within several years for second strikers, and annual
out-year savings for third-strikers would exceed $10 million in
about 20 years.
In 2009, about 7,130 persons were committed to state prison as
second strikers, and about 216 as third-strikers. As of
December 2009, 41,000 persons were serving state prison terms
under the three strikes law - 8,600 third-strikers, and 32,400
second-strikers.
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COMMENTS : 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 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."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0004232
AB 1751
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