BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2447
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Date of Hearing: May 24, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Carole Migden, Chairwoman
AB 2447 (Wright) - As Amended: May 15, 2000
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill directs a judge, when considering whether to strike a
prior conviction under the three strikes law, to favor striking
the conviction if the current felony charges are neither serious
nor violent, as defined in statute.
(Current case law requires a judge to consider the nature and
circumstances of the current felony as well as circumstances
related to the defendant's background and character.)
FISCAL EFFECT
Indeterminable state and local court and incarceration savings,
depending on whether this relatively slight expansion of case
law results in a significant number of prior convictions being
struck. Current data suggest that the fiscal effect of directing
judges to do what they already may do will not be significant,
as related court decisions have not resulted in a dramatic
change in judicial practice.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author, "The issue of three
strikes has unfortunately become dominated by political
posturing rather than factual analysis. Numerous independent
studies of the impact of three strikes have raised serious
questions about its role as the prime factor for the reduction
in crime. AB 2447 does not detract from the original intent or
the main impact of the three strikes law. This bill is a
modest attempt to provide the courts some guidance on the
issue of determining whether to strike a prior conviction in
AB 2447
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the interest of justice.
"A criminal justice system that does not make the distinction
in sentencing between the burglary of a $400 bike from a
garage and murder risks losing the respect of the public."
2)Current law (the three strikes law) specifies that a defendant
convicted of a felony who has been convicted of two or more
serious or violent offenses as defined, is to be punished by
life in prison with the possibility of parole, with the
minimum term being the greater of 25 years, three times the
term provided for each current felony conviction, or the
determinate term that would otherwise be imposed including
enhancements. A defendant convicted of a felony, who has been
convicted of one prior serious or violent offense, is to be
punished by twice the imprisonment otherwise imposed for the
current offense.
3)Judicial Discretion . The California Supreme Court held in
People v. Superior Court of San Diego County (Romero), (1996),
that the court may strike a prior felony conviction in the
interests of justice. However, the court's discretion to
strike prior convictions is limited and subject to review for
abuse of discretion. A trial court's discretion to deem a
"wobbler" a misdemeanor pursuant to Penal Code Section 17(b)
and People v. Alvarez (1997) gave the court additional
discretion to reduce an offense to a misdemeanor. However,
such a decision must also be made only after consideration of
all facts, including the nature of the qualifying prior
convictions. The use of judicial discretion in this area has
been limited and data indicate that three strike prison
commitments have remained fairly static even after the Romero
and Alvarez decisions.
4)Three-strike State Prison Statistics .
Total three-strike cases account for about 30% of prison
inmates: 40,000 second strike inmates, and 5,000 third strike
inmates.
About 50% of third-strike inmates have nonserious/nonviolent
current offenses:
Drug Crimes: 20%
Property Crimes: 31%
Crimes against Persons: 40%
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"Other": 9%
About 78% of second-strikers have nonserious/nonviolent current
offenses:
Drug Crimes: 32%
Property Crimes: 36%
Crimes against Persons: 20.0%
"Other": 12%
5)Prior Legislation . AB 1444 (Kuehl, 1995-96), which required
that the current conviction for purposes of three strikes be
serious or violent, failed in the Assembly Public Safety
Committee. SB 1317 (Lee, 1997-98), which required the current
conviction for purposes of three strikes be a serious or
violent, failed passage on the Senate Floor. SB 79 (Hayden,
1997-98), which required the current conviction for purposes
of three strikes be a serious or violent, failed passage on
the Senate Floor. SB 2048 (Vasconcellos,1997-98), which
authorized a study of the cost and benefits of the three
strikes law, was vetoed by Gov. Davis.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081