'THREE STRIKES' CRUEL? SUPREME COURT TO EXAMINE LAW.Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court will hear arguments Nov. 5 on whether California's 1994 ``three strikes, you're out'' law violates the Constitution by meting out cruel and unusual punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community. to hundreds of convicted career criminals. The nation's highest court will hear the cases of two Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, criminals who were convicted of third-strike offenses that their attorneys argue should never have been prosecuted as felonies. Gary Albert Ewing Albert Freeman Ewing (born: - died: ) was a provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. Ewing first ran for the Alberta Legislature as the only Conservative candidate in the 1909 Alberta general election running in the Edmonton district. of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. received his third strike for a so- called ``wobbler'' offense that could have been tried as a felony or a misdemeanor. Leandro Andrade of Pomona was convicted in San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. County based on a 1872 state law that allows a second identical offense to be prosecuted as a felony. He was sentenced to 50 years - two consecutive 25-year terms. Andrade's attorney, University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission law professor Erwin Chemerinsky Erwin Chemerinsky (born 1953) is a well-known professor of Constitutional law and federal civil procedure, has recently accepted a position at the University of California, Irvine, in the new Donald Bren School of Law, beginning in 2009. , said his client's third offense consisted of two shoplifting Ask a Lawyer Question Country: United States of America State: Florida caught shoplifting at sears 12/05/05, first time, 20yearsold, have no criminal record. arrests involving $153 worth of Disney and other video tapes at Kmarts in Ontario and Montclair. ``The U.S. Constitution limits what the people of California can do when dealing with repeat offenders,'' Chemerinsky argued. The state's ``three strikes'' law was enacted in the wake of the 1993 kidnap-murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas by Richard Allan Richard Allan (born 11 February 1966) was the Liberal Democrats Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam from the general election of Thursday the 2 May 1997 until the dissolution of Parliament on 11 April 2005. Davis, a twice-convicted kidnapper who was out on parole. It mandates a sentence of 25 years to life, without early parole, for persons convicted of a third felony. Chemerinsky called Andrade ``a man who has never committed a violent crime. He might try to steal 'Snow White' again.'' He also contended that Andrade, who was 37 when convicted of his third strike, had effectively been given a death sentence. Prosecutors said that prior to his latest sentencing, Andrade, currently behind bars, had compiled a long criminal record, including felony convictions for drug transportation and prison escape. California Attorney General The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of the government of the state of California in the USA. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (California Constitution, Article V, Section 13. Bill Lockyer William Westwood "Bill" Lockyer (born May 8, 1941) is the current State Treasurer of California. Prior to this, he served as California's Attorney General and head of the Department of Justice for the U.S. state of California. , who appealed Andrade's sentence to the Supreme Court after it was thrown out in 2001 by the San-Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, argued that the felony charge was proper under state law. ``A state is entitled to make its own judgment as to where the line between a felony and a misdemeanor lies,'' Lockyer wrote in a brief to the high court. The case is being closely watched by ``three strikes'' critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. . They estimate 10 percent of the more than 7,000 third-strike inmates in California could get new trials or reduced sentences if the Andrade and Ewing convictions are thrown out by the high court. ``The time should fit the crime,'' said Gail Blackwell, director of operations for Families to Amend California's ``three strikes,'' a Los Angeles-based activist group that includes relatives of convicts. ``We're punishing people for what we think they might do.'' But prosecutors have a different perspective on the repeat offenders. ``These are not nice people, and they have previously been convicted of some serious felonies,'' said Grover Merritt, who is San Bernardino County's lead deputy district attorney for appellate services and who worked on the Andrade case. ``We've had too many people serving life on the installment plan and committing new crimes. When they get their third strike, they get slammed. ``This 1872 law was used long before anyone heard of ``three strikes,''' said Merritt. He noted that, under the law, a person convicted of petty theft - currently defined as involving items worth less than $400 - and who has served jail time for that crime, can be charged with a felony for a second, identical offense. Ewing was convicted in 2000 of grand theft for stealing $1,200 worth of golf clubs from the pro shop at the Lakes at El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and Golf Course. Ewing had previously been convicted for a series of 1993 burglaries in Long Beach. One of those crimes was a home-invasion, during which Ewing threatened his victim with a knife. Los Angeles County prosecutors decided that Ewing's offense, which could have been tried as a misdemeanor or a felony, was indeed a felony. He was convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years. A misdemeanor conviction in the case would have resulted in a one-year jail term. DOING THE MATH Here are some facts about California's ``third strike'' inmate population: Total: 7,291 Males: 7,222 Females: 69 Race, ethnicity: African-American: 3,236 Latino: 1,858 White: 1,813 Other: 384 Offenses: Murder, manslaughter: 339 Robbery: 1,454 Assaults: 791 Rape, other sex crimes: 599 Burglary, other property crimes: 2,188 Drug crimes: 1,230 County of trial/sentencing: Los Angeles: 2,929 San Bernardino: 451 Orange: 348 Riverside: 299 Ventura: 67 Note: Data from June 30 inmate census. SOURCE: California Department of Corrections CAPTION(S): box Box: DOING THE MATH (see text) |
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