If you’re charged with a “violent” or “serious” felony in the Los Angeles area or anywhere in Southern California, you must contact a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney promptly for the legal counsel and defense representation you will need. Here’s why.
California’s controversial three strikes law imposes a 25 years to life prison sentence on anyone who receives a conviction for a violent or serious felony when that defendant has already received two or more violent or serious felony convictions.
Additionally, the three strikes law also doubles the sentence for anyone who is convicted a second time for a serious or violent felony in this state. However, a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer will help you fight a three strikes sentence in several different ways.
Twenty-eight states now have some version of a three-strikes law. California’s version took effect in 1994. It is a law that substantially increases the penalties for anyone who is convicted of a violent or serious felony after one or two previous convictions for violent or serious felonies.
Originally, the three strikes law in California applied to any felony conviction after two violent or serious felony convictions. Defendants in this state were receiving 25 years to life sentences for nonviolent thefts and non-violent drug crimes.
However, in 2012, voters in California passed Proposition 36. As a result, third strike penalties now apply only if the third conviction is also for a violent or serious felony (with exceptions for felony sex crimes and crimes committed with a firearm or another deadly weapon).
If you are charged with a third violent or serious felony after convictions for two violent or serious felonies, you face a 25 years to life sentence. If the pending charge is for another crime, and you’re convicted, the sentence in most cases will be double the usual sentence for that crime.
However, in any of the following situations, a criminal defendant may receive a 25 years to life sentence for a third conviction even if that third conviction is not for a violent or serious felony:
As of 2022, more than a third of the offenders in California prisons were serving sentences lengthened by the three strikes law. About 28 percent of the inmates were serving doubled sentences, and about 8 percent were serving third strike sentences of 25 years to life.
A strike under the California three strikes law is a conviction for either a “serious” felony or a “violent” felony. Serious felonies include but aren’t limited to robbery, first-degree burglary, and any felony where a perpetrator uses a firearm or inflicts great bodily injury.
At the start of 2024, child sex trafficking was added to the list of serious felonies. “Violent” felonies in this state include but are not limited to murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, forced sodomy or oral copulation, extortion, kidnapping, carjacking, and arson.
Convictions for comparable serious and violent crimes in other states may also count as previous convictions under the California three strikes law. Several juvenile crimes may also count as previous convictions if a defendant was age 16 or older when the crime was committed.
If you’re charged with a serious or violent felony after two convictions for violent or serious felonies, you are facing the possibility of life in prison. You must be advised and represented by a Southern California criminal defense lawyer, and you must contact that lawyer immediately.
You can only be convicted of a third violent or serious felony if the state can prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Your defense attorney will work to cast doubt on the state’s evidence and will work to have the charge against you dropped or the case against you dismissed.
If these options are not available, your attorney may negotiate a plea bargain to have the charge reduced, but if you’re innocent, insist on a jury trial. At trial, your defense attorney will explain to the jurors why you are innocent of the current charge and why they should find you not guilty.
You may also avoid a 25 years to life sentence for a third strike conviction in California by having your Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer file a Romero motion asking the court to dismiss one or both of the first two strike convictions.
In People v. Romero (1996), Jesus Romero was convicted of possessing 0.13 grams of cocaine but faced life in prison due to two past convictions for burglary and attempted burglary. Instead, the judge dismissed one of the previous convictions and Romero was sentenced only to six years.
If the judge grants your Romero motion, your sentence in your pending violent or serious felony case – if you are convicted – will not be increased as it usually would under the three strikes law.
When California judges dismiss strike convictions in these cases, those convictions are not expunged or sealed and do not vanish from an offender’s criminal record. The court dismisses a strike conviction exclusively for the purpose of sentencing for the pending conviction.
Thousands of attorneys practice in Los Angeles, but if you’re accused of a violent or serious felony, you’ll need to contact an experienced, award-winning defense attorney with a reputation for legal excellence. You’ll need to contact attorney Brian Hurwitz at Hurwitz Law Group.
Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Brian Hurwitz will examine the evidence in your case and develop an aggressive, effective defense strategy. He will work to have the charge against you dropped or dismissed, to negotiate an acceptable plea deal, or to win a not guilty verdict at trial.
Hurwitz Law Group offers affordable fees and payment plans, and we offer no-cost, confidential phone consultations to our prospective clients. If you are accused of a violent or serious felony in Southern California, now or in the future, call Hurwitz Law Group promptly at 323-747-7484.
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