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 Three Strikes Cases |
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 The California Penal Code classifies the exact nature of a strike offense. Strike offenses are normally violent or serious crimes, including offenses where the defendant/suspect was never in actual physical contact with a victim. Home burglary is one type of crime classified as a strike offense. A robber does not have to have physically contacted anyone at the home that he or she was burglarizing. In addition, one can be charged with a strike crime and not realize it.
In cases like this, it is important to hire a criminal defense lawyer who is aware of what crimes are strike offenses, in addition to the sentences that can go with them. The Law Offices of Rizio & Nelson may be able to settle on your behalf to eliminate the strike altogether.
The laws pertaining to strike offenses are diverse and complicated. They can be even harder to understand for an individual who previously had at least one prior strike offense. If you have a previous strike offense and are convicted of any type of felony, your potential sentence can increase by 100%. In addition, rather than actually serving no more than one-half of your term, you may be required to serve up to 85% of your term if you are convicted for a strike offense. In cases of three strike offenses or more, you could wind up serving anywhere from 25 years to life without parole.
In the state of California, first and second strikes are numbered by single charges, instead of single cases, so a defendant could be charged and convicted of "first and second strikes", with the possibility of many more than two strikes, coming out of a single case, even one completed before the law was passed. Convictions from all 50 states and federal courts at any point in the defendant's history, including juvenile crimes that would usually be sealed can be numbered (however, once a juvenile record is sealed, it cannot be "unsealed;" it does not exist any longer and there is no longer a record that can be used as a previous conviction), without regard to the date of offense or conviction or whether the conviction was the consequence of a plea agreement.
If you are convicted of a felony after accumulating two strikes against you, you could face a term of life in prison, even if the third strike conviction was for an insignificant crime, such as petty theft.
In most cases, three strikes laws have been proven to have only a minor impact on overall repeat crime rates. This trend is backed up by the weak link found between prison sentences and general deterrents. In addition, the high cost of incarcerating large numbers of people for extensive time periods have nearly bankrupted certain state’s economies, and led to the United States having the highest worldwide incarceration rate (25% of the world’s prisoners are found in the U.S., contrasted with 5% in China).
There is a great deal of concern regarding defendants facing who may be facing their last strike. The concern is this defendant may be more apt to attempt to run from police or attack an arresting police officer. However, there is no solid evidence that a defendant in these situations is more desperate. The Inland Empire three strikes cases lawyers can help defendants who find themselves involved in a crime involving a strike. Contact the three strikes attorney’s at Rizio & Nelson 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and we’ll review your three strikes case and help decide the best course of action. |
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Attorneys on Call 24/7: 951-271-7904 |
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