CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL DEFENSE NEWS: 3-STRIKES SENTENCE STRUCK DOWN AS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
The 9th circuit here strikes down a 3-Strikes sentence as being in violation of the cruel and unusual punishment clause!
The crime here is failure of a registered sex offender to re-register within 5 days of his birthday. The court stresses that the defendant had been registering, hadn't moved, and the police knew where he was all the time. They evaluate the crime as pretty minimal.
The defendant has many serious violent and sex offenses, but they say that nothing about THIS crime shows any recidivist tendencies. Thus, they conclude that 28 years to life
violates the cruel and unusual clause.
AND THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS A GREAT START!
Gonzalez v. Duncan; 2008 DJ DAR ; DJ, 12/ /08; 9th Cir. Fed C/A
http://www.tinyurl.com/7ohl4n
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