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Resentencing Required for Each Offense after Prop. 36 Implemented

Posted by Seth Chazin | Sep 01, 2015 | 0 Comments

Proposition 36, or the Three Strikes Reform Act of 2012, was passed on November 6, 2012. This proposition reduced the punishment of certain third-strike offenses that are neither serious or nor violent, and provided for resentencing in some cases in which third-strike life sentences were imposed for felonies that were nonviolent.

In People v. Johnson, they addressed whether resentencing a defendant was based on the classification of the crime as serious or violent as of November 7, 2012, the day Proposition 36 was effective, or the law in effect when the offense was committed. Second,People v. Machado addresses whether an inmate who was convicted of both a serious or violent crime and a nonviolent felony is eligible for resentencing with regard to the felony that is nonviolent.

Both of these court cases were a groundbreaking for those sentenced under the California Three –Strikes laws. People v. Johnson held that the crime must be considered serious or violent based on laws of the effective date of Proposition 36.  People v. Machado held that an inmate is eligible for resentencing with respect to a current offense that is neither serious nor violent, even though they have another offense that is serious or violent.

If you or anyone you know was sentenced under the three strikes law in California, before the implementation of Proposition 36, make sure to check with an attorney because the defendants may be eligible for a sentence reduction under this new case law.

Contact The Law Offices of Seth Chazin 

About the Author

Seth Chazin

Seth P. Chazin has aggressively defended clients in thousands of felony and misdemeanor cases for over 30 years. He has extensive experience representing criminal defendants in federal and state court, while handling both state and federal appeals as well.

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ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

“The death penalty is a lie, a misguided mistake born of anger and frustration. Capital punishment has become a perverse monument to inequality, to how some lives matter and others do not. It is a violent example of how we protect and value the rich and abandon and devalue the poor. The death penalty is a grim, disturbing shadow formed by the legacy of racial apartheid and bias against the poor that condemns the disfavored among us, but corrupts us all. It’s the perverse symbol elected officials use to strengthen their ‘tough on crime’ reputations and distract us from confronting the causes of violence. It is finally the enemy of grace, redemption and all of us who recognize that each person is more than their worse act.”
- Bryan Stevenson

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