Three Strikes Rule

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Three Strikes Rule

Three Strikes And You're Out

Criminal defense attorneys are ready and available to help you with your criminal charge, especially if the crime with which you are being charged could be your third strike, resulting in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Can you afford for this to happen to you? Contact a LawInfo Lead Counsel qualified criminal law lawyer experienced with your state’s three-strike laws to discuss your specific legal claim.

The United States is locking up people at an unprecedented rate. There are now 1.75 million people in state and federal prisons in the U.S., up from 1 million people just four years ago. The incarceration of people has been accelerated through the enactment of so-called "three-strikes and you're out" legislation. Between 1993 and 1995, 26 states and the federal government passed "three strikes" laws in response to public outrage over such cases as the 1993 kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas by a paroled repeat offender.

Under the federal Three Strikes rule, now codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3559(c), the defendant receives mandatory life imprisonment if he or she:

Is convicted in federal court of a serious violent felony; and
Has two or more prior convictions in federal or state courts, where at least one of which is a serious violent felony. The other prior offense may be a serious drug offense.

Under the statute, a serious violent felony includes murder, manslaughter, sex offenses, kidnapping, robbery, and any offense punishable by 10 years or more which includes as an element the use of force or that, by its nature, involves a significant risk of force. The statute also enumerates certain non-qualifying felonies, including unarmed robbery offenses and arsons that posed no threat to human life.

Unlike the federal laws, the three-strikes laws vary by quite a bit from state to state. However, under all federal and state three-strikes law if someone is convicted of a crime three times, there is no judiciary discretion in sentencing these repeat offenders. Judicial discretion means that the judge decides the length and severity of the sentence for the convicted defendant based on whatever criteria he or she considers relevant (like, severity of the crime, the defendant’s character, social ties, etc). Instead, regardless of any extenuating circumstances, and regardless of whether the judge believes the criminal can be rehabilitated, the criminal must go to jail for life without the possibility of parole.

The State of California is noted to have the harshest three-strikes laws. Existing law classifies some felonies, as "violent" or "serious." California’s "three Strikes and you’re out" law mandates that if a person has two or more previous serious or violent felony convictions, the sentence for any additional felony conviction (not just serious or violent) is 25 years to life.

More than 7,000 people have been sent to California's prisons with life sentences under the state's three-strikes law. In 350 of those cases, the third crime the defendant committed was a minor offense, including the case of Leandro Andrade who was caught shoplifting children’s videos twice within two weeks at K-Mart stores in Southern California in 1995. The tapes Andrade stole were worth approximately $1.60. Such petty thefts (under $400) are ordinarily misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in jail. But Andrade had a record of burglaries and marijuana possession from years before. As a result of California's tough three-strikes law, Andrade’s new petty thefts were treated as felonies. Upon his conviction, the judge sentenced him to 50 years to life in prison.

Should I hire a lawyer?

If you have been arrested for a crime that could potentially be a "third strike" under your state’s three-strike laws, you need a criminal lawyer to defend your legal rights. Contact a LawInfo Lead Counsel qualified criminal defense attorney who specializes in three-strikes laws as soon as possible following your charge. No matter how long ago the other two crimes for which you were convicted happen, you could end up in prison for life without the possibility of parole. Even a prior juvenile conviction could potentially count as a strike.