Californians Approve Another Important Sentencing Reform

Two years ago, by a
margin of more than 2 to 1, California voters approved Proposition
36, which reformed the state’s draconian “three strikes” law by
requiring that the offense triggering a mandatory sentence of 25
years to life be “serious or violent.” That initiative made about
3,000 prisoners eligible for resentencing. Yesterday voters
approved another important sentencing reform by passing
Proposition 47, which redefines certain low-level, nonviolent
felonies as misdemeanors. The initiative, which was
favored by 57 percent of voters, will have a broader impact
than Proposition 36, allowing some 10,000 inmates to seek shorter
sentences.

Proposition 47 covers simple
drug possession, plus several property crimes, including theft,
shoplifiting, check forgery, and receiving stolen
property, when they involve a loss of $950 or less. The
maximum sentence for these offenses would be one year in jail. By
contrast, cocaine possession, if charged as a felony, currently
can result in
up to three years in prison. So can check kiting, another “wobbler”
that can be
treated as a misdemeanor or a felony. Under Proposition
47, check kiting would have to be charged as a misdemeanor if it
involves $950 or less, as opposed to the current limit of $450.