California Resentencing Law

Section 1170.126 was enacted by voter initiative in 2012, as part of the Three Strikes Reform Act. (Voter Information Guide, Gen. Elec. (Nov. 6, 2012) text of Prop. 36, 6, pp. 109-110 (hereafter Voter Information Guide).) Among the stated purposes of the initiative, as explained to voters, was to "restore the Three Strikes law to the public's original understanding by requiring life sentences only when a defendant's current conviction is for a violent or serious crime" and to "maintain that repeat offenders convicted of non-violent, non-serious crimes like shoplifting and simple drug possession will receive twice the normal sentence instead of a life sentence." (Id. 1, at p. 105.) In accordance with those goals, section 1170.126 provides persons who were previously sentenced to indeterminate life terms under an earlier version of the "Three Strikes" law the opportunity to petition for resentencing to the term that would have been imposed for their crime under the version of the Three Strikes Reform Act passed by the voters in the form of Proposition 36. Thus, section 1170.126, subdivision (a) states that it is intended to apply only to those "persons presently serving an indeterminate term of imprisonment ... whose sentence under this act would not have been an indeterminate life sentence." (Italics added.) Subdivision (b) of section 1170.126 states that "any person serving an indeterminate term of life imprisonment imposed pursuant to the Three Strikes law upon conviction ... of a felony or felonies that are not defined as serious and/or violent ... may file a petition for a recall of sentence ... ." Subdivision (e) of section 1170.126 further specifies which defendants are eligible for resentencing under the statute. The first requirement is that "the inmate is serving an indeterminate term of life imprisonment imposed pursuant to the Three Strikes law for a conviction of a felony or felonies that are not defined as serious and/or violent felonies by subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7." ( 1170.126, subd. (e)(1), italics added.) The second requirement is that "the inmate's current sentence was not imposed for any of the offenses appearing in clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or clauses (i) to (iii), inclusive, of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1170.12." ( 1170.126, subd. (e)(2).) And the third requirement is that "the inmate has no prior convictions for any of the offenses appearing in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1170.12." ( 1170.126, subd. (e)(3).)