Exam 4: State Courts

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California's Three Strikes Law was passed in response to citizen frustration with crimes committed by repeat offenders. The California law allows for increased penalties for defendants convicted of a third felony; only one of these convictions must be for a violent crime. Gary Ewing was prosecuted under the law for stealing three golf clubs that were hidden up his pants leg. He had previously been convicted of two other felony offenses. Ewing received a 25-year prison sentence. In Ewing v.California (2002), the U.S.Supreme Court upheld California's law by stating that the seemingly harsh punishment was not disproportionate to the crime committed and that it did not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court further noted that offenders who repeatedly engage in serious or violent crime may be isolated from the rest of society and, thus, California's deliberate policy choice was justified. Critics of the law, including Ewing's attorneys, argued that 25-year prison sentence was grossly disproportionate to the offense committed. Under normal circumstances Ewing would have been prosecuted for a misdemeanor offense, but his criminal record marked the case as unusual.Moreover, prosecutors routinely exercise discretion as to when the law will be applied, which gives them an advantage in forcing a guilty plea among defendants who may be facing a lengthy sentence connected to a third felony.