Does a disparity in sentencing between the most serious and most severe crimes violate a defendant's right to procedural due process?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Ordonez, 226 Cal.App.3d 1207, 277 Cal.Rptr. 382 (Cal. App. 1991):

Defendant also contends that the disparity in sentencing violates his right to procedural due process because it is predicated on the trial court's choice of crime to be used as the base term for sentencing, rather than on culpability. But so long as the statute is procedurally fair and is reasonably related to a proper legislative goal, there is no procedural due process violation. (People v. Flores, supra, 178 Cal.App.3d at p. 83, 223 Cal.Rptr. 465.) We can see no constitutional violation in a statutory scheme that permits (or even compels) a court to use the most serious crime according to punishment as [226 Cal.App.3d 1239] the base term in sentencing. This is a sentence choice properly given to the trial courts. (See People v. Barela (1983) 145 Cal.App.3d 152, 156, 193 Cal.Rptr. 257.)

Other Questions


Does a defendant who committed a crime under a different sentencing scheme that existed at the time he committed the crime be sentenced to a different sentence? (California, United States of America)
Does Defendant have any grounds to argue that the Court's recent rulings in a civil case against the Defendant violated the Defendant's civil rights? (California, United States of America)
Is a defendant entitled to a comparative sentence review equivalent to that provided for determinately sentenced felons under the "disparate sentence" statute? (California, United States of America)
Is a defendant's right to due process violated when evidence of a witness's identification of that defendant is admitted? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for a pretrial identification procedure that violates a defendant's due process rights? (California, United States of America)
Does the Attorney General's assertion that a denial of a motion on appeal by defendants on appeal violate their right to appeal against the denial of their motion violate their due process? (California, United States of America)
What is the case law on sentencing a defendant to a more severe sentence than a defendant convicted of murder? (California, United States of America)
What is the case law on sentencing a defendant to a more severe sentence than a defendant convicted of murder? (California, United States of America)
Does Section 654 of the California Criminal Code allow a court to stay the execution of a sentence for a lesser, less severely punishable crime, but more severely punishable, crime-preventable, offence? (California, United States of America)
Can a defendant recast his claim for a federal due process violation as a federal violation of his right to associate with others? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.