Does the Three Strikes Act apply to a defendant who has been sentenced to a minimum indeterminate life sentence?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Cook, C073548 (Cal. App. 2015):

People v. Elder (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 1308, 1314, held that although prospectively a third qualifying felony conviction will be subject to a minimum indeterminate life sentence of 25 years only if the prosecutor pleads and proves the third felony is either a serious or violent felony or otherwise comes within a qualifying class of offenses, the same is not true of the relief accorded persons already serving an indeterminate term imposed under the prior version of the Three Strikes law. Such retrospective relief "is conditioned upon an eligible commitment offense, which 'the [trial] court shall determine' on 'receiving a petition for recall of sentence under this section.' ( 1170.126, subd. (f), italics added.)" (People v. Elder, at p. 314.) Other cases are in agreement with this conclusion. (See People v. Chubbuck (2014) 231 Cal.App.4th 737, 745, & cases cited therein.)

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