What is the test for a recidivist statute?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from The People v. Gallardo, D055505, No. SCD214199 (Cal. App. 2010):
"The purpose of a recidivist statute... [is] to deter repeat offenders and, at some point in the life of one who repeatedly commits criminal offenses serious enough to be punished as felonies, to segregate that person from the rest of society for an extended period of time. This segregation and its duration are based not merely on that person's most recent offense but also on the propensities he has demonstrated over a period of time during which he has been convicted of and sentenced for other crimes. Like the line dividing felony theft from petty larceny, the point at which a recidivist will be deemed to have demonstrated the necessary propensities and the amount of time that the recidivist will be isolated from society are matters largely within the discretion of the punishing jurisdiction." (Rummel v. Estelle (1980) 445 U.S. 263, 284-285.)
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