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6 Loy. L. A. L. Rev. 416 (1973)
Constitutional Law-Cruel or Unusual Punishment-Indeterminate Sentence with No Maximum Term for a Second Offense of Indecent Exposure is so Disproportionate to the Crime as to Violate the Cruel or Unusual Punishment Provision of the California Constitution

handle is hein.journals/lla6 and id is 424 raw text is: CONSTITUTIONAL LAW-CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT-INDETER- MINATE SENTENCE WITH No MAXIMUM TERM FOR A SECOND OF- FENSE OF INDECENT ExPoSURE is So DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE CRIME AS TO VIOLATE THE CRUEL OR UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT PROVISION OF THE CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION-In re Lynch, 8 Cal. 3d 410, 503 P.2d 921, 105 Cal. Rptr. 217 (1972). In 1958, petitioner John Lynch was convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure in violation of former California Penal Code section 311, now Penal Code section 314,1 and was placed on two-years pro- bation.2 In 1967, while being served at a drive-in restaurant, Lynch was observed through his car window by a carhop, who noticed that Lynch had his pants unzipped, his hand on his penis, and a pin-up' magazine open on the front seat next to him. Having been momentarily distracted by the sound of a siren, Lynch suddenly became aware of her presence and uttered a surprised oops. She left immediately. Fifteen minutes later, the waitress allegedly observed through Lynch's rearview mirror that he was still exposed and reported the incident to the police. Lynch was thereupon arrested and subsequently convicted of his second offense of indecent exposure. He was sentenced pursuant to Penal Code section 314 to an indeterminate term of not less than one year.3 He appealed to the court of appeal, but his conviction was affirmed. Lynch spent more than five years in state prison, including three and one-half years in the maximum security confines of Folsom Prison. He was denied release on parole four times by the Adult Authority., He ultimately filed two applications for habeas corpus with the Cali- fornia Supreme Court. The first included the assertion that his sentence 1. CAL. PEN. CODE § 314 (West 1972). 2. Lynch could have been sentenced to a maximum 6 months in county jail or a fine of $500 or both. CAL. PEN. CODE § 19 (West 1972). 3. Penal Code section 314 provides in relevant part: Every person who wilfully and lewdly ... 1. Exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; ... is guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon the second and each subsequent conviction under subdivision 1 of this section, or upon a first conviction under subdivision 1 of this section after a pre- vious conviction under Section 288 of this code [lewd or lascivious acts upon a child), every person so convicted is guilty of a felony, and is punishable by im- prisonment in state prison for not less than one year. (Emphasis added.) 4. In re Lynch, 8 Cal. 3d 410, 414, 503 P.2d 921, 923, 105 Cal. Rptr. 217, 219 (1972). 5. Id. at 438, 503 P.2d at 840, 105 Cal. Rptr. at 236.

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