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32 McGeorge L. Rev. 1 (2000-2001)
California's Three Strikes Law: History, Expectations, Consequences

handle is hein.journals/mcglr32 and id is 11 raw text is: Essays California's Three Strikes Law: History, Expectations, Consequences James A. Ardaiz* I. INTRODUCTION: CALIFORNIA'S THREE STRIKES LAW By 1993, California's crime rate had climbed to epic proportions. Serious and violent crimes had reached levels that concerned every citizen. It was clear that action needed to be taken. A violent crime in Fresno, California begat an effort to find a solution.' This effort produced California's Three Strikes Law.2 Without question, Three Strikes is a tough sentencing law, but the Penal Code is full of laws that have tough sentences. Three Strikes was intended to go beyond simply making sentences tougher. It was intended to be a focused effort to create a sentencing policy that would use the judicial system to reduce serious and violent crime. Much of the debate surrounding Three Strikes fails to address the true purpose and rationale of the law. The Three Strikes Law, like so many other laws, sprang from tragedy-the senseless killing of a young woman and the promise of her father before she died. Unlike many such promises, this one was kept, but contrary to some views, not with a vengeance. In fact, when Mike Reynolds approached me, I expected him to be vengeful, angry and irrational with grief. This was not the man I saw, and it was not the man others close to him saw. What I saw was a man who had decided to make something positive happen to ensure that others would not experience his grief. He approached his objective, not by simply assuming an answer, but by trying to understand an entire system of punishment. In trying to reach that understanding, he gathered people who were involved in the criminal justice system and asked if it was working, and if so, why, and if not, why not. My initial reaction was sympathetic but candid: No, it is not perfect, but it is better than the alternative. His next question was What can be done to fix it? My question became What is it you want to fix? His response was that we needed to reduce crime, especially serious and violent crime. This became the starting point of what became a revolution in the system and a source of continuing controversy. * Presiding Justice, Fifth Appellate District of California. J.D., University of California, Hastings College of Law, 1974; B.A., California State University, Fresno, 1970. 1. See Dan Morain, A Father's Bittersweet Crusade, L.A. TIMES, Mar. 7, 1994, at Al. 2. California's Penal Code contains two nearly identical provisions collectively referred to as Three Strikes Law. See CAL. PENAL CODE §§ 667, 1170.12 (West 1999 & Supp. 2000). 3. See Morain, supra note 1; George Skelton, A Father's Crusade Born from Pain, L.A. TIMES, Dec. 9, 1993, at A3.

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