CRIMECONTROL - Supreme Court Agrees To ReviewConstitutionality Of 3 Strikes Laws

Sep 29, 2026

CRIMECONTROL section summarizes a Supreme Court decision to review whether state “three strikes” laws that impose enhanced sentences for a third criminal conviction violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. It details prior circuit rulings affecting California, including cases striking life-without-parole outcomes for minor or petty offenses and clarifying the scope as applied to habitual offenders. The section also outlines how other states adopted similar enhanced sentencing frameworks and describes the particular harshness mechanisms in California’s statute.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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CRIMECONTROL

Supreme Court Agrees To Review Constitutionality Of 3 Strikes Laws

SEARCH CAN BE EXEMPT FROM J.L. RESTRICTIONS

JUVENILE VIOLATION LAWS ENHANCEMENT

April 5,2002 Vol.36,No.14 IN THIS ISSUE 5th Circuit Exempts SearchFrom J.L.Restrictions………211th Circuit Lets JuvenileCrime Enhance Sentence..…2Ohio Widens Search Power.3 NATIONAL Atlanta Narrows CandidatesFor Police Chief To Five….3Cincinnati Settles LethalForce Lawsuit……………3Colorado Police Fight DriveTo Restrict Asset Seizures...4FBI Tests Employees………4FBI Receives Record HighNumber Of Job Applicants..5U.S.Releases First GrantsTo Combat Terror……………5OJJDP Releases 3 Studies ...5OJJDP Seeks Comment OnGrants For Child Victims……5 ACROSS THE STATES Alabama,Arizona…………5Calif.,Colo.,Ga.,II…………6Ky.,Maine,Ore.,R..……6S.C.,Tenn.,Texas… ……7Utah,Washington……………7 FUNDING Drug Grants For Homeless..7Drugs,Mental Health Funds 7Drug-Free School Grants....7 # CRIMECONTROL Supreme Court Agrees To ReviewConstitutionality Of 3 Strikes Laws The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether state laws creating enhanced sentences for a thirdcriminal conviction violate 8thAmendment protections againstcruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court has turneddown previous attempts to chal-lenge three-strikes laws as cruel andunusual punishment,but in 1999,three justices made an unusual pointof questioning the law's applicationin California. The court's ruling could be lim-ited to the California law,or it couldmake a more general statementabout the reach of sentencingschemes for repeat criminals. The court acted on California'sappeal of two decisions from the 9thU.S.Circuit Court of Appeals,which in a period of four monthsoverturned enhanced sentences forpetty criminals. The circuit in early Februarystruck down sentences of life with-out possibility of parole for 25 yearsagainst two shoplifters,EarnestBray 'Jr.and Richard NapoleonBrown in Brown v.Mayle,99-17261,and Bray v.Ylist,99-56197. Last November,the 9th Circuitin Andrade(99-556)struck down adrug addict's life sentence mandat- 7Digest ing that he serve at least 50 yearsfor a third petty theft conviction. Washington state pioneeredthree-strikes in a 1993 voter refer-endum that approved life withoutparole for third-time serious felonyoffenders. Other states and the federalgovernment quickly followed.Thefederal law is not under review be-fore the high court. Thirteen states including Cali-fornia passed three-strikes laws in1994 and another 10 passed laws in1995.Currently,nearly all stateshave enhanced sentencing,but only26 have mandatory laws. California has the stiffest law,allowing a judge to impose a sen-tence of 25 years to life for any fel-ony conviction if the criminal waspreviously convicted of two seriousor violent felonies. Crimes that might otherwise beconsidered misdemeanors may alsobe considered felonies under Cali-fornia's law,meaning that shoplift-ing or other small-time crime cantrigger the long sentence. The 9th circuit found severalreasons why three-strikes sentencewere particularly harsh for pettycriminals.The triggering factorneed not be“serious”or “violent,” for example,the circuit panel de- cided. A defendant's equivalent re-ceived in another jurisdiction,orconvictions received as a juvenileare "strikes."In addition,the man-datory minimum term of 25 yesmay not be reduced with good timecredits. The 9th circuit was clear topoint out its “decision does not in-validate California's Three Strikeslaw generally,"but only as it ap-plies to minor offenses that habitualcriminals commit. "Rather,we conclude that it isunconstitutional only as applied to[Leandro]Andrade because it im-poses a sentence grossly dispropor-tionate to his crimes." Andrade had multiple convic-tions for burglary before he wasconvicted for shoplifting $150 invideotapes in 1995 and sentencedunder three-strikes. Inf.:Lockyer v.Andrade,01-1127,and Ewing v.California,01-6978 5th Circuit ## SEARCH CAN BE EXEMPTFROM J.L.RESTRICTIONS The 5th U.S.Circuit Court ofAppeals decided some policesearches based on tips are exemptfrom the Supreme Court's Floridav.J.L.decisi

FAQs

What issue is the Supreme Court set to review regarding three-strikes laws?

Whether state laws that create enhanced sentences for a third criminal conviction violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

How have lower courts addressed three-strikes sentences for minor or petty offenses?

The text describes that the 9th Circuit overturned enhanced sentences in multiple cases involving petty criminals, arguing the outcomes were especially harsh for minor conduct.

Why can certain search actions be exempt from the Supreme Court’s J.L. doctrine, according to the text?

The 5th Circuit found that the officers had sufficient probable suspicion based on the totality of circumstances, including their existing knowledge of the operator and observations during the encounter, supporting a Terry stop and frisk.

Sep 29, 2026

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