Penal Code 667.61 PC - One-Strike Law in California
California's "One-Strike Law" is defined under Penal Code 667.61 PC, which is a crime considered the most egregious, such as kidnapping someone to commit a sex offense (PC 209(b)).
If you are convicted of a PC 667.61 crime, you could be sentenced to 15 or 25 years to life, depending on the crime and the circumstances. This life-in-prison sentence is possible even if you have no prior criminal "strike" convictions.
California's "One-Strike" crimes are severe and violent sex crimes that carry enhanced penalties based on the circumstances under which they are alleged to have been committed.
For instance, the crime of lewd acts upon a minor under 14, charged under Penal Code 288 PC, has a maximum punishment of up to eight years in prison if convicted.
However, if you were convicted of kidnapping the victim to commit lewd acts on a child, then the punishment is up to life in prison. This reason is that the crime of a lewd and lascivious act on a minor, along with the special circumstance of kidnapping, is a "One-Strike" crime listed in PC 667.61.
If convicted of any PC 667.61 crimes, life in prison is not the only punishment. Other penalties can include sex offender registration, parole terms, huge fines, restitution, civil lawsuits, criminal protective orders, negative immigration status, and loss of a professional license and gun rights, among others.
Most people are familiar with the California "Three Strikes" law, which stipulates that a conviction for three qualifying crimes results in an automatic sentencing enhancement of 25 years to life in prison. Likewise, to address the impact of certain violent sex crimes, the state has also implemented the "One-Strike" law, codified under Penal Code 667.61 PC.
One-Strike Law - Quick Facts
- The one-strike law mandates extended prison sentences for offenders convicted of specific sex crimes if aggravating factors are present.
- The "one-strike" ensures that people convicted of serious sex crimes face harsh sentencing without the chance of early release or probation.
- The one-strike crimes are severe and violent sex crimes carrying enhanced penalties due to aggravating circumstances for how they were committed.
- If convicted of certain sex crimes with aggravating factors, you can face an automatic sentence of 15 or 25 years to life, even on your first offense.
- A life-in-prison sentence is possible even if you have no prior criminal "strike" convictions.
- Under PC 667.61, anyone convicted of specified sex crimes when certain aggravating factors are present will automatically receive an enhanced sentence depending on the crime, combined with the aggravating factors.
Notably, to face a life sentence under the California one-strike law, you must have done the following:
- Committed a sex-related crime listed under PC 667.61(c).
- Committed one or more of the circumstances in PC 667.61(d) or
- Committed two or more circumstances listed in PC 661.61(e).
What are the Eligible One-Strike Crimes?
Under California law, several sex offenses fall under the category of the "One-Strike" law, including the following:
- Penal Code 261 PC - Rape.
- Penal Code 264.1 PC - Rape in concert.
- Penal Code 261(a)(6) - Rape by threats.
- Penal Code 286 PC - Sodomy.
- Penal Code 289 PC - Sexual penetration with a foreign object.
- Penal Code 288 PC - Lewd acts on a child.
- Penal Code 288.5 PC - Continuous sexual abuse of a child.
- Penal Code 287 PC - Oral copulation with a minor.
- Penal Code 205 and 206 PC - Mayhem in sex crime.
- Penal Code 12022.53 PC - Great bodily injury during a sex crime.
- Penal Code 460(a) - Sex crime committed during a burglary.
What are Related Laws?
Several California laws are related to PC 667.61, the "one-strike" law, including the following.
Penal Code 12022.53 PC "10-20-life, use a gun and you're done law." This law imposes an "enhancement" to a California state prison sentence for certain severe felonies when the defendant uses a gun in the commission of the crime.
It enhances sentences by making them substantially longer, such as adding ten years in prison for using a gun, 20 years for firing a weapon, or 25 years to life for killing or seriously injuring someone with a gun. The enhancement is in addition to, and consecutive to, the sentence for the underlying felony conviction.
Penal Code 186.22 PC gang sentencing enhancement law. This law states that anyone who commits a felony for the benefit of a gang will receive a mandatory prison sentence, in addition to and consecutive to the penalty they receive for the underlying felony. Depending on the case details, PC 186.22(b) can result in an additional sentence of two to fifteen years or twenty-five years to life in prison.
What are the Aggravating Factors?
Most of the above sex crimes carry harsh penalties on their own, but the "One-Strike" law automatically enhances these sentences to a minimum of 15 or 25 years if the district attorney can show that certain aggravating factors were present, such as the following:
- If you have prior convictions for any of these qualifying sex crimes, including similar convictions in other states.
- If you inflict a great bodily injury to the victim during the crime.
- If you use a dangerous weapon during the offense.
- If you cause bodily harm to a minor under the age of 14.
- If you kidnap the victim, it substantially increases the risk of harm.
- If you inflict aggravated mayhem or torture on the victim or someone else.
- If you commit another felony in the process of the crime, such as committing a burglary with intent to commit another offense.
- If you commit the specified offenses against more than one victim.
Under PC 667.61, there is a special enhancement for certain more severe crimes if the victim was under the age of 14 and the defendant was 18 or older at the time of the crime.
If this occurs, the sentence is automatically extended to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole (LWOP). This law intends to protect the most vulnerable people by imposing the harshest penalties on those who commit severe crimes against minors.
What are the Common Defenses?
Due to the severe punishments under the "One-Strike" law, you will need an experienced California criminal defense lawyer to have the best chance of success.
A skilled lawyer may be able to mitigate the outcome or dispute the applicability of the "One-Strike" law based on the specifics of the case.
We can prove innocence using strategies designed to disprove or mitigate the aggravating factors that lead to enhanced sentencing.
Perhaps we can dispute the existence of aggravating factors by providing evidence that refutes the additional circumstances that would qualify the crime as a "one-strike" offense.
We could argue a false accusation. We could demonstrate that you were falsely implicated in the crime or that the aggravating factors were due to alibi evidence or mistaken identity.
We can negotiate with prosecutors to drop the aggravating factors in exchange for a guilty plea on this or other offenses. Contact our law firm for more information. Cron, Israels & Stark is based in Los Angeles, CA.
What Does the Law Say?
The full text of California Penal Code 667.61 PC is listed below.
"(a) Except as provided in subdivision (j), (l), or (m), a person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c) under one or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or under two or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(b) Except as provided in subdivisions (a), (j), (l), or (m), a person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c) under one of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e) shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years to life.
(c) This section shall apply to any of the following offenses:
(1) Rape, in violation of paragraph (2) or (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 261.
(2) Rape, in violation of paragraph (1) or (4) of subdivision (a) of former Section 262.
(3) Rape or sexual penetration, in concert, in violation of Section 264.1.
(4) Lewd or lascivious act violates subdivision (b) of Section 288.
(5) Sexual penetration, in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 289.
(6) Sodomy, in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) or subdivision (d) of Section 286.
(7) Oral copulation, in violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c), or subdivision (d), of Section 287 or former Section 288a.
(8) Lewd or lascivious act violates subdivision (a) of Section 288.
(9) Continuous sexual abuse of a child, in violation of Section 288.5.
(d) The following circumstances shall apply to the offenses specified in subdivision (c):
(1) The defendant has been previously convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c), including an offense committed in another jurisdiction that includes all of the elements of an offense specified in subdivision (c).
(2) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present offense, and the movement of the victim substantially increased the risk of harm to the victim over and above that level of risk necessarily inherent in the underlying offense in subdivision (c).
(3) The defendant inflicted aggravated mayhem or torture on the victim or another person in the commission of the present offense in violation of Section 205 or 206.
(4) The defendant committed the present offense during the commission of a burglary of the first degree, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 460, with intent to commit an offense specified in subdivision (c).
(5) The defendant committed the present offense in violation of Section 264.1, subdivision (d) of Section 286, or subdivision (d) of Section 287 or former Section 288a, and, in the commission of that offense, any person committed any act described in paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of this subdivision.
(6) The defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury on the victim or another person in the commission of the present offense in violation of Section 12022.53, 12022.7, or 12022.8.
(7) The defendant personally inflicted bodily harm on the victim, who was under 14 years of age.
(e) The following circumstances shall apply to the offenses specified in subdivision (c):
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d), the defendant kidnapped the victim of the present offense in violation of Section 207, 209, or 209.5.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of subdivision (d), the defendant committed the present offense during the commission of a burglary in violation of Section 459.
(3) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon or a firearm to commission the present offense in violation of Section 12022, 12022.3, 12022.5, or 12022.53.
(4) The defendant has been convicted in the present case or cases of committing an offense specified in subdivision (c) against more than one victim.
(5) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the victim or another person in the commission of the present offense.
(6) The defendant administered a controlled substance to the victim in the commission of the present offense in violation of Section 12022.75.
(7) The defendant committed the present offense in violation of Section 264.1, subdivision (d) of Section 286, or subdivision (d) of Section 287 or former Section 288a, and, in the commission of that offense, any person committed an act described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (5), or (6) of this subdivision or paragraph (6) of subdivision (d).
(f) If only the minimum number of circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or (e) that are required for the punishment provided in subdivision (a), (b), (j), (l), or (m) to apply have been pled and proved, that circumstance or those circumstances shall be used as the basis for imposing the term provided in subdivision (a), (b), (j), (l), or (m) whichever is greater, rather than being used to impose the punishment authorized under any other law, unless another law provides for a greater penalty or the sentence under another law can be imposed in addition to the punishment provided by this section.
However, if any additional circumstance or circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or (e) have been pled and proved, the minimum number of circumstances shall be used as the basis for imposing the term provided in subdivision (a), (j), or (l) and any other additional circumstance or circumstances shall be used to impose any punishment or enhancement authorized under any other law.
(g) Notwithstanding Section 1385 or any other law, the court shall not strike any allegation, admission, or finding of any of the circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or (e) for any person who is subject to punishment under this section.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, probation shall not be granted to, nor shall the execution or imposition of sentence be suspended for a person subject to punishment under this section.
(i) For any offense specified in paragraphs (1) to (7), inclusive of subdivision (c), or in paragraphs (1) to (6), inclusive of subdivision (n), the court shall impose a consecutive sentence for each offense that results in a conviction under this section if the crimes involve separate victims or involve the same victim on separate occasions as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 667.6.
(j)(1) A person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c), except a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 288, upon a victim who is a child under 14 years of age under one or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or under two or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e), shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole. Where the person was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(2) A person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (c) under one of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e) upon a victim who is a child under 14 years of age shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(k) As used in this section, "bodily harm" means any substantial physical injury resulting from the use of force that is more than the force necessary to commit an offense specified in subdivision (c).
(l) A person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (n) under one or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (d) or under two or more of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e) upon a victim who is a minor 14 years of age or older shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole. If the person convicted was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense, the person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(m) A person who is convicted of an offense specified in subdivision (n) under one of the circumstances specified in subdivision (e) against a minor 14 years of age or older shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(n) Subdivisions (l) and (m) shall apply to any of the following offenses:
(1) Rape, in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 261.
(2) Rape, in violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of former Section 262.
(3) Rape or sexual penetration, in concert, in violation of Section 264.1.
(4) Sexual penetration, in violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 289.
(5) Sodomy, in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 286, or in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 286.
(6) Oral copulation, in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 287 or former Section 288a, or in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 287 or former Section 288a.
(o) The penalties provided in this section shall apply only if the existence of any circumstance specified in subdivision (d) or (e) is alleged in the accusatory pleading under this section and is either admitted by the defendant in open court or found to be accurate by the trier of fact."
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