Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Can a crime be retroactivly stippulated as a strike

I recall a case in which at the time the crime was committed the sentence was x-number of years. By the time the individual was convicted the sentence had been increased by several years due to a change in the Penal Code. The appellate court said that there was no contract that gives a criminal a certain sentence at the time the crime is committed. A criminal commits the crime at his/her own risk, and is subject to the sentence that is in force at the time the criminal is convicted and sentenced. So if all the steps were covered when he plead to the first case. He will probably find that first conviction is now lawfully a strike. However, I thought the second strike sentence was a 70% increase in the time to be served. So you need to ask his attorney about 'a good time work time credit,' and the actual sentence your boyfriend is facing.

However, if he didn't serve time in a State Prison for the prior conviction. But served time in the County Jail (local lid) that conviction might be reduced to a misdemeanor. I don't know what effect that would have on the second crime being a 'Second Strike.' But it's worth researching.

Your boyfriend should be represented by an attorney. And these matters should be discussed with him/her.