Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Romero Hearing

It is a hearing where the judge decides whether to dismiss prior strike conviction(s) against a defendant. The strike conviction(s) would not be erased from the record, etc., but only "dismissed" or rather ignored for the purpose of sentence enhancement in the present case. The name comes from the case titled People v. Romero which established that judges have authority and discretion to dismiss "strikes" for the purpose of sentencing. Judges' discretion is not limitless as they must follow the factors and criteria outlined in the Romero case before making decision whether strike(s) should be dismissed.

Jacek W. Lentz

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com

Re: Romero Hearing

It is a hearing on a motion to strike (disregard) a prior strike for purposes of sentencing. If granted, the defendant does not get double the punishment or 25-to-life, depending on the facts of the case and the relief granted.

People v. Romero was the case that held that judges have discretion to dismiss or strike "strike priors" under the Three Strikes Law. There are several factors a judge is to use in the exercise of his/her discretion when ruling on striking priors, including the number, frequency, and recency of the prior(s), and whether they were all part of one "at bat" (one case). What has the defendant done since to show rehabilitation? And are the crimes increasing or decreasing in seriousness? The latter mitigates in favor of striking the strikes. This is not an exhaustive list of mitigating factors, but in essence, the defendant will want to argue facts that show that the Three Strikes Law was not meant to punish the likes of this defendant. It is not enough to argue that it's harsh. We know it's harsh. We win on arguments of legislative intent, and how this case contravenes the legislative intent of Three Strikes.

Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or want to flesh out some arguments. You can e-mail me directly from my website below, or call me and I'll be happy to chat a bit more about your specific case. Good luck.

Kindest regards,

JACQUELINE GOODMAN RUBIO

www.californiadefenselawyer.net