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| III. Consequences of the Initiative. | |||
| Passage of this initiative will have drastic and profound impacts upon the enforcement of the law in this state. Here are the areas of impact that are immediately apparent to me. | |||
| (1) Large decrease in "Three Strikes" prosecutions. The most commonly committed felony in the current serious felony list is residential burglary. The amendment of the serious felony list to provide that residential burglary is a serious felony only when the prosecution pled and proved that a person other than an accomplice of the burglar was present in the residence at the time of the burglary will virtually wipe out all residential burglary convictions as "felony strikes." This is because until the year 2000, when residential burglary in which a person other than an accomplice was present in the residence was added to the violent felony list, prosecutors had no reason to plead this fact. Thus, virtually all residential burglaries prior to March 8, 2000, will not be useable as "strikes" in any future prosecution. | |||
| Moreover, since many residential burglaries are committed while the owner or occupants are not present in the residence, residential burglary would no longer be a current offense that triggers the application of the "Three Strikes" sentences. Experienced prosecutors estimate that upwards of 99% of all residential burglaries would no longer be serious felonies or "felony strikes." | |||
| Thus, when combined with the initiative's provision that only new serious or violent felonies can trigger application of the "Three Strikes" statutes, the shrinking of the list of crimes in the serious and violent felony lists and the juvenile wardship list will result in a large decrease in "Three Strikes" prosecutions. | |||
| (2) Evisceration of the Five-Year Serious Felony Conviction Enhancement. | |||
| One of the most significant provisions of Proposition 8, which was passed by the electorate in 1982, is the 5 year enhancement of Penal Code section 667(a)(1). This enhancement, which may not be dismissed or stricken by the court, adds a mandatory five year term in prison when the defendant is | |||
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