Table 1: Three-Strike Convictions by County
County |
Population Size |
Location |
Three-Strike |
State |
Response |
| Alameda | 1,408,000 | Northern | 58 | 1.3 | Yes |
| Alpine | 1,200 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Amador | 33,700 | Northern | 1 | 0.0 | |
| Butte | 201,600 | Northern | 23 | 0.5 | |
| Calavaras | 38,350 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Colusa | 18,500 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Contra Costa | 900,700 | Northern | 56 | 1.3 | Yes |
| Del Norte | 28,900 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | Yes |
| El Dorado | 147,600 | Northern | 10 | 0.2 | |
| Fresno | 786,800 | Central | 124 | 2.8 | Yes |
| Glenn | 26,950 | Northern | 3 | 0.1 | |
| Humboldt | 127,700 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Imperial | 142,600 | Southern | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Inyo | 18,500 | Central | 0 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Kern | 639,800 | Southern | 221 | 5.1 | |
| Kings | 122,800 | Central | 29 | 0.7 | |
| Lake | 55,100 | Northern | 7 | 0.2 | |
| Lassen | 34,150 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Los Angeles | 9,603,000 | Southern | 1840 | 42.1 | Yes |
| Madera | 114,300 | Central | 14 | 0.3 | |
| Marin | 245,900 | Northern | 33 | 0.8 | |
| Mariposa | 16,150 | Central | 1 | 0.0 | |
| Mendocino | 86,900 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Merced | 204,400 | Central | 24 | 0.5 | |
| Modoc | 10,150 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Mono | 10,600 | Northern | 1 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Monterey | 371,500 | Central | 22 | 0.5 | |
| Napa | 123,300 | Northern | 11 | 0.3 | |
| Nevada | 88,800 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Orange | 2,722,300 | Southern | 239 | 5.5 | |
| Placer | 217,900 | Northern | 9 | 0.2 | |
| Plumas | 20,600 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Riverside | 1,441,200 | Southern | 160 | 3.7 | Yes |
| Sacramento | 1,159,000 | Northern | 254 | 5.8 | |
| San Benito | 46,600 | Central | 3 | 0.1 | |
| San Bernardino | 1,624,900 | Southern | 230 | 5.3 | Yes |
| San Diego | 2,794,800 | Southern | 411 | 9.4 | Yes |
| San Francisco | 778,100 | Northern | 22 | 0.5 | Yes |
| San Joaquin | 545,200 | Northern | 57 | 1.3 | |
| San Luis Obispo | 239,000 | Southern | 15 | 0.3 | |
| San Mateo | 715,400 | Central | 37 | 0.8 | Yes |
| Santa Barbara | 405,000 | Southern | 38 | 0.9 | |
| Santa Clara | 1,689,900 | Central | 178 | 4.1 | Yes |
| Santa Cruz | 250,200 | Central | 10 | 0.2 | |
| Shasta | 165,000 | Northern | 20 | 0.5 | Yes |
| Sierra | 3,360 | Northern | 0 | 0.0 | |
| Siskiyou | 44,700 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | |
| Solano | 383,600 | Northern | 13 | 0.3 | |
| Sonoma | 437,100 | Northern | 9 | 0.2 | Yes |
| Stanislaus | 427,600 | Central | 55 | 1.3 | Yes |
| Sutter | 76,800 | Northern | 2 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Tehama | 55,400 | Northern | 7 | 0.2 | |
| Trinity | 13,250 | Northern | 4 | 0.1 | |
| Tulare | 360,400 | Central | 58 | 1.3 | Yes |
| Tuloumne | 52,800 | Central | 2 | 0.0 | Yes |
| Ventura | 730,800 | Southern | 31 | 0.7 | Yes |
| Yolo | 156,800 | Northern | 5 | 0.1 | |
| Yuba | 61,400 | Northern | 7 | 0.2 | |
| Overall Total | 4368 | 100.0 | |||
| Total from Survey Responses | 3298 | 75.5 |
| Files three-strike charges against all eligible defendants | Uses discretion to strike a strike in three-strikes cases |
|---|---|
| 68% Yes | 92% Yes |
32% No |
8% No |
| Frequency of discretion in three-strike cases (DA): | Frequency of discretion in three-strike cases (Judge): |
| 30.4% Less than 20% of cases 26.1% 21-40% of cases 17.4% 41-60% of cases 13.0% 61-80% of cases 8.7% More than 80% of cases 4.4% Missing data |
72.0% Less than 20% of cases 24.0% 21-40% of cases 0.0% 41-60% of cases 0.0% 61-80% of cases 4.0% More than 80% of cases |
| Reasons for striking a strike: | Reasons for not striking a strike: |
| 74.0% Current offense is trivial 65% Prior strikes are remote in time 65% Defendant has no recent criminal history 65% Prior strikes from singular incident 61.0% Proof problems with prior strikes 56.5% Defendant has no history of violence 48% Defendant has never been to prison 43.5% Case likely to end in acquittal 39.0% Defendant has no history of weapons use 39% Defendant has history of mental illness |
91.0% Current offense is serious in nature 83.0% Defendant likely to re-offend 83.0% Defendant has history of violence 78.3% Defendant has lengthy criminal record 70.0% Prior strikes are recent in time 65.0% Defendant has history of weapons use 56.5% Prior strikes accumulated separately 48.0% Defendant has prison priors |
| Responders allowed to select more than one response | |
| Office has established guidelines for striking a strike: | Striking of prior strike done in exchange for guilty plea: |
| 65.2% Yes 34.8% No |
39.1% Yes 34.8% No 26.1% Undecided |
Although the survey data does not account for all variances within a prosecutor�s office or across jurisdictions, the information does support the rejection of the first hypothesis which states that the use of prosecutorial discretion produces disparity. In justifying this conclusion, several findings can be noted. First, District Attorneys appear to be trying to reduce variation within the jurisdiction through the use of guidelines or other procedures that keep the use of discretion in check. Several of the large jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Ventura counties, have established written guidelines which aid deputy prosecutors in their evaluation of cases that seem worthy of discretionary treatment. These guidelines emphasize the need for deputies to strictly adhere to the provisions of the law and often require the approval of a supervisor or other official.
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