Three Strikes Defense Attorney Serving Ventura County

Most people have heard of California’s Three Strikes law. Very few, including many people currently charged under it, understand how it actually works, which priors count, which current charges trigger it, and most importantly, the tools an experienced defense lawyer has to defeat it. I have defended strike cases in the Ventura County courts for 30 years, with more than 20,000 court appearances, and in all those years I have never had a client sentenced to life in prison, including clients who walked in facing third-strike exposure. If you or a family member is facing a felony charge with prior strikes, or facing a new charge that would itself become a strike, the stakes could not be higher, and the strategy in the first weeks matters enormously. Call me at 805-889-9000 for a free consultation.

How the Three Strikes Law Actually Works

California’s Three Strikes law, enacted in 1994 and significantly reformed by the voters in 2012, is a sentencing scheme for defendants with prior convictions for “serious” felonies (defined in Penal Code 1192.7(c)) or “violent” felonies (defined in Penal Code 667.5(c)). Strike priors include crimes like murder, robbery, carjacking, first-degree (residential) burglary, criminal threats, assault with a deadly weapon, lewd acts on a child, kidnapping, and any felony in which great bodily injury was personally inflicted or a firearm was personally used.

Second strike, sentence doubled, and much more. If you have one prior strike and are convicted of any new felony, it does not have to be serious or violent, the consequences stack up fast:

• The sentence for the new felony is doubled.
• Probation is off the table. A strike prior makes you statutorily ineligible for probation on the new felony; prison is mandatory unless the strike is eliminated. This is the consequence that surprises people most: a charge that would ordinarily mean probation and counseling becomes a mandatory prison case because of a prior from many years ago.
• Custody credits are slashed. Second-strikers serve at least 80% of their sentence (85% if the new offense is violent), instead of the 50% that ordinarily applies.
• New felonies committed on the same occasion can be run consecutively, multiplying exposure.

Third strike, 25 years to life. If you have two or more prior strikes, a new conviction for a serious or violent felony brings a sentence of 25 years to life. Since the 2012 reform, a non-serious, non-violent new felony generally results in second-strike (doubled) treatment rather than a life term, but there are important exceptions. The 25-to-life exposure still applies even on a non-serious new felony if, for example, the new offense involved a firearm or intent to cause great bodily injury, certain drug or sex allegations are involved, or your prior record includes the most serious “super strike” offenses. Whether your case falls inside or outside those exceptions is a technical question that should be answered by counsel on day one, not assumed.

Facts About Strikes Most People Do Not Know

• Strikes never expire. There is no washout period. A residential burglary from 1995 counts exactly the same as one from last year.
• Juvenile adjudications can count. Certain serious or violent offenses committed at age 16 or older can be used as strikes against you as an adult, even though there was no jury trial in juvenile court.
• The new charge matters as much as the priors. If you have no strikes yet and are charged with a strike offense, this case decides whether you carry a strike for the rest of your life. That is why I fight so hard on charges like robbery, residential burglary, criminal threats, and assault with a deadly weapon, the strike designation is often a heavier consequence than the sentence itself.
• A five-year enhancement often rides along. A prior serious felony also triggers a separate five-year enhancement (PC 667(a)) on a new serious felony charge, stacked on top of the doubled term. Since 2019, judges have discretion to strike that enhancement, another opportunity for advocacy that did not exist before.

How I Fight Strike Cases

The goal in every strike case is straightforward, and I am candid with clients about it from the first meeting: if the case cannot be dismissed outright, the objective is (1) to get the conviction reduced to something that is not a strike, and (2) to keep you out of prison. There are more paths to that outcome than most people realize:

1. Attack the new case. Everything starts with the evidence. A strike allegation means nothing if the underlying charge falls, so suppression motions, identification challenges, and preliminary hearing litigation matter even more when strikes are alleged.

2. The Romero motion. Under People v. Superior Court (Romero) and Penal Code 1385, the judge has the power to strike (dismiss) prior strike allegations “in the furtherance of justice,” based on the age of the priors, the nature of the current offense, and your background, work history, family circumstances, and prospects. A granted Romero motion can transform a mandatory-prison, doubled-sentence case into a probation case. These motions are won with preparation: a complete picture of the client’s life, presented to a judge who has discretion and needs reasons to use it. After 30 years in front of the judges of this courthouse, I know how to present a Romero motion in Ventura County, and I know which arguments resonate with which judges.

3. Challenge the prior itself. Strike priors must be proven, and old convictions are not always what the rap sheet claims. Out-of-state priors may not match California’s strike definitions; old pleas may not establish the conduct that makes an offense serious; records get lost. Disqualifying a single alleged strike can change the entire complexion of a case.

4. Negotiate to a non-strike offense. Many strike charges have closely related non-strike alternatives: robbery to grand theft, residential burglary to second-degree burglary, criminal threats to a lesser offense, assault with a deadly weapon to simple assault. Securing the non-strike version of the conviction is often the most important single result in the case, because it protects not just this sentence but every future one.

5. Negotiate with both the DA and the court. In my experience in Ventura County, favorable strike resolutions are reached with the District Attorney, and, frequently, directly through the court. Even prosecutors are often reluctant to pursue life sentences. Knowing when, how, and with whom to have those conversations is where three decades of daily practice in this courthouse pays off.

If You Are Facing a Strike Case, Call Me Now

A strike case is not a case to handle with a wait-and-see approach. The charging decision, the strike allegations, the preliminary hearing record, and the Romero groundwork all take shape early, and each is an opportunity that can be lost. Whether this is a potential first strike that will follow you forever, a second strike threatening mandatory prison, or a third-strike case where life is on the table, you need someone who has been winning these battles in this courthouse for 30 years. Call me at 805-889-9000. I will answer your call personally, no secretary, no paralegal, no associate, and the consultation is free. Available 24/7, serving Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, and all of Ventura County.