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Criminal Law Keyed to Lee
Ewing v. California
Citation:
538 U.S. 11, 123 S.Ct. 1179, 155 L.Ed.2d 108 (2003)ProfessorScott Caron
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Facts
Ewing had a criminal history that included convictions for theft, felony grand theft auto, petty theft, battery, burglary, possessing drug paraphernalia, appropriating lost property, unlawfully possessing a firearm, and trespassing. In 1993, he committed three burglaries and one robbery over a five week period. He was convicted of first-degree robbery and three counts of residential burglary. While on parole for those convictions, Ewing stole three golf clubs (each valued at $399) from a golf course shop in Los Angeles County. He was apprehended by police in the parking lot.
Because he had previously been convicted of four serious or violent felonies for the three burglaries and the robbery, Ewing was required to be sentenced under the three strikes law. The trial judge sentenced him to 25 years to life. He appealed to the California Court of Appeals, arguing that his sentence is unconstitutionally disproportionate to his crime, and his sentence was affirmed.
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