Store Research
Senate Bill 40 (Romero - 2007)
Chapter 3, Statutes of 2007, SB 40
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It is the intent of the Legislature to respond to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Cunningham v. California , 2007 U.S. LEXIS 1324 (U.S. 2007). It is the further intent of the Legislature to maintain stability in California's criminal justice system while the criminal justice and sentencing structures in California sentencing are being reviewed.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office states, "In Cunningham , the Supreme Court held that California's law violates a defendant's right toa trial by jury under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments because it is the judge, rather than the jury that is required to determine if they are 'aggravating factors' which justify an upper or maximum term of imprisonment. However, the Supreme Court would permit judges to continue to sentence defendants to upper terms if they are given genuine authority to 'exercise discretion within a statutory range.'"
The California District Attorney's Association states, "SB 40 follows the clear directives set forth in Cunningham , and so repairs a sentencing scheme that was carefully constructed to respond to California's needs. Once SB 40 is enacted, California's sentencing scheme will once again function as it was designed to do. Having repaired the law, there is no principled justification to 'break' it again by imposing a sunset provision that will undo this much-needed legislation on January 1, 2009. Accordingly, we support SB 40, but hope that the Legislature, in repairing California's sentencing scheme, resolves to make it more than just a 'temporary fix.'"