The charge in a criminal complaint is not always the full picture. In California, what matters just as much is whether that offense qualifies as a strike under the Three Strikes Law. That distinction, you know, can change everything.
A strike conviction stays with a person for life. It reshapes every future case they face, sometimes in ways people don't see coming until it's too late. It's kind of a big deal, and not enough people realize that going in.
We handle serious felony cases throughout San Bernardino, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, and surrounding Southern California communities. Before opening her private practice, Tammy Higgins spent 16 years as a San Bernardino County public defender. She worked both sides of strike prior cases, so she knows how prosecutors think.
Tammy has tried more than 100 jury trials, including homicide cases. That experience, built over years in actual courtrooms, is what a trusted criminal defense lawyer brings to a strike-related defense today. It's not just legal knowledge. It's pattern recognition you can only get from being in the room.
What Qualifies as a Strike Under California Law
California Penal Code 667 and PC 1170.12 define the Three Strikes Law. A strike is any conviction for a serious felony listed under PC 1192.7 or a violent felony listed under PC 667.5(c).
The serious felony list under PC 1192.7 includes assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, rape, first-degree burglary, and many other offenses. The violent felony list under PC 667.5(c) includes murder, attempted murder, carjacking, kidnapping, and arson, among others. Not every felony is a strike. The distinction matters enormously for sentencing purposes.
When a defendant is charged with a qualifying offense and has a prior strike conviction, the prosecution files what is called a prior strike allegation in the charging document. That prior allegation is what activates the enhanced sentencing provisions.
How the Three Strikes Law Affects Sentencing
A defendant with one prior strike who is convicted of a new serious or violent felony receives a doubled sentence for the new conviction. A defendant with two or more prior strikes who is convicted of any new felony can face a mandatory sentence of 25 years to life.
These are not enhancements; a judge has broad discretion to set them aside. Once the strikes are established and the new conviction is entered, the law requires the enhanced sentence unless the court takes specific steps to depart from it.
The practical effect is that every decision in the case, from arraignment through plea discussions to trial, is shaped by whether the prior strike was properly proven and whether the new offense qualifies as a strike on its own.
How Prosecutors File Strike Allegations in San Bernardino
The district attorney's office reviews a defendant's criminal history at the time of charging. If a prior qualifying conviction appears in the record, the prosecution has the option to allege it in the complaint. In practice, this is done routinely when the prior record is documented and the current charge is serious.
What the prosecution files at charging is not final. Defense attorneys can challenge whether the prior conviction actually qualifies as a strike, whether the plea through which the prior was entered was constitutionally valid, and whether the sentence should be reduced through a Romero motion.
A Romero motion asks the court to dismiss a prior strike allegation in the interest of justice. Courts consider the nature of the prior conviction, the time that has passed, the defendant's background, and the circumstances of the current offense.
The Impact on Bail and Plea Negotiations
Strike allegations affect a case from the opening hearing. A defendant with prior strikes facing a new serious felony typically sees higher bail amounts because the court views the sentencing stakes as significantly higher.
In plea negotiations, the prosecution uses the strike prior as a bargaining tool. The gap between what a plea offer represents and what a conviction at trial means becomes wider when a strike doubles the base sentence. This is why the defense has to evaluate the prior strike allegation aggressively early in the case, not as an afterthought near the trial date.
Challenging Strike Priors and Pursuing Post-Conviction Relief
Not every prior conviction that looks like a strike actually is one. Defense attorneys can challenge whether the prior offense is on the serious or violent felony list at all, whether the prior conviction was obtained through a constitutionally valid plea, and whether the prior qualifies under the specific version of the Three Strikes Law that applies to the defendant's case.
Even when a prior strike cannot be challenged directly, the defense strategy for the current charge does not change. Attacking the prosecution's evidence, suppressing improperly obtained material, and preparing thoroughly for trial all remain central to the work.
We also handle post-conviction relief for people already serving enhanced sentences under the Three Strikes Law. Resentencing petitions under AB 600 and petitions under the Racial Justice Act for cases where racial bias affected the charging or sentencing are both avenues worth evaluating for eligible clients. A sentence handed down years ago is not necessarily the final word on how long someone serves.
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