A recent article in the Los Angeles Times discusses a clinic at Stanford Law School that focuses entirely on convicts who are serving extended sentences because of California’s Three Strikes Law. The students at this law clinic are devoting their time and effort to reversing what they view as miscarriages of justice under the California Law.
Since September, the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic, has persuaded judges to lessen the sentences of four prisoners, three of which have been released so far, having already served their reduced prison terms, which ranged from six to 10 years.
Other innocence projects have existed in the past. They offer opportunities for those individuals who claim to be innocent of the crimes they are convicted of an opportunity to have an appeal heard in court. Rather than defending those who claim to be innocent, the Stanford students are advocating for prisoners guilty of what they view as relatively minor offenses and raising the question of how much prison time is too much.
While the work that organizations like the Stanford Criminal Defense Clinic offers three-strike offenders an opportunity to get out of jail, it certainly is the hard way to go about getting a court of law to lessen your sentence.
An experienced three-strikes law attorney can help keep you out of jail in the first place. Our attorneys will do everything we can to reduce “strike” charges to misdemeanors, or change them to a non-“strike” felony, from the very beginning of the case, removing the three-strike variable from the equation. This is only one of the many methods our experienced California three-strike defense attorneys can use to help insure the best result for your case.
Even if you feel sure that you’ll be convicted, a competent criminal defense law firm like Wallin & Klarich can help you mount the best defense possible and find ways to reduce your charges or your sentence. Our aggressive attorneys are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to advise you on your case. Call us today at 1-888-280-6839. Also, visit us online at www.wklaw.com to learn more about your case and what can be done.
