Abstract
Between 1994 and 2012, California's Three Strikes Law mandated that first and second strikes must be either violent or serious, but allowed any felony to qualify as a third strike. Moreover, defendants could have been struck out on a wobbler offense, which granted discretion to the District Attorney to determine whether the offense should be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. Starting in 1994, hotly contested elections for California's District Attorneys often featured position taking on third strike cases with some candidates promising to strike out on any and all felonies while others positioned themselves away from felo- nies that were not serious or violent. As several legal scholars noted, some repeat offenders convicted of minor crimes for their third strike were sent away for life, while others received much lighter sentences. Disparities in the application of the law appeared to depend on geography among the 58 California jurisdictions. Using California Department of Corrections data and other county data we find a relationship between county ideology, county finances, and the number of third strike convicts incarcerated on a third strike from non-serious, non-violent offense and wobbler offenses.
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