Facing a Three Strikes Case in Riverside County?

You are booked and held until you post bail or see a judge. If you stay in custody, you must be brought to court for arraignment, usually within 48 hours, not counting Sundays and holidays. At arraignment, the judge reads the charges, takes your plea and rules on bail or release. A prior strike often means higher bail. The prosecutor must allege and prove each prior strike (PC 667(f)), and you have the right to a trial on whether you suffered the prior conviction (PC 1025). The sooner we’re involved, the sooner we can start working on your case.

A strike is a conviction for a serious felony (PC 1192.7(c)) or a violent felony (PC 667.5(c)). Common examples include murder, robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, residential burglary, rape and other forcible sex crimes, arson, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, witness intimidation, any felony in which you personally used a gun or deadly weapon or personally inflicted great bodily injury, and felonies found to be gang-related. Most attempts of these crimes also count. A wobbler, such as criminal threats, that the judge made a misdemeanor at the first sentencing is not a strike. A later reduction, such as after probation, generally does not remove the strike. If your new charge is a strike, how it is resolved affects every future case.

With one prior strike, the term for any new felony, not just a serious or violent one, is doubled (PC 667(e)(1), 1170.12(c)(1)). Once the strike is proved, probation is not allowed and the sentence must be served in state prison rather than county jail (PC 667(c)(2), (c)(4)). Pretrial diversion, such as mental health diversion, can still be possible while the strike is only alleged. If you are convicted of more than one new felony that did not happen on the same occasion, the sentences must run consecutively (PC 667(c)(6)). These rules apply unless the judge dismisses the prior strike.

With two or more prior strikes, a new serious or violent felony carries a life sentence with a minimum of at least 25 years (PC 667(e)(2)(A)). Since the Three Strikes Reform Act (Proposition 36 of 2012), a new felony that is not serious or violent is usually sentenced as a second strike instead, with a doubled term. The life sentence can still apply to a non-serious felony if the prosecution proves certain facts, such as that you used a gun, were armed with a gun or deadly weapon, or intended to cause great bodily injury, that the new offense is one of certain sex offenses or involved large drug quantities, or that a prior strike was for a very serious crime such as murder or a sexually violent offense (PC 667(e)(2)(C)).

Often, yes. There is no washout period: a strike counts no matter how long ago it happened (PC 667(c)(3)). A juvenile adjudication can count only if you were 16 or older, the offense is on a list of serious juvenile offenses, the juvenile court found you fit to be handled there, and you were made a ward of the juvenile court for it (PC 667(d)(3)). An out-of-state or federal conviction counts only if it includes all the elements of a California strike, and the court is limited to the facts the prior conviction actually established (People v. Gallardo (2017) 4 Cal.5th 120). These limits can give us room to challenge the prior.

Felony cases are usually heard in the region where the offense is alleged to have happened: the Riverside Hall of Justice for Riverside, Corona, Norco, Jurupa Valley, Eastvale, Moreno Valley and Perris; the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta for Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore and Wildomar; the Banning Justice Center for Banning, Beaumont, Hemet and San Jacinto; the Larson Justice Center in Indio for the Coachella Valley; and the Blythe Courthouse for the Blythe area. Cases are sometimes moved to another courthouse. Your first court date and courthouse are on your bail or release paperwork, and if you are in custody you will be brought to court. The strike allegation is decided in the same case as the new charge.

A Romero motion is filed in your case, usually before trial or at sentencing, and the judge can also raise it on the court’s own motion (PC 1385(a)). It is a written motion supported by records such as the age and facts of the prior, work history, treatment, family support and letters. The District Attorney’s Office can file an opposition, and the judge decides after hearing from both sides. If the judge dismisses a strike, the reasons must be stated on the record (PC 1385(a)). A dismissal applies to the current case only: the prior conviction can still be alleged as a strike in a later case (People v. Garcia (1999) 20 Cal.4th 490).

A Romero motion asks the judge to dismiss a prior strike in the interest of justice (PC 1385; People v. Superior Court (Romero) (1996) 13 Cal.4th 497). The judge looks at the new offense, the prior strike, and your background, character and prospects, and decides whether you fall outside the spirit of the Three Strikes law (People v. Williams (1998) 17 Cal.4th 148). An old prior, a less serious new offense, steady work, family support, treatment and a long crime-free period can all matter. The judge’s power is limited, so the motion needs to be built with real evidence. The prosecutor can also ask to dismiss a strike (PC 667(f)(2)).

If your new case is a serious felony and you have a prior serious felony conviction from a separate case, the prosecution can add five years for each one, on top of the doubled or life term (PC 667(a)). Since 2019, judges can strike this five-year enhancement in the interest of justice. Since 2022, they must give great weight to mitigating factors, such as a current offense connected to mental illness or childhood trauma, or a prior conviction more than five years old, unless striking it would endanger public safety (PC 1385(c)).

No. Politely decline to answer questions and ask for a lawyer. With a strike on your record, the stakes in any new case are much higher, and statements you make to police are often the strongest evidence, even when you think they help you. Don’t contact the alleged victim or witnesses, and don’t discuss the case by text, email, social media or jail phone calls. All of it can be recorded and used.

It depends on the evidence in the new case and the record of the prior. Common defenses include:

• Defenses to the new charge, such as mistaken identity, self-defense or an illegal search
• The prior conviction is not a strike, or the court records don’t prove it was
• An out-of-state or juvenile prior doesn’t meet California’s requirements
• A prior that counts only because it was gang-related is a strike only if the prosecution proves it meets today’s stricter gang law (People v. Fletcher (2025) 18 Cal.5th 576)
• The prior was a wobbler that the judge made a misdemeanor at the original sentencing
• A Romero motion to dismiss the prior strike

We review the evidence in the new case along with the court file, plea forms and transcripts from the prior case to find the weaknesses in both.

Sometimes. In the new case, charges may be dismissed or reduced to a non-strike offense, and a judge can dismiss a prior strike or a five-year prior in the interest of justice. An expungement under PC 1203.4 does not erase a strike: the conviction can still be used in a later case. People serving a third strike life sentence for a felony that was not serious or violent may be able to be resentenced as a second striker. New petitions under PC 1170.126 require good cause, but if the sentence also includes an old one-year prison prior, that relief can be sought at a resentencing without the deadline (PC 1172.75; People v. Superior Court (Guevara) (2025) 18 Cal.5th 838). For non-citizens, a strike conviction can carry serious immigration consequences, so talk to us before entering any plea.

Bail starts from the Riverside County Superior Court’s felony bail schedule, which adds a set amount for each alleged prior strike and a much higher amount when a new serious or violent felony is charged with two or more strikes. At arraignment, the judge can set bail higher or lower than the schedule, release you on your own recognizance or on conditions, or in limited cases hold you without bail. Before keeping you in custody because you cannot afford bail, the judge must consider your ability to pay and whether less restrictive conditions would protect public safety and make sure you come back to court (In re Humphrey (2021) 11 Cal.5th 135). We gather proof of work, family ties and stable housing before that hearing.