The Lowdown on California’s Proposition 57

Last week it was Proposition 64; this week, it’s Prop 57.

Voters approved it by a wide margin, but what does it do?

Two things for now.

First, it amended the California Constitution to ensure parole eligibility for people who have been convicted of a nonviolent felony once they have served the full term for their primary offense. In layman’s terms, that means that you’re eligible for parole once you’ve served the meat and potatoes of your sentence, even if you were sentenced to additional, consecutive time on lesser counts or sentencing enhancements. But this just means you’re eligible; it doesn’t mean you get released. It just means you’ve got a shot at parole, and something to work toward. No one is automatically released, and no one is entitled to parole.

Second, Prop 57 mandates that a judge must always decide whether a kid age 14 or older should be prosecuted and sentenced in adult court. (Kids 13 and younger don’t go to adult court.) Before, you automatically went to adult court, even at 14, if you were charged with murder or an aggravated sex crime. Or the prosecutor could file your case directly in adult court if you were 16 or 17 and charged with a serious or violent felony or if you were 14 or 15 and charged with an especially serious or violent felony. In all cases, the prosecutor could request the juvenile court to transfer your case to adult court, even for a misdemeanor.

Under Prop 57, there’s no direct filing of juvenile cases in adult court, and prosecutors have less discretion to request their transfer. For ages 14 or 15, they may request a transfer only if the kid is charged with a serious or violent felony. For ages 16 or 17, it can be any felony but not a misdemeanor.

Some things haven’t changed, like the criteria for deciding whether a minor’s case should be transferred to adult court. These include the following:

• the nature and seriousness of the charges
• the degree of sophistication he displayed, given his age, maturity, intelligence, environment, and upbringing
• his prior history of delinquency, if any
• whether he can be rehabilitated by the time he comes of age or close to it