New California Senate Bill 81
In October, 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a new bill into law that is designed to limit the charges brought against people who have been previously traumatized or victimized, as well as those whose crime is connected to a mental illness. This bill also protects certain defendants if their sentences would result in more than 20 years in prison.
What Is SB81?
Senate Bill 81 (SB81) was first introduced by Sen. Nancy Skinner in an attempt to reform Californias penal code, which previously had over 150 sentence enhancements that judges could apply in criminal cases.
Judges are allowed to dismiss enhancements at their discretion, however, the state had previously provided no clear guidance on when they should do so. This lack of guidance meant that enhancements were rarely dismissed.
The new law created from SB81 creates clear guidelines as to when a judge must consider dismissing enhancements in a criminal case. Great weight must be given in circumstances in which:
- The crime was not a violent felony
- The enhancements would be discriminatory or racial
- There are multiple alleged enhancements
- The enhancement could cause a sentence of more than 20 years
- A firearm in use was unloaded or inoperable
- Defendant is or was a juvenile at the time of the crime
- The enhancement was related to a previous offense more than 5 years prior
- The crime was connected to childhood trauma, previous victimization, or mental illness
Sen. Skinners intention is to reduce the unfair application of sentence enhancements, stating, Data shows that in California, you are much more likely to receive a sentence enhancement if you are Black.
