California Criminal Trial Attorney Christopher Martens Announces California Appeals Court Decision to Overturn Client's Three Strike Sentence of 25 Years to Life

VISALIA, Calif., May 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 24, 2015, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth District found that a trial court erred in not striking one of two previous serious felony convictions based on the same incident and overturned that court's sentencing of 25 years to life for Juan Jaimes, who was represented at trial by Visalia criminal attorney Christopher Martens.

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In 2013, Jaimes was convicted by a jury of two counts of Deterring an Officer pursuant to Penal Code 69 with two prior strikes. At sentencing, Martens made what is known as a "Romero" motion.  A Romero motion seeks to have one of a defendant's strikes dismissed because the prior strike falls outside of the spirit of the Three Strikes law. Martens cited case law that supported dismissing one of the strikes and showed proof that Jaimes' prior two convictions occurred when he committed one criminal act as a minor.

On July 10, 2014, in a unanimous decision in People v. Darlene A. Vargas, (S203744), the California Supreme Court ruled that when a defendant's two prior strike convictions are based on the same act, it is an abuse of discretion for the trial court not to dismiss one of them.  The appeals court ruled that in this extraordinary case, the trial court was required to dismiss one of the convictions because failure to do so would be inconsistent with the spirit of the Three Strikes law.

After receiving the Vargas ruling, the appellate court granted Jaimes' appeal.  He was represented on the appeal by attorney John Hardesty. 

Based on information Martens presented at trial, the appeals court ordered that Jaimes be returned to Kings County Superior Court before The Honorable Judge Shane Burns for re-sentencing. Jaimes' sentence of 25 years to life will be vacated and his maximum sentence is now eight years. 

The case is People v. Juan Jaimes, (Super. Ct. No. 11CM7119).

Martens has practiced criminal defense law in California for more than a decade and has handled thousands of cases in Fresno, Tulare and Kings Counties.  He is a graduate of Oak Brook College of Law and a member of the California State Bar.  The Law Offices of Christopher Martens is located in Visalia and Hanford, California.

Contact:

Christopher Martens
559-372-0942
Email

SOURCE Christopher Martens

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