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Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63 (2003)
I. INTRODUCTION
In Lockyer v. Andrade, the United States Supreme Court held the California Court of Appeal did not err in its interpretation of Court precedent.1 That court held that sentencing a convict under the California three strikes law to fifty years to life in prison for two counts of petty theft was not "contrary to" or "an unreasonable application of Supreme Court jurisprudence.3 The defendant, Leandro Andrade, had challenged his sentence under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.4
This Note examines the opinions in Lockyer and concludes that the law of the Supreme Court in the area of the Eighth Amendment's application to a term-of-years sentence was ambiguous at best. This ambiguity led the Supreme Court to correctly conclude that the California Court of Appeal did not unreasonably apply Federal law when it reviewed Andrade's Eight Amendment claim. The majority opinion authored by Justice O'Connor provides clarity in this area by showing substantial deference to the laws of the States. Lockyer demonstrates the Court's reluctance to interfere with States' administration of their criminal justice systems. Additionally, the majority opinion comports with congressional goals of limiting the abuse of Federal habeas corpus to review by state prisoners. Justice Souter's dissenting opinion is mistaken because it relied entirely on only one case. Moreover, if applied, the dissent's analysis would result in a flood of prisoner litigation aimed at rendering their sentences null under their respective State sentencing schemes, and thus does not respect the State's right to determine its own penological system. Finally, the dissent fails to recognize that the proper body for changing the California sentencing scheme is not the Supreme Court, but rather the legislature of the State of California.
II. BACKGROUND
A. CALIFORNIA'S THREE STRIKES LAW
In June 1992, eighteen-year-old Kimber Reynolds came home to Fresno for a friend's wedding.5 Two parolees passed by her riding on a motorcycle and tried to grab her purse.6 When Kimber fought back, the driver shot her in the head with a .357 caliber handgun.7 She died two days later.8 The driver was killed by police in a shootout.9 The accomplice received a nine year sentence, and was eligible for parole again after he served half his...