Opinion ID: 3164766
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Eighth Amendment Proportionality Review

Text: Â¶14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states that â[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.â U.S. Const. amend. VIII. As the Supreme Court has stated, the final clause of the Eighth Amendment prohibits âsentences that are disproportionate to the crime committed.â Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 284 (1983). Thus, the Eighth Amendment includes a proportionality principle, and this principle applies in both capital and non-capital cases. Id. at 290; Close v. People, 48 P.3d 528, 532 (Colo. 2002). Â¶15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The U.S. Supreme Court has articulated three principles to ensure that a defendantâs sentence in a non-capital case does not violate the proportionality principle. First, proportionality reviews are not limited to life sentences; proportionality reviews are proper to review sentences of a term of years. Close, 48 P.3d at 536 (citing Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370, 377 (1982) (Powell, J., concurring)). Second, the Eighth Amendmentâs guarantee of proportionality âis a narrow one.â Id. at 532. It forbids only âextreme sentences that are âgrossly disproportionate,ââ Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S. 957, 1001 (1991) (Kennedy, J., concurring) (quoting Solem, 463 U.S. at 288, 303), and â[o]utside the context of capital punishment, successful challenges to the proportionality of particular sentences have been exceedingly rare,â Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263, 272 (1980). Third, reviewing courts need only complete an abbreviated proportionality review. Close, 48 P.3d at 536 (citing Harmelin, 501 U.S. at 1004â05). If, and only if, that abbreviated proportionality review gives rise to an inference of grossÂ disproportionality does a reviewing court need to engage in an extended proportionality review. Id. Â¶16Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â These guiding principles establish that, in conducting proportionality reviews in non-capital cases, courts will rarely conclude that a defendantâs sentence is grossly disproportionate. With this in mind, we now turn to those principles specific to Colorado.