Court Opinion

ID: 9792938
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:39:42.85173+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:01:50.917948
License: Public Domain

MOSK, J., Concurring and Dissenting.
I have no problem with the fundamental law as analyzed and decided by the majority.
I do have a quarrel with the charge of burglary and a sentence to state prison for an attempt, and failure, to take $29 worth of beer from the refrigerator of a convenience store without paying the cashier.
In my view the defendant should have faced a simple petty theft charge. Four years in state prison for this nonviolent offense is manifestly excessive. Vindictive sentences of this type merely add to the overcrowding of prisons which are desperately needed these days for criminals convicted of serious, usually violent, offenses against society.
I would remand to the courts below for reconsideration of the charge and the sentence imposed on this defendant.