COURTHOUSE
C. DAVID EYSTER
P.O. Box 1000
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Ukiah, CA 95482
PAUL D. SEQUEIRA
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COAST OFFICE
MIKE GENIELLA
700 S. Franklin St.
PUBLIC INFORMATION
Ft. Bragg, CA 95437
707-391-1019
geniellam@co.mendocino.ca.us
OFFICE OF THE
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
COUNTY OF MENDOCINO
September 13, 2012
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster has posted to the office’s web site www.co.mendocino.ca.us - an official position paper opposing Proposition 36, an initiative that has been
entitled by the proponents as the “3 Strikes Reform Act.” The text of the opposition paper can be found
on the DA’s web site by clicking on the “News Release” tab and then clicking on the head entitled, “Prop
36: An Unwise Initiative. Please Vote No."
The intent of this November 2012 ballot measure is to modify the 1994 landmark legislation, passed into
law by 72% of the voters, then known as Proposition 184, or “The Three Strikes and You’re Out” law.
After taking time to study the current ballot measure, DA Eyster agrees with and joins other elected
District Attorneys across the state in opposing this initiative, an initiative which seeks to limit the
application of the third-strike sentencing and allows certain “Three Strikes” inmates to apply for sentence
reductions or release. DA Eyster believes that passage of this initiative would make for dangerous public
policy and may result in the early release of habitual criminals.
While most who have been involved in criminal law since 1994 like DA Eyster will admit there were
abuses of the Three Strikes law by some prosecutors back when the law was relatively new, that changed.
Currently, local District Attorneys, like DA Eyster, have been correctly exercising their discretion to make
sure that the use of the Three Strikes law against individual defendants is done in a consistent and just
manner. In fact, the names and sentences of all defendants who have had their convictions enhanced by
one or more Strikes since DA Eyster took office in January 2011 can also be found listed on the DA’s web
site by clicking the “Filing Statistics” tab, and then opening the files entitled “Local Defendants Removed
to State Prison.” There is a file for the calendar year 2011 and a file for the calendar year 2012.