FAIRNESS

By Steven Hoffer

STEVEN HOFFER IS FAIR! Is his opponent FAIR? Will Mr. Graham Apply The State's Law Or His Own?

STEVEN HOFFER IS FAIR

Why did Marin's court in the Hoddinott case, 12 Cal. 4th 992 (1996), sentence a man for an offense when it exceeded the scope of our court's authority under the clear language of the applicable statute? Will Mr. Graham apply the state's law or his own? In the Hoddinott case,...

... the Marin County Superior court had to answer if a probation officer's inaction deprived the Marin County Superior Court of the sentencing jurisdiction it otherwise retained when it granted an offender probation. Mr. Hoffer's opponent and another judge answered no, and imposed a longer sentence. The Court of Appeals vacated the Marin Court's decision as contrary to law. The California Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals ruling, explaining that in examining the law, "the two paragraphs here at issue ... arguably are the clearest in the statute. At least on the point at issue here, we discern no ambiguity justifying resort to other tools of [statutory] construction." (emphasis added). The Supreme Court stressed that the relevant language had not been amended in 50 years.