Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011
California’s Public Safety Realignment Act (Assembly Bill 109, 2011) fundamentally reshaped felony sentencing by adding subdivision (h) to Penal Code § 1170. Instead of channeling every prison-eligible defendant into the state system, Realignment redirected many “low-level” felons, those whose offenses are non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual, to county jurisdictions. The reform was designed to alleviate overcrowding in state facilities, promote local accountability, and provide trial courts with new tools aimed at avoiding state prisons in felony cases in California, as well as crafting proportionate, evidence-based sentences.
Penal Code § 1170(h) can help a defendant navigate the criminal process, serve significantly less time (and often serve it at home), without sacrificing accountability or public safety. California’s Public Safety Realignment Act (Assembly Bill 109, 2011) fundamentally reshaped felony sentencing by adding subdivision (h) to Penal Code § 1170. Instead of channeling every prison-eligible defendant into the state system, Realignment redirected many “low-level” felons, those whose offenses are non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual, to county jurisdictions. The reform was designed to alleviate overcrowding in state facilities, promote local accountability, and provide trial courts with new tools aimed at avoiding state prisons in felony cases in California, as well as crafting proportionate, evidence-based sentences. Penal Code § 1170(h) can help a defendant navigate the criminal process, serve significantly less time (and often serve it at home), without sacrificing accountability or public safety.
Examples include: • Commercial burglary (Pen. Code § 459) with $42,000 loss. The defendant may receive a 16-month split sentence, consisting of eight months of actual custody and eight months of MS, followed by early MS termination at six months. • Felony DUI with three priors. The defendant may receive a two-year mid-term sentence, reduced to 12 months of residential treatment, instead of jail time, with the option of state prison—accessory after the fact (Pen. Code § 32). The defendant may receive a wobbler reduced to a misdemeanor, with community labor only. Here we would significantly lower the time from years down to either weeks or days, of course.