State v. Moretti
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Summary

Moretti challenged life sentences under Washington's "Three Strikes" due to young age. Washington Supreme Court in 2019 upheld sentences, saying Eighth Amendment limitations don't apply categorically to young adult first strikes.

2019 | State Juristiction

State v. Moretti

Keywords Washington Supreme Court; cruel and unusual punishment; Eighth Amendment (U.S.); young adults; three strikes law ; LWOP; juvenile justice

Abstract

The case of State v. Moretti involved three defendants, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. Each received a mandatory life sentence without parole under Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, all three committed their first offenses as young adults, aged 19-21. They challenged the sentences arguing they violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment, considering their youth at the first offense. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Three Strikes law, as applied to these defendants, did not violate the state or federal constitutions. The court reasoned that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing did not apply categorically to young adults who committed their first strikes as minors.

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Abstract

The case of State v. Moretti involved three defendants, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. Each received a mandatory life sentence without parole under Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, all three committed their first offenses as young adults, aged 19-21. They challenged the sentences arguing they violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment, considering their youth at the first offense. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Three Strikes law, as applied to these defendants, did not violate the state or federal constitutions. The court reasoned that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing did not apply categorically to young adults who committed their first strikes as minors.

The Washington Supreme Court case of State v. Moretti centered around defendants Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr, each receiving a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole pursuant to Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, the defendants committed their respective first strike offenses between the ages of 19 and 21. The defendants challenged the sentences, asserting a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, given their ages at the time of their initial offenses.

In its 2019 ruling, the Washington Supreme Court held that the application of the "Three Strikes" law in these instances did not infringe upon either the state or federal constitutions. The court determined that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing practices did not categorically encompass young adults who committed their first strike offenses as legal adults, despite their proximity in age to minors.

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Abstract

The case of State v. Moretti involved three defendants, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. Each received a mandatory life sentence without parole under Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, all three committed their first offenses as young adults, aged 19-21. They challenged the sentences arguing they violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment, considering their youth at the first offense. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Three Strikes law, as applied to these defendants, did not violate the state or federal constitutions. The court reasoned that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing did not apply categorically to young adults who committed their first strikes as minors.

The legal case of State v. Moretti centered around Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr, all of whom received mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole under Washington State's "Three Strikes" law. This law mandates such a sentence for individuals convicted of three serious felonies. A significant factor in this case was that all three defendants were young adults, between the ages of 19 and 21, when they committed their first offenses. They challenged their sentences, arguing that the application of the Three Strikes law in their circumstances constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In 2019, the Washington Supreme Court upheld the sentences, ruling that the Three Strikes law, as applied in this specific case, did not violate either the state or federal constitutions. The court determined that the Eighth Amendment's restrictions on sentencing practices did not categorically apply to individuals who committed their first felony offenses as young adults, even though they were legally considered minors at the time.

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Abstract

The case of State v. Moretti involved three defendants, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. Each received a mandatory life sentence without parole under Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, all three committed their first offenses as young adults, aged 19-21. They challenged the sentences arguing they violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment, considering their youth at the first offense. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Three Strikes law, as applied to these defendants, did not violate the state or federal constitutions. The court reasoned that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing did not apply categorically to young adults who committed their first strikes as minors.

Three men, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr, were given life sentences without the possibility of parole because of Washington's "Three Strikes" law. This law basically says that if you commit three serious crimes, you're automatically put away for life. The catch here is that all three guys committed their first serious crime when they were young adults, between 19 and 21 years old. They argued that being sentenced to life in prison for something they did when they were so young was really unfair and went against the Eighth Amendment. This amendment is part of the Constitution and says punishments can't be cruel or unusual.

However, in 2019, the highest court in Washington decided that the "Three Strikes" law was okay in this case and didn't go against the Constitution. They said that the Eighth Amendment doesn't automatically protect young adults who messed up as teenagers from these kinds of sentences.

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Abstract

The case of State v. Moretti involved three defendants, Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. Each received a mandatory life sentence without parole under Washington's "Three Strikes" law. Notably, all three committed their first offenses as young adults, aged 19-21. They challenged the sentences arguing they violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment, considering their youth at the first offense. The Washington Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the Three Strikes law, as applied to these defendants, did not violate the state or federal constitutions. The court reasoned that the Eighth Amendment's limitations on sentencing did not apply categorically to young adults who committed their first strikes as minors.

There was a big court case called State v. Moretti with three individuals named Anthony Moretti, Hung Van Nguyen, and Frederick Del Orr. They were all given life sentences because of something called the "Three Strikes" law in Washington state. Basically, this law says if you commit three serious crimes, you get put in jail for life.

Here's the catch: all three of these guys committed their first crime when they were young adults, between 19 and 21 years old. Their lawyers said it was unfair to punish them so harshly for something they did when they were young.

The highest court in Washington state thought about it, but in the end, they said the "Three Strikes" law was okay, even in this case. They said that the rule against cruel punishments doesn't always apply to young adults, even if some of their crimes were committed when they were so young.

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Footnotes and Citation

Cite

State v. Moretti, 193 Wash. 2d 809 (Wash. 2019)

Highlights