From The New York Times - February 8, 2002
CALIFORNIA, NO LIFE TERMS FOR SHOPLIFTERS
A federal appeals court in San Francisco nullified part of California's "three strikes law," finding it cruel and unusual punishment to sentence people to life in prison for shoplifting. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled three months after another panel from that court voided a 50-year-to-life term for a San Bernadino County shoplifter. The court has now declared shoplifters cannot receive life terms. (AP)