A sentence will be invalidated if it is found to constitute cruel or unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.[274]  The cruel and unusual clause of the Eighth Amendment forbids penalties that are unusually severe, excessive, or disproportionate in reference to the offense and the culpability of the offender.[275]  However, “[o]utside the context of capital punishment, successful challenges to the proportionality of particular sentences have been exceedingly rare.”[276]         

 

[274] Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 290, 103 S.Ct. 3001, 77 L.Ed.2d 637 (1983) (imposition of life in prison for offense of passing bad check held disproportionate to offense); Cafone, Vacation of Illegal Sentences, Criminal Defense Techniques § 46.04[6][c] (2003).

[275] Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977); Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910); see also In re Rodriguez, 14 Cal.3d 639, 122 Cal.Rptr. 552 (1975); In re Lynch, 8 Cal.3d 410, 105 Cal.Rptr. 217 (1972).

[276] Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263, 272 (1980).

 

Ninth Circuit

POST CON RELIEF - SENTENCE - GROUNDS - CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT VIOLATED BY MINOR CONVICTION OF FAILURE TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER
Gonzalez v. Duncan, 551 F.3d 875 (9th Cir. Dec. 30, 2008) (habeas granted where sentence of 28 years to life imprisonment under California's "Three Strikes" law violated the Eighth Amendment because the offense at issue was mere failure to update annual sex offender registration within five working days of his birthday; state court's application of the gross disproportionality principle was objectively unreasonable).

POST CON RELIEF - SENTENCE - FEDERAL - GROUNDS - ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN SETTING CONDITIONS
United States v. Napier, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2006) (district court erred in imposing nonstandard conditions of supervised release after sentence and abused its discretion in imposing condition requiring drug treatment because there was no evidence of drug abuse; defendant had a Sixth Amendment right to be present at sentencing, and adding conditions after the sentencing was over violated that right. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0530348p.pdf