Home | Noteworthy Public Disclosures
It is not true that Judge Dusty Kawai was legally barred from giving the maximum sentence. Legally, he could have sentenced the defendant, Stephen Vincent Chavez, to the full three-year state prison maximum despite the lack of a prior criminal record. The Legal Reality vs. The Judge's ClaimThe Maximum Sentence was Legally Available: Under California Penal Code Section 285, felony incest carries a statutory sentencing triad of 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in state prison. The maximum of three years was fully within the legal parameters of the charge. The District Attorney's Position: The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office formally and aggressively requested the maximum three-year state prison sentence. Prosecutors would not legally request a sentence that a judge lacked the statutory authority to give.Discretion, The Sentence Was Not Restricted: In California, a defendant’s lack of prior criminal history is a mitigating factor that a judge must consider during sentencing. It does not legally strip a judge of the power to hand down an upper-term maximum sentence if there are aggravating factors that outweigh the mitigation—such as the defendant taking advantage of a position of trust, which Chavez explicitly admitted to doing. Why would a judge do this? All answers to that question lead to one conclusion. He's not fit for the power he has over people's lives.
Comment: #24, Posted: 7/2026