Green

In the latter part of 1994, appellant Reginald Green was convicted by a jury of selling rock cocaine to an undercover police officer (Health & Saf. Code, § 11352, subd. (a)). Following a jury waiver, prior convictions for petty theft with a prior and first degree burglary were found true by the trial court.

Since the prior burglary conviction qualified as a “first strike” under the recently enacted “three strikes” statutes, the trial court sentenced appellant to six years in state prison as follows: (1) the low term of three years, which was doubled pursuant to Penal Code section 667, subdivisions (b) through (i) and (2) a total of two years consecutive under section 667.5, subdivision (b) for the two prior convictions, which was ordered stayed under the authority of section 1385.

Issue

The prior burglary conviction occurred in 1987. Appellant contends that the “three strikes” law does not apply to convictions incurred before its enactment.

Discussion

The crux of this appeal involves the interpretation of section 667, subdivision (d)(1). Therefore, we will first set forth the principles which will guide us.

As was recently stated by our Supreme Court, “In construing…