People v. Graham

OPINION OF THE COURT

Frederic S. Berman, J.

At a hearing to determine whether the defendant, Sam Graham, should be sentenced as a persistent violent felony offender, this court is presented with two issues, neither of which has been previously decided by the appellate courts of this State.(a) May a defendant with two prior felony convictions (which are classified as violent felony offenses under present law) be found to be a persistent violent felony offender where his two previous convictions occurred prior to September 1, 1978, the effective date of the violent felony offender law?(b) May a…