California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Mimi Le, C057150, C057217, Super. Ct. No. 06F01200 (Cal. App. 2011):
"[B]oth the trial and the appellate court have the authority to determine whether a sentence results in cruel or unusual punishment. [Citations.] While the proper determination of this claim may be fact-specific [citation], it is a role of the appellate court to decide mixed questions of fact and law." (People v. Meeks (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 695, 706.) We review these mixed questions independently. (Id. at p. 707.)
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