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California Governor Has Carte Blanche in Denying Lifer Paroles
The California Supreme Court ruled that the governor has almost unlimited power to reverse a decision of the parole board (Board of Prison Terms ("BPT")) and that his decision may be reviewed by a court only to see if "a modicum" of evidence supported it. The court further ruled that …
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More from this issue:
- Beaten Philadelphia Prisoner Gets $125,000, Two Guards and Warden Get Time
- Compensating the Wrongly Convicted, or Not, by Matthew Clarke
- Veterans' Disability Check Unlawfully Seized to Pay State Restitution Fine, by John E Dannenberg
- Dallas Police Convicted of Framing Drug Defendants, DA Refuses to Help Innocent Prisoners
- California Prison Guards' Attorneys Convicted in Dog Mauling, by Marvin Mentor
- Kansas Tobacco Smuggling Conviction Upheld
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Mississippi Pays $6 Million for Empty Prison Bunks
- Over 100 Prisoners Exonerated Through DNA, Government Cuts Funding, by Rex Bagley
- $35,000 Settlement in New York Jail Cell Door Injury
- Arkansas Prison Must Pay for Kosher Meals
- HIV Infections, AIDS Deaths Down in U.S. Prisons
- No Right to Renounce Citizenship - U.S. Not "at War"
- Injunctive Relief Ordered to Fix ADA Violations in California Parole Hearings, by John E Dannenberg
- Eighth Circuit: BOP Prisoners Have No Liberty Interest in Visits
- Compelled Oral Sex Satisfies PLRA's "Physical Injury" Requirement
- $240,000 Settlement in Florida Juvenile Boot Camp Suicide, by Lonnie Burton
- Secretly Recorded California Jail Phone Conversations May Be Used to Convict, by John E Dannenberg
- California Ad Seg Requires Opportunity to Present Views, Gang Debriefing Upheld
- Appointment of Counsel in New Jersey Medical Suit
- Texas Guard Stabbing Prisoner Not State Action Under § 1983
- Washington Supreme Court Reverses Parole Revocation for Failure to Record Hearing
- Joinder of Georgia Annual Parole Hearing Injunction is Rejected
- Trial Required in Death of Mentally Ilil Nevada Detainee, 9th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
- Joinder of Georgia Annual Parole Hearing Injunction Is Rejected, by Paul Wright
- Expert Testimony Required to Prove Causation
- $22,500 Award Upheld in Texas Gang Assault Set-up by Guards, by John E Dannenberg
- Guard's Prior Misconduct Wrongly Excluded from Rape Trial
- Arizona Governor Must Personally Decide Prisoner Clemency Denials
- BOP Ban on R-Rated Movies Challenged, by James Quigley
- Favorable Termination Rule Inapplicable to Conditions Claims
- Gov. Ryan's Song, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- Illinois Governor Commutes All Death Sentences, by Michael Rigby
- Gay Bashing Illinois Guards to Pay $65,000 for Savage Beating
- Houston Crime Lab Closed, Prisoner Freed, by Michael Rigby
- Washington Guards Shoot Now, Ask Questions Later, by Roger Smith
- Prompt Mental Health Services Ordered for Arkansas Pretrial Detainees, by John E Dannenberg
- Alabama DOC Settles Mental Health Class Action, by James Quigley
- California Governor Has Carte Blanche in Denying Lifer Paroles, by Marvin Mentor
- No Qualified Immunity When Denying Pain Medication
- U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Sex Offender Registration Laws
- Habeas Granted in BOP Good Time Case
- News in Brief
- No Administrative Exhaustion in Idaho Child Support Modification
- Consultants Do Not Insulate Officials from Kosher Diet Liability
- $13 Million Approved for Study of Prisoner Rape
More from Marvin Mentor:
- California: Multi-Year Lifer Parole Denial Is Permissible Following One-Year Denial, Even In Absence of Significant Changes, July 15, 2011
- Ninth Circuit: “Some Evidence” of Offense Viciousness Justifies Denial of Lifer’s Parole, May 15, 2011
- California DOC’s Former Healthcare Receiver Overpaid Staff Benefits by $218,790, Jan. 15, 2010
- California Lifers’ New Litigation Tool: DA’s “Opinion” and Governor’s “Belief” Do Not Constitute “Evidence” in Parole Denial Cases, Sept. 15, 2009
- Federal Three-Judge Panel Orders California To Reduce Prison Population By 44,000 Prisoners Within Two Years, Sept. 15, 2009
- California: Parole Board’s Policy Barring Friendly Oral Witness Testimony At Lifer Hearings Ruled An “Underground Regulation”, Sept. 15, 2009
- Prisoner’s Right to Mail Announcement of Peaceful Demon-stration Trumps Purported Prison Security Claims, July 15, 2009
- California County’s 2005 Purchase of Private Prison Still Clouded in Conflict of Interest Questions, May 15, 2009
- California Appellate Court Grants Writ, Reverses Governor, Reinstates PLN Writer’s Grant of Parole, March 15, 2009
- Corruption in Orange County, CA Sheriff’s Department Revealed; Sheriff Resigns, Convicted on Criminal Charges, Feb. 15, 2009
More from these topics:
- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Totality of Conditions, Parole, Life without Parole (LWOP), Americans with Disabilities Act.
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Reform Act Does Not Authorize Automatic Extension of Supervised Release When Defendant Absconds, Resolving Circuit Split, April 1, 2026. Sentencing, Revocation/Modification of Probation, etc., Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Sentences - Corrections or Modifications of, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- Colorado Law Intended to Reduce Prison Population Hasn’t Improved Conditions, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Parole, halfway houses, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Maine Was the First State to Abolish Parole. Incarcerated Mainers, Advocates Hope to Bring it Back., March 1, 2026. Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Post-release, ex-offender, re-entry, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release, De Facto Life Sentence.
- Colorado Lawmakers Approve Prison Bed Funding, Despite DOC Understaffing, March 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Staffing, Parole, Overdetention, Reduction of Prison Population.
- North Carolina Parole Commission Agrees to Stop “Moving Goalposts” for Prisoners Who Committed Crime as Juveniles, Feb. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- SCOTUS Announces MVRA Restitution Constitutes Criminal Punishment Subject to Ex Post Facto Clause Protections, Feb. 1, 2026. Ex Post Facto, Restitution, Constitution, U.S., Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Study Finds Parole Hearings and Grants Continue to Fall, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole Board Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Parole, Probation, Parole & Supervised Release.
- First Circuit Announces Modification of Juvenile’s Life-Without-Parole Sentence to Parole-Eligible Life Term Constitutes “New Judgment” Under AEDPA, Exempting Second-in-Time Habeas Petition From Gatekeeping Requirements, Jan. 1, 2026. Parole, Habeas Corpus, Life without Parole (LWOP), AEDPA, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.