OAL's approval of 2240 changes became effective Nov. 24, 2011, thus codifying the Forensic Assessment Division and psychological evaluations. These amendments imply that the LIFER inmates will be mandated to present themselves (among others) at the Forensic Psychological Evaluation interview that is normally done before a LIFER Parole Suitability Hearing is completed.
In addition, BPH in its Revised Initial Statement of Reasons to its proposed amendments misrepresented Psychologists participation and conclusions. No consensus was ever reached about 'state of the art,' risk assessment instruments.The three (3) actuarial instruments used have not been validated with the LIFER population.
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Dr. Barry Krisberg Berkeley Law school states:
It has come to my attention that the Board of Parole Hearings, in its Revised Initial Statement of Reasons to its Proposed Regulation 15 CCR §2240, has misrepresented my participation in a meeting with the Board on August 2, 2006. According to the Statement of Reasons, "the Board of Parole Hearings convened a meeting of experts from the forensic scientific community," including myself, "to reach a consensus, based on the 'state of the art,' what risk and needs assessment instruments would best be employed by the State of California for adult inmates sentenced to a life term with the possibility of parole."
The Board's Statement of Reasons appears to imply that this panel reached such a consensus and agreed that a battery of risk assessment tools should be administered to term-to-life prisoners. The Board states, "The panel determined that the two best objective risk assessment tools to employ on the population of adult inmates sentenced to a life term with the possibility of parole were the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI) and the HCR‐20 (Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management). Both the LS/CMI and HCR‐20 would be administered to the inmate as part of the risk assessment battery."
This is a misrepresentation of the meeting that I attended; the panel reached no such consensus, and I continue to disagree with the administration of these risk assessment tools to term‐to‐life prisoners. Neither the LS/CMI nor the HCR‐20/PCL‐R has been validated for a population such as California's term‐to‐life prisoners.
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There were many issues raised in objection to this Amendments and they were not answered. There is a consensus (by the criminal defense attorneys, among others) that this OAL approval was improperly done.
If you are a defense attorney representing an inmate at their LIFER Parole Hearing be mindful of this new Section 2240 Amendment and all of its impact if you chose to advise your client not to attend the Psychological interview. If you are not an Attorney, please Consult an Attorney that emphasizes representation in this area of law.
If you are a defense attorney representing an inmate at their LIFER Parole Hearing be mindful of this new Section 2240 Amendment and all of its impact if you chose to advise your client not to attend the Psychological interview. If you are not an Attorney, please Consult an Attorney that emphasizes representation in this area of law.
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