WHAT:
FREE LEGAL ADVICE for Families of the Incarcerated - NO sign up needed - just show up. Attorney Letarte has represented over 1000+ inmates at Parole Suitability Hearings. She also represented inmates in the Court system on Appeals. With her last successful Writs printed on this Blog in the April posting.
WHO:
Diane T. Letarte, MBA, LLM
Former President, NC Lawyers Club
Judge ProTem – Superior Court of CA
1080 Park Blvd., Suite 1008
San Diego, CA 92101
619-233-3688 Fax: 233-3689
www.dianeletarte.com
WHEN: Sat 5/22/10 at 9:30am-Noon
WHERE:
First Evangelist Free Church of Los Angeles
1356 Albany St
Los Angeles, CA 90015
AGENDA:
9:30 am to 11:30am Tips for Lifers & Family
11:30am to 12:00pm: Qs & As
CONTACT: Amalia Molina or Nasim Khansari 213-438-4820 x16
Attorney Diane T. Letarte: LIFER Parole Hearings CALL *** 619-233-3688 ***. BLOG Focuses on the Law/News that impacts inmates with LIFE, long-term DSL (SB260 & 261, AB1308, 3X'er, LWOP) Suitability Hearings are governed mostly by Penal Code 3041, et seq. LAWRENCE and SHAPUTIS CA Supreme Court cases are 2008 Landmark cases. 3/4/13, In Re Vicks Reversed by CA Supreme. 2/22/16, Gilman v. Brown was reversed by the 9th Cir. Marsy's Law aka (prop 9, 89) remains Law. Butler reversed
Friday, May 14, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
4/9/10 Mr. Jimenez found Suitable - Reversing the BOARD's Decision
Another win for the inmates at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (CVSP).
Our office was successful in getting Mr. Jimenez found suitable through the Court of Appeals. He will be having a new hearing in June 2010 to calculate his Parole Release Date.
______________________
B218498
(Los Angeles County and Super. Ct. Nos. KA014004, BH005965)
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING; petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Patricia M. Schnegg, Judge. Petition granted.
Diane T. Letarte, under appointment by the Court of Appeal for Petitioner.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Malone, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Amy M. Roebuck, Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent.
_______________________
Petitioner Hugo Jimenez seeks review of a September 10, 2008 decision of the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) finding him unsuitable for parole. He contends the Board’s decision is not supported by some evidence of his current dangerousness. (In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181.) We agree, and grant the petition.
----------------------------------
CONCLUSION
The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted, and the Board of Parole Hearing’s September 10, 2008 decision is vacated. The Board is directed to find Jimenez suitable for parole unless, within 30 days of the finality of this decision, the Board holds a parole suitability hearing and finds, based on new evidence, that Jimenez currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released on parole.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
Our office was successful in getting Mr. Jimenez found suitable through the Court of Appeals. He will be having a new hearing in June 2010 to calculate his Parole Release Date.
______________________
B218498
(Los Angeles County and Super. Ct. Nos. KA014004, BH005965)
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING; petition for writ of habeas corpus.
Patricia M. Schnegg, Judge. Petition granted.
Diane T. Letarte, under appointment by the Court of Appeal for Petitioner.
Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, Julie L. Garland, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Julie A. Malone, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Amy M. Roebuck, Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent.
_______________________
Petitioner Hugo Jimenez seeks review of a September 10, 2008 decision of the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) finding him unsuitable for parole. He contends the Board’s decision is not supported by some evidence of his current dangerousness. (In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181.) We agree, and grant the petition.
----------------------------------
CONCLUSION
The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted, and the Board of Parole Hearing’s September 10, 2008 decision is vacated. The Board is directed to find Jimenez suitable for parole unless, within 30 days of the finality of this decision, the Board holds a parole suitability hearing and finds, based on new evidence, that Jimenez currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released on parole.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In re Juarez - filed March 16, 2010, BOARD abused its discretion - Another Win for inmates!
In re Juarez - filed March 16, 2010,
Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Two
Cite as A125665
SUMMARY: The BOARD abused its discretion and denied Juarez his due process rights by its reliance on three reasons. 1) "Credibility" because he blacked out at the wheel, 2) Heinous nature of offense, and 3) violent criminal history.
No evidence supported parole board decision to deny petitioner parole where petitioner had for some time fully accepted responsibility for his commitment offense and for knowingly driving while high on PCP; not disputed any of the facts of his crime; expressed remorse for killing victim; been a model prisoner, an ongoing participant in Alcoholics Anonymous and a past participant in Narcotics Anonymous; acknowledged that he was an alcoholic and a drug addict; pledged to continue his participation in AA after his release with the help of his family and an arranged sponsor; became a licensed optician and successfully taught other prisoners seeking to become licensed themselves; had a supportive family, realistic parole plans, and multiple job offers; and had undergone three recent psychological evaluations which concluded that he posed a low risk for violence if released.
Given petitioner’s acknowledgment of responsibility for his commitment offense and the substance abuse that caused it, his lack of memory of the incident was not probative of current dangerousness and board abused its discretion in relying on questions about petitioner’s credibility in denying parole. No evidence supported board’s conclusion that petitioner’s commitment offense was carried out in "an especially heinous, cruel and callous manner" nor was there a rational nexus between the nature of his offense and any current dangerousness where incident took place 27 years earlier when petitioner was a young man with a substance abuse problem who unintentionally killed a man in a traffic collision he caused while driving under the influence of narcotics and speeding away from police. Petitioner’s prior criminal history did not support the conclusion that he was currently dangerous where his prior offenses mostly involved reckless behavior while under the influence of an impairing substance and belligerent behavior when confronted by police and did not demonstrate an escalating pattern of criminal behavior or a significant history of violent crime.
DISPOSITION: The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted. The Board is directed to hold a hearing within 30 days of the finality of this decision, find Juarez suitable for parole, and set sentence appropriate to this determination, unless new evidence of his conduct and/or change in mental state subsequent to the 2008 parole hearing is introduced and is sufficient to support a finding that he currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released on parole.
Full text http://www.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0310%2FA125665
Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Two
Cite as A125665
SUMMARY: The BOARD abused its discretion and denied Juarez his due process rights by its reliance on three reasons. 1) "Credibility" because he blacked out at the wheel, 2) Heinous nature of offense, and 3) violent criminal history.
No evidence supported parole board decision to deny petitioner parole where petitioner had for some time fully accepted responsibility for his commitment offense and for knowingly driving while high on PCP; not disputed any of the facts of his crime; expressed remorse for killing victim; been a model prisoner, an ongoing participant in Alcoholics Anonymous and a past participant in Narcotics Anonymous; acknowledged that he was an alcoholic and a drug addict; pledged to continue his participation in AA after his release with the help of his family and an arranged sponsor; became a licensed optician and successfully taught other prisoners seeking to become licensed themselves; had a supportive family, realistic parole plans, and multiple job offers; and had undergone three recent psychological evaluations which concluded that he posed a low risk for violence if released.
Given petitioner’s acknowledgment of responsibility for his commitment offense and the substance abuse that caused it, his lack of memory of the incident was not probative of current dangerousness and board abused its discretion in relying on questions about petitioner’s credibility in denying parole. No evidence supported board’s conclusion that petitioner’s commitment offense was carried out in "an especially heinous, cruel and callous manner" nor was there a rational nexus between the nature of his offense and any current dangerousness where incident took place 27 years earlier when petitioner was a young man with a substance abuse problem who unintentionally killed a man in a traffic collision he caused while driving under the influence of narcotics and speeding away from police. Petitioner’s prior criminal history did not support the conclusion that he was currently dangerous where his prior offenses mostly involved reckless behavior while under the influence of an impairing substance and belligerent behavior when confronted by police and did not demonstrate an escalating pattern of criminal behavior or a significant history of violent crime.
DISPOSITION: The petition for writ of habeas corpus is granted. The Board is directed to hold a hearing within 30 days of the finality of this decision, find Juarez suitable for parole, and set sentence appropriate to this determination, unless new evidence of his conduct and/or change in mental state subsequent to the 2008 parole hearing is introduced and is sufficient to support a finding that he currently poses an unreasonable risk of danger to society if released on parole.
Full text http://www.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0310%2FA125665
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