Parole

A conviction for committing a felony in California will land you behind bars. Depending on the nature and seriousness of your charge, you can spend several years to a lifetime in prison. The thought of spending the rest of your life behind bars is traumatizing. Fortunately, you do not have to serve the full sentence that the judge imposes. You can secure an early release on parole.

Parole is a supervised program that occurs when an inmate re-enters the community after being released from prison. A release on parole is a chance to get out of prison and move on with your life. However, parole is not automatic. You must go before a parole board that determines your suitability for release.

The board will assess different factors in your situation and predict your conduct to determine whether your release is in the interest of justice. If your parole is granted, you will be required to follow different terms and conditions. Navigating a parole hearing is complicated. Therefore, you must hire and retain a defense attorney throughout the process.

If you or a loved one is seeking a parole release in Santa Ana, CA, you will benefit from our expert legal guidance at California Criminal Lawyer Group.

Understanding California Parole Laws

Parole is a post-conviction program designed to integrate individuals who have served a substantial part of their prison sentence into the community. Your ability to re-enter the community after serving your sentence is regulated to ensure that you do not cause harm to others and that you follow all the terms of your release.

Depending on your type of sentence, you must serve a particular percentage of your sentence before you can be released on parole. California works on a mandatory parole system. This means that unless you pose a substantial danger to the safety of others, you must be paroled when you have served your minimum mandatory sentence.

California has several parole supervision levels, including:

1. Regular re-entry. This level of parole offers services to the parolees immediately after their release from prison. Some of these services will include employment and housing.
2. Intensive re-entry. Intensive re-entry offers initial supervision when a person re-enters the community.
3. Specialized caseloads. This level of parole offers concentrated and intensive services to high-risk parolees.
4. Electronic supervision. With electronic supervision, you may be required to wear an ankle monitor that tracks your daily movements.
5. Subsistence care. Parolees under this level of parole will receive parental education, cash, and other basics they need to thrive in the community.

Parole Hearing

Unlike probation, parole is not part of the court's sentence in your case. Instead, the issue of parole is handled after you have served several years of your sentence. You must prepare for parole years before the actual hearing. The parole process helps inmates understand their eligibility for early release from prison.

At different stages of the process, the parole board will notify you of the action they seek to take so you can stand a chance at early release. Implementing the recommended actions will result in a successful parole hearing. Under California Penal Code 3041(a)(1), the parole board must:

• Meet you during the sixth year of your sentence before your minimum parole eligibility date. This allows for a review and documentation of activities determining your parole eligibility.
• The board must provide you with information on the parole hearing process. This will include the legal issues that are relevant to your parole. Any recommendations regarding your work, rehabilitation programs, or behavior are given.
• The board will issue positive and negative insight to you in writing.

The meeting and recommendations you receive from the parole board are critical in preparing for your parole hearing. The board's review gives you a path to follow when seeking parole. If you follow the recommendations and correct the mistakes you may be making, your likelihood of parole is high. Additionally, you will tailor your future behavior to the board’s findings.

Four to six months before your parole hearing, a parole board psychologist will review your case and write a report predicting your likelihood of future violence. Before the review takes place, you should have made considerable strides to increase your likelihood of a parole release.

If the comprehensive risk assessment determines that you do not understand the circumstances that led to your crime and have not made an effort to resolve the factors, the court may deny your parole petition.

When you attend your parole hearing, you should be ready to testify about the following matters:

• Your life before the crime.
• Your adult and juvenile criminal history.
• The nature and circumstances of your current offense.
• Your conduct and attempts at rehabilitation while in prison.
• The plans you have after a release.

Factors Affecting a Defendant's Parole Eligibility

Even after serving your minimum sentence, there is no guarantee that you will be released on parole. Like probation, the court must ensure that your release to the community is in the best interests of justice. The following are factors that the parole board will consider when considering you for a parole release:

The Type of Sentence You are Serving

If you are found guilty of a crime in California, you can be sentenced to one of two common types of sentences:

• Determinate Sentence. With a determinate sentence, the judge specifies the number of hours that you must spend behind bars. An individual serving a determinate sentence can qualify for a parole release before their release date if they meet a specific criterion.
• Indeterminate sentence. An indeterminate sentence has a range. For example, if you are sentenced to 25 years to life, you must serve 25 years before being released on parole.

However, even when the law dictates the specific date of your parole eligibility, your release is not automatic. You must meet other requirements.

Good Time Credit

Your conduct while incarcerated plays a critical role in determining your eligibility for parole. In the past, you could serve half of your sentence if you earned enough good-time credit. However, the law changed, requiring you to serve at least two-thirds of the sentence.

Regardless of your good behavior, if you were convicted of serious crimes like rape, lewd acts with a minor, murder, or first-degree burglary, you must serve at least 85% of your sentence before the parole board reviews your case.

The severity of the Underlying Crime

The seriousness of the crime resulting in your prison sentence is a significant factor in determining your eligibility for parole. Defendants are sent to prison for a wide range of crimes. A person in prison for robbery will not be treated the same as a person incarcerated for murder during a parole hearing.

Most often, the victim of your crime or their close family will appear at the parole hearing to contest your release. In cases where your crime was heinous or resulted in severe injury or death, the parole board will be more reluctant to approve your release. In addition to the severity of the crime, your motivation for committing the offense may affect your release.

If your crime was motivated by revenge, extortion, or sadistic purposes, your parole might be denied. For example, if you caused the death of another person and dismembered them, your conduct indicates an extreme disregard for human life. In this case, your crime was more than was needed to violate the law.

Signs of Remorse

Some of the acts that could show that you are remorseful of your criminal acts and how they affected others include an attempt to remedy the impact of the crime. Additionally, you are considered remorseful if you understand the magnitude and nature of your offense. People who feel remorseful for their crimes are more likely to be released on parole.

An individual who is in denial of their guilt or does not understand their contribution to the crime is considered a danger to society. Therefore, the parole board may be reluctant to recommend their release.

Before you attend your parole hearing, you have the responsibility to try and make amends for your crime. Additionally, you must take affirmative action to show your understanding and remorse. One of the ways in which you can show remorse is by writing a letter to the victim of your crime and acknowledging the impact your crime had on their lives.

You can also discuss how you have attempted to improve your behavior. If you are uncomfortable writing, you can find other ways to let your remorse be known. Being remorseful indicates that you are less likely to engage in similar conduct after a release.

Your Criminal History

Allowing a parole release is the court's way of giving you a second chance to do better and change your behavior. Therefore, your criminal history is key in determining your eligibility for release. An inmate with a substantial criminal history, including juvenile records, may be at high risk of parole denial.

At your parole hearing, you must prove to the parole board that you do not have a criminal history or that your prior convictions do not include violent behavior. A history of serious and violent felonies may indicate your likelihood of recidivism.

Future Plans

While serving your prison sentence, you have time to think about the circumstances that landed you in jail and what you want to do after release. If you have detailed plans, you can convince the parole board to agree to your release. Your records, engagement in beneficial programs, and phone calls could demonstrate realistic future plans.

While serving your sentence, you should try to enhance your vocational skills. This shows that you wish to do something meaningful with your life after the release. Additionally, you can demonstrate how you will deal with the daily challenges you could face after spending years behind bars. A person with future plans is less likely to return to criminal behavior after their release.

Community Ties and Support

If you have a strong family history or community ties, the parole board will be convinced that the people in your circle will support you to stay on the right path after your release. Friends and family can offer support by sending letters to the board. These letters will demonstrate the support they plan to offer you while on parole.

The letters could also indicate where you will live after your release and where you could find employment.

Role of a Victim in a Parole Hearing

Parole allows convicted criminals to spend part of their sentence under supervision. However, this could significantly impact the victims of their crimes. The role of a victim in a parole hearing has changed tremendously since the implementation of the Victims Bill of Rights. This law on parole matters eliminated parole hearings for individuals convicted of serious crimes like first-degree murder.

A victim of your crime could attend your parole hearing or designate a person to do so. However, before attending the hearing, they must notify the Office of Victim and Survivor Rights of their wish to be involved in the hearing. If a victim is deceased, an immediate family member can attend the parole hearing.

The parole board allows the victim or family of the victim to speak about their feelings regarding their parole and how it could affect their well-being. A parole board must follow the following rules when handling a parole hearing:

• Listen to the victim’s testimony without interrupting them.
• The victim of their family cannot be questioned by the victim who seeks parole.
• The parole board must consider the safety of the victim and their family when granting parole.

The impact of a victim’s testimony on parole is determined by the parole board based on other factors. Few victims will consent to the parole of a person who caused them physical harm or caused the death of their loved ones. Therefore, the parole board may consider other facts in the case.

Changes in California Parole Laws

California's parole law is constantly changing. However, parole laws vary for the inmates depending on the laws that were in place during their conviction. When a new law is passed, it will only affect inmates who face a conviction after its implementation. Therefore, when you seek to petition the court for parole, you must refer to the laws that were in place during your conviction.

This allows you to understand the minimum sentence you must have served before you meet the eligibility requirements for parole. Seeking expert legal guidance during your process of seeking parole is critical to ensuring you receive the privileges to which you are entitled. In a current effort to improve parole supervision and help prevent individuals on parole from committing other crimes, the Department of Justice launched a new parole program.

The 2010 amendment to parole laws aimed to:

• Improve the supervision of high-risk parolees. It is not uncommon for defendants who have shown exemplary behavior during incarceration to commit other crimes while out on parole. Even when an inmate has proven to pose a low risk to the safety of the victims, they can engage in criminal acts afterward. The new laws ensure that parolees who committed serious offenses are closely monitored to maintain good behavior even after their release from incarceration.
• Reduce recidivism. Recidivism involves repeating criminal acts after attempts at rehabilitation. The new parole laws reduce recidivism by encouraging inmates to complete different programs that offer good time credit.
• Partner with community workers to supervise low-risk parolees. This goal is met by sending parolees who committed minor offenses to community centers.

Conditions of Parole

If you are granted a parole release, a parole agent is assigned to your case. You must report to the agent throughout the parole period to discuss your progress. The period you remain on parole depends on the nature of your conviction. If you are paroled after a conviction for murder, you may have to remain on parole for the rest of your life.

While on parole, you must abide by the following conditions:

• Avoid leaving the state without permission.
• Submit to mandatory searches by a police officer or parole agent.
• Report to your parole agent after the release.
• Report any job changes.
• Avoid the possession or use of firearms.
• Inform a parole officer of an arrest or ticket from a traffic officer.
• Follow the verbal instructions written by the parole officer.

Parole violation in California

Like probation, parole has strict conditions you must follow. Violating one or more of your parole conditions will attract serious legal consequences. After a violation, you can be arrested and remain in jail until the court schedules your parole hearing under California Penal Code 3056. In the parole revocation hearing, a parole board will decide how you violated your parole and whether the violation warrants a revocation.

Violation of Parole Conditions

A deputy commissioner is in charge of your hearing if you face PC 3056 for violating a parole condition. Testimony from the following individuals is considered before a decision on your parole revocation is reached:

• Witnesses to your violation. A common parole condition is to refrain from firearm possession or use during the parole period. For example, if a police officer arrests you for firearm possession, they can act as a witness at your parole violation hearing.
• Your parole officer. Most parole conditions involve working together with a parole officer and reporting your progress to them. Therefore, the parole officer plays a significant role in your hearing, and their testimony greatly impacts the parole board's decision.

At a parole violation hearing, you have the right to defend yourself against the allegations of a violation. Therefore, your defense attorney can counter the testimony of the witnesses by presenting mitigating factors to justify your violation.

Violating Additional Law

While out on parole, the court orders that you avoid criminal activity. Committing another crime during your parole may result in arrest and parole revocation. During a parole hearing based on new violations, the parole board will consider whether there is probable cause to believe you violated new laws. From this, they can decide whether the violation is strong enough to justify a parole revocation.

The level of proof needed in this case is a preponderance of the evidence. This is a lower standard than proving something beyond a reasonable doubt. The main question in determining your violation is whether it is more likely than not that you engaged in criminal acts.

A parole violation hearing can end in a win or a loss for a defendant. If the parole board determines that you violate the court-imposed terms, the deputy commissioner can revoke your parole. A parole revocation in California means you must return for a year in jail.

If your violation is based on committing another crime, the district attorney could choose to pursue further criminal charges. The district attorney’s decision will result in a separate trial for the parole violation. If you win your parole revocation hearing, the board will order you to return to parole.

Find a Skilled Criminal Defense Lawyer Near Me

Facing a criminal conviction is one of the most traumatizing events in a person’s life. The thought of spending a substantial part of your life behind bars can take a toll on you. Fortunately, most inmates are eligible for release before completing their sentence in California. A parole release allows you to reenter the community under supervision.

Securing a parole release requires you to prove your eligibility and attend a hearing before the parole board. After assessing your case and conduct while incarcerated, the parole board can accept or deny your parole release. A parole release is attached to several conditions you must follow, failing which you could return behind bars. The parole process can be very challenging. Therefore, seeking legal guidance is critical.

At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we understand how important it is to secure a parole release. Our competent attorneys will help you gather the relevant evidence to convince the parole board of your rehabilitation and suitability for a parole release. We serve clients seeking guidance to navigate a parole release in Santa Ana, CA. Call us today at 714-844-4151 and allow us to guide you through the challenging legal process.