This week has brought two notable new state Supreme Court rulings from the coasts on sentencing issues. Here are press reports and parts of the starts of the opinions:
From the Boston Globe, "SJC: Judges can grant probation in some 'three strikes' cases"
From the start of the ruling in Massachusetts v. Montarvo, No. SJC-12905 (Mass. Dec 29, 2020):
Colloquially referred to as the "three strikes" law, the habitual offender statute, G. L. c. 279, § 25, enhances the penalty for a defendant who, after two prior convictions resulting in State or Federal prison sentences of three or more years, receives a third felony conviction. This case requires us to determine whether § 25 (a) of the law allows sentencing judges to impose probation on defendants who fall within its ambit. We conclude that it does.
From the Los Angeles Times, "Sex offenders can qualify for early parole, California Supreme Court rules"
From the start of the ruling in In re Gadlin, No. S254599 (Cal. Dec. 28, 2020):
In November 2016, the California electorate approved Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016. The initiative amended the California Constitution to provide, in relevant part, that “[a]ny person convicted of a nonviolent felony offense and sentenced to state prison shall be eligible for parole consideration after completing the full term for his or her primary offense.” (Cal. Const., art. I, § 32, subd. (a)(1) (article I, section 32(a)(1)).) The initiative also directed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the Department) to “adopt regulations in furtherance of these provisions” and instructed the Secretary of the Department to “certify that these regulations protect and enhance public safety.” (Art. I, § 32, subd. (b) (article I, section 32(b)).)
The Department adopted regulations implementing a nonviolent offender parole consideration process. Those regulations exclude from nonviolent offender parole consideration any inmate who “is convicted of a sexual offense that currently requires or will require registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act, codified in Sections 290 through 290.024 of the Penal Code.” (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 15, § 3491, subd. (b)(3) [governing determinately sentenced offenders]; see also id., § 3496, subd. (b) [governing indeterminately sentenced offenders].)
We granted review to address the validity of these provisions. The Department asserts it is authorized by article I, section 32(b) to exclude from nonviolent offender parole consideration all inmates convicted of a registerable sex offense, regardless of whether that offense is defined by the regulations as a nonviolent felony and regardless of whether the inmate is currently incarcerated for that conviction. Indeed, the Department’s regulations categorize inmates convicted of a registerable sex offense as “nonviolent offenders” unless, among other criteria, they are currently incarcerated for a violent felony listed in Penal Code section 667.5, subdivision (c). (Cal. Code Regs., §§ 3490, subd. (a), 3491, subds. (a), (b), 3495, subd. (a), 3496, subds. (a), (b).) Nonetheless, the regulations entirely exclude from nonviolent offender parole consideration inmates previously convicted or currently convicted of any registerable sex offense. We conclude that this categorical exclusion conflicts with the constitutional directive that inmates “convicted of a nonviolent felony offense and sentenced to state prison shall be eligible for parole consideration.” (Art. I, § 32(a)(1).)
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