In re Sauers
Petitioner is serving a term of 15 years to life following his 1982 conviction for second degree murder. In 2004, respondent Board of Prison Terms (now Board of Parole Hearings, hereafter “Board”) found, based on the facts of the crime and other criteria, that petitioner was not “suitable for parole and would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to society or a threat to public safety if released from prison.” It therefore denied parole suitability and deferred reconsideration for three years. Petitioner challenged Board’s decision by filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus in superior court. The superior court granted the petition and ordered Board to hold a new suitability hearing. It reasoned that, because petitioner has served time beyond the matrix for second degree murder and near or beyond the matrix for first degree murder, due process of law required Board to find some evidence that petitioner’s “acts were more than those amounting to the elements of first degree murder.” Board appealed, and court granted its petition for a writ of supersedeas to stay the superior court’s order pending the appeal. Board contends that the superior court erroneously (1) required it to use first degree murder elements to examine parole suitability for a prisoner convicted of second degree murder, and (2) granted the petition because Board may deny parole suitability based on the facts of the crime alone and the record contains some evidence to support the denial in this case. Court agreed with Board. Court therefore reversed the order granting the petition and directed the superior court to enter an order denying the petition. br />
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