RBG helped to restore fairness and due process to California parole revocation hearings in the Valdivia lawsuit. California’s progress toward a safe and fair parole system was threatened in November 2008 when voters passed Proposition 9 or Marsys Law, which would erase years of progress in parole reform. The conflict between Proposition 9 and basic due process is now being briefed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The San Francisco Daily Journal covered the appeal on August 31, 2009, quoting RBG partner Ernest Galvan: ” “Prop. 9 would just return California to the dysfunctional state it was in when it wasn’t even close to the constitutional floor.”
In June and July 2009, the Ninth Circuit received briefs from the state, and from a group of organizations supporting Proposition 9. In August and September 2009, the Ninth Circuit received briefs from the parolee class and from organizations in support of cost-effective and safe parole policies.
Brief of the Valdivia Class in the Ninth Circuit, Aug. 28, 2009.
Friend of the Court Brief In Support of the Valdivia Class, Sept. 9, 2009