People v. Comminey CA4/3

DISCUSSION

The United States Supreme Court has recognized juvenile offenders are generally less culpable than adult offenders and, except in the rarest of cases, the federal Constitution requires states to afford juvenile offenders a “meaningful opportunity to obtain release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.” (Graham v. Florida (2010) 560 U.S. 48, 75.) To

3 that end, the California Legislature enacted Penal Code section 3051, which requires the Board of Parole Hearings to conduct a parole hearing no later than the 25th year of a youthful offender’s incarceration, regardless of his or her sentence. (Stats. 2013, ch. 312, § 4; Pen. Code, § 3051, subd. (b)(3).) The statute applies to offenders who were 25 years of age or younger at the time of their crimes. (Id., subd. (a)(1).) As noted at the outset, Franklin proceedings are intended to facilitate youthful offender parole hearings. They permit a youthful offender to “place on the record any documents, evaluations, or testimony (subject to cross-examination) that may be relevant at his eventual youth offender parole hearing, and the prosecution likewise may put on the record any evidence that demonstrates the…