Gilman

ORDER

The opinion filed on December 6, 2010 is hereby amended. No petition for panel rehearing or petition for rehearing en banc may be filed.

OPINION

Plaintiffs are eight California life-term prisoners who represent a class of similarly situated California prisoners. They allege that Proposition 9, the “Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy’s Law,” which modifies the availability and frequency of parole hearings, violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution. The district court held that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim. We hold that the district court abused its discretion and, therefore, reverse.

The California Prison Parole Scheme

The California Board of Parole Hearings (“Board”) has “the power to allow prisoners imprisoned in the state prisons ... to go upon parole outside the prison walls and enclosures.” CaLPenal Code § 3040 (2010). California prisoners who are serving sentences of life with the possibility of parole are not eligible for parole until they have served the greater of a term of seven years or “[a] term as established pursuant to any other provision of law that establishes a minimum term or minimum…