In Re Roderick

I respectfully dissent. Whether the prisoner Alfred William Roderick is suitable for parole may be a close question. This panel, if determining that question in the first instance, might well set a parole date for him. We may not agree with the Board of Prison Terms’s (Board) 1 decision. We may not believe there is substantial evidence supporting unsuitability and that if we were reviewing the record under a sufficiency of the evidence standard, that the record would not support the Board’s decision. We may believe there is more evidence in the record supporting his suitability than there is supporting unsuitability. We may, in fact, believe that the evidence supporting suitability substantially outweighs that favoring unsuitability. We may even believe that the evidence supporting suitability is overwhelming. We may strongly feel that the state’s money, or our money as taxpayers, could be better spent than by continuing to house this prisoner in state prison. We may feel sorry for the prisoner. We may feel that his age calls out for his release. We may disagree with the entire statutory scheme governing the setting of parole dates for life prisoners. None of these beliefs, *279…

The Attorney General appeals from a superior court order granting a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Alfred William Roderick, who is now 75 years old. The superior court determined that the factors relied upon by the panel of hearing officers representing the Board of Parole Hearings in denying Roderick parole were not supported by some evidence. 1 The court granted Roderick’s petition and referred the matter back to the Board for further review consistent with the court’s ruling. The Attorney General urges us to reverse the court’s decision, arguing that there is some evidence in the record to support each of the factors upon which the Panel relied in denying Roderick parole. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. The Commitment Offense

On April 11, 1986, Roderick was convicted of one count of second degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. The murder occurred when Roderick stabbed another man, Michael Obie, outside of a saloon in Eureka. According to police reports, as summarized in the probation officer’s report, Roderick and Obie began arguing inside the bar and Roderick challenged him to go outside and…

The Attorney General appeals from a superior court order granting a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by Alfred William Roderick, who is now 75 years old. The superior court determined that the factors relied upon by the Panel of hearing officers representing the Board of Parole Hearings in denying Roderick parole were not supported by some evidence. [1] The court granted Roderick's petition and referred the matter back to the Board for further review consistent with the court's ruling. The Attorney General urges us to reverse the court's decision, arguing that there is some evidence in the record to support each of the factors upon which the Panel relied in denying Roderick parole. We affirm.

On April 11, 1986, Roderick was convicted of one count of second degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and sentenced to 16 years to life in prison. The murder occurred when Roderick stabbed another man, Michael Obie, outside of a saloon in Eureka. According to police reports, as summarized in the probation officer's report, Roderick and Obie began arguing inside the bar and Roderick challenged him to go outside and fight. Roderick reportedly punched Obie as they…