In Re Rozzo

I.

INTRODUCTION

Joseph Rozzo murdered Richard Heggie in 1980. In 1982, a jury found Rozzo guilty of second degree murder, and he is currently serving a sentence of 16 years to life. Rozzo filed this petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging the Governor’s reversal of a decision of the Board of Parole Hearings (Board) granting Rozzo parole. Rozzo’s primary claim is that the Governor’s decision violates his right to due process because there is not sufficient evidentiary support for the decision.

In our initial opinion in this matter, we concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the Governor’s decision. (In re Rozzo (2008) 159 Cal.App.4th 1089, 1106 [ 72 Cal.Rptr.3d 58 ].) We rejected the remainder of Rozzo’s claims and denied the petition. (Id. at pp. 1110-1113.) The Supreme Court granted Rozzo’s petition for review (In re Rozzo, review granted May 14, 2008, S161469), and subsequently issued two companion decisions, In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 169 , 190 P.3d 535 ] (Lawrence) and In re Shaputis (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1241 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 213 , 190 P.3d 573 ] (Shaputis), in which the court clarified the law governing judicial…