In Re Diaz

This case presents the issue whether California law allows more generous work and conduct credits to recidivist murderers than to one-time murderers.

Petitioners, all of whom stand convicted of murder and are serving indeterminate life sentences under Penal Code section 190, have filed these petitions for writs of habeas corpus seeking one-for-one work conduct credits pursuant to section 2933. Under direction of the California Supreme Court, we issued an order to show cause, returnable before this court. For the reasons stated below, we shall hold the petitioners are not entitled to the credit which they seek.

Procedural and Factual Background and Leading Cases

Petitioners are murderers sentenced to serve indeterminate life terms under section 190. They are not recidivists; they were not sentenced as habitual criminals under section 667.7. The Department of Corrections has refused them work time credits under section 2933 under compulsion of an Attorney General opinion ( 70 Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 49 (1987)) and a Court of Appeal decision (In re Monigold (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 1224 [ 253 Cal.Rptr. 120 ]), both of which reasoned that “[s]ection 2933 ... is expressly applicable…