Opalec
Opalec v. Curry
Opinion
Opinion
Patel, J.
ORDER GRANTING HABEAS PETITION
INTRODUCTION
Roderick Opalec, a prisoner at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, filed this pro se action for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 to challenge the parole board’s 2005 decision that he was not suitable for parole. After about 14 years of incarceration during which he continuously has exhibited exemplary behavior, Opalec’s crime does not provide sufficient evidence to support the parole board’s decision that he is currently unsuitable for parole. The petition will be granted.
BACKGROUND
Roderick Opalec was convicted in 1990 in Los Angeles County Superior Court of attempted murder and was sentenced in 1992 to a term of life plus 3 years plus 3 years in prison. His habeas petition does not concern that conviction directly, but instead focuses on the January 28, 2005 decision by the Board of Parole Hearings (“BPH”) to find him not suitable for parole. This was Opalec’s third parole consideration hearing, and came more than five years after his October 10, 1999 minimum eligible parole date. (Opalec asserts and respondent does not dispute that the parole eligibility for an indeterminate life sentence for an attempted…