Moore

DISCUSSION

I. Section 3051, subdivision (h) Does Not Violate

Equal Protection Appellant was 21 years old when he committed the offenses in this case and contends that the exclusion of youth offenders who were sentenced under the Three Strikes law from eligibility for a youth offender parole hearing violates equal protection. We disagree. A. Youth offender parole hearings With the enactment of section 3051 in 2013, the Legislature declared its intent “to create a process by which growth and maturity of youthful offenders can be assessed and a meaningful opportunity for release established.” (Stats. 2013, ch. 312, § 1.) To this end, section 3051 “establish[ed] a parole eligibility mechanism that provides a person serving a sentence for crimes that he or she committed as a juvenile the opportunity to obtain release when he or she has shown that he or she has been rehabilitated and gained maturity.” (Stats. 2013, ch. 312, § 1; see In re Trejo (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 972, 980–981.) Under section 3051, subdivisions (a) and (b), persons aged 25 years or younger at the time of their controlling offenses3 are eligible for a youth offender parole hearing after serving 15, 20, or 25 years in…