In re Cerny

Petitioner Brace A. Cerny committed a second degree murder in 1980 that was enhanced due to his use of a firearm. He was sentenced to 17 years to life in prison and has been in prison ever since. At the time of the murder, Cerny was a chronic drag abuser. He claims he has been drag free since entering prison, and there is no evidence he has abused any substance since 1981. He has regularly participated in Narcotics Anonymous since 1989, and since then he has not been disciplined for violating prison rales. He has the lowest classification score possible for a prisoner serving a life sentence and the most privileged form of prison custody allowable for his classification. He now challenges the two most recent (2007 & 2008) decisions by California’s Board of Parole Hearings (the Board) to .deny him parole for the 13th and 14th time since he was first eligible for parole consideration. 1

This case requires us to apply the standard of review articulated by the California Supreme Court in two cases, In re Lawrence (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1181 *1306 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 169 , 190 P.3d 535 ] and In re Shaputis (2008) 44 Cal.4th 1241 [ 82 Cal.Rptr.3d 213 , 190 P.3d 573 ]. We are to review…