In re Poole

*968 Convicted of a second degree murder committed in 1988, petitioner Darryl Poole was sentenced to a prison term of 20 years to life. He contends the Board of Parole Hearings acted arbitrarily in finding him unsuitable for release on parole in that there was not "some evidence" he posed a current danger to public safety. Additionally, he challenges the Board's application of Marsy's Law, enacted subsequent to his offense, as imposing ex post facto punishment, and argues that the Board's appointment procedures and compensation limits for attorneys appointed to represent inmates at parole hearings deprive him and other inmates of effective assistance of counsel. We find no evidence in the record to support the Board's determination that petitioner presents a current danger to the public. Accordingly, the Board's decision cannot stand. 1

BACKGROUND

Petitioner was 19 years old when, driving on the freeway in Oakland, he shot an assault rifle out of the driver's window, killing the driver of a car in the next lane. Petitioner had been a narcotics dealer for several years. As he described the events, on the night of the shooting, he and two young men who sold narcotics for him,…