In re Gadlin

The opinion of the court resolves the appeal before us on narrow grounds, correctly concluding that regulations promulgated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) are unconstitutional as applied to bar early parole consideration for petitioner Gregory Gadlin (petitioner) based on two prior sex offenses committed in the 1980s for which petitioner has already been imprisoned and released.

Almost always, the wise choice is to refrain from saying more than necessary to dispose of an appeal. But under the unusual circumstances here where the parties have briefed the issue in broader terms-effectively, whether the regulatory prohibition of early parole consideration for sex offender registrants is facially consistent with the pertinent provisions of Proposition 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016-and where all *336 concerned would benefit from knowing sooner rather than later what regulatory approaches are permissible, I believe there is good reason to say a bit more than strictly necessary. I therefore write separately to outline my view that the regulatory provisions in question are not inconsistent on their face with the provisions…