Haggard

ORDER

In this case, the California Board of Parole Hearings (“Board”) denied state prisoner Lewis Haggard’s request for release on parole, and the state court upheld the parole denial. In his federal habeas petition, Haggard argued that the Board’s decision was erroneous because the record lacked evidence of his current dangerousness. The district court agreed, and ordered the state to release Haggard while the state’s appeal of the district court’s decision was pending. The state moved for a stay of the release order. Because a prisoner who receives a defective parole denial determination is entitled under California law only to a procedurally proper parole decision, and not to actual release on parole, we conclude that the state will likely prevail on its claim that the district court erred in ordering Haggard’s immediate release. We therefore grant the state’s stay motion.

I

In 1979, Lewis Haggard was convicted in California state court of kidnaping for the purpose of committing robbery. He received a sentence of seven years to life in state prison. The Board denied Haggard parole on twelve occasions. In February 2004, the Board issued its thirteenth denial. In its decision,…