Dilbert

FACTS AND HISTORY OF THE PROCEEDINGS

Petition for Writ of Mandate

According to the operative amended petition for writ of mandate (writ petition), in 2016 and 2017, Dilbert filed petitions for clemency and/or commutation of his prison sentence with the Governor’s office. He filed reapplications with the Governor’s office in 2019 and 2021. Dilbert has not received any communication from the Governor’s office that his clemency petition has been received or processed. Instructions made available online by the Governor’s office (instructions), which Dilbert attached to the writ petition state, “[i]n deciding whether to grant a commutation, the Governor’s Office will carefully review each commutation application” and consider various enumerated factors. The instructions also say, “[a]pplicants will be notified when the Governor takes action on a commutation application.” The instructions further state that, “[i]f you submitted a commutation application to a prior governor and did not receive notice of a commutation grant, your application is deemed closed. If you submitted a commutation application in the last three years and would like Governor Newsom to re-open your prior…