3041.5.
(a) At all hearings for the purpose of reviewing an incarcerated person’s parole suitability, or the setting, postponing, or rescinding of parole, with the exception of en banc review of tie votes, the following shall apply:(1) At least 10 days before any hearing by the Board of Parole Hearings, the incarcerated person shall be permitted to review the file which will be examined by the board and shall have the opportunity to enter a written response to any material contained in the file.
(2) The incarcerated person shall be permitted to be present, to ask and answer questions, and to speak on their own behalf. Neither
the incarcerated person nor the attorney for the incarcerated person shall be entitled to ask questions of any person appearing at the hearing pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 3043.
(3) Unless legal counsel is required by some other law, a person designated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall be present to ensure that all facts relevant to the decision be presented, including, if necessary, contradictory assertions as to matters of fact that have not been resolved by departmental or other procedures.
(4) (A) (i) Upon completion of the stenographic record for a hearing pursuant to Section 3041, the board shall send a copy of the record or,
and, upon request of the incarcerated person, an audio recording of all proceedings to the incarcerated person.
(ii) An incarcerated person shall not be charged a fee for a stenographic record or an audio recording.
(B) A person described in subdivision (b) of Section 3043 shall be permitted to request and receive a stenographic record or an audio recording of all proceedings.
(C) The board shall retain an audio recording of the proceeding for at least one year after the audio recording is made.
(5) If the hearing is for the purpose of postponing or rescinding parole, the incarcerated person shall have the rights set forth in paragraphs
(3) and (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 2932.
(6) The board shall set a date to reconsider whether an incarcerated person should be released on parole that ensures a meaningful consideration of whether the incarcerated person is suitable for release on parole.
(b) (1) Within 10 days following any decision granting parole, the board shall send the incarcerated person a written statement setting forth the reason or reasons for granting parole, the conditions they must meet in order to be released, and the consequences of failure to meet those conditions.
(2) Within 20 days following any decision denying parole, the board shall send the incarcerated person a written statement setting forth the reason or
reasons for denying parole, and suggest activities in which they might participate that will benefit them while they are incarcerated.
(3) The board shall schedule the next hearing, after considering the views and interests of the victim, as follows:
(A) Fifteen years after any hearing at which parole is denied, unless the board finds by clear and convincing evidence that the criteria relevant to the decision denying parole are such that consideration of the public and victim’s safety does not require a more lengthy period of incarceration for the incarcerated person than 10 additional years.
(B) Ten years after any hearing at which parole is denied, unless the board finds by clear and convincing evidence that the criteria
relevant to the decision denying parole are such that consideration of the public and victim’s safety does not require a more lengthy period of incarceration for the incarcerated person than seven additional years.
(C) Three years, five years, or seven years after any hearing at which parole is denied, because the criteria relevant to the decision denying parole are such that consideration of the public and victim’s safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration for the incarcerated person, but does not require a more lengthy period of incarceration for the incarcerated person than seven additional years.
(4) The board may in its discretion, after considering the views and interests of the victim, advance a hearing set pursuant to paragraph (3) to an earlier
date, when a change in circumstances or new information establishes a reasonable likelihood that consideration of the public and victim’s safety does not require the additional period of incarceration of the incarcerated person provided in paragraph (3).
(5) Within 10 days of any board action resulting in the rescinding of parole, the board shall send the incarcerated person a written statement setting forth the reason or reasons for that action, and shall schedule the incarcerated person’s next hearing in accordance with paragraph (3).
(c) The board shall conduct a parole hearing pursuant to this section as a de novo hearing. Findings made and conclusions reached in a prior parole hearing shall be considered in but shall not be deemed to be binding upon subsequent parole hearings
for an incarcerated person, but shall be subject to reconsideration based upon changed facts and circumstances. When conducting a hearing, the board shall admit the prior recorded or memorialized testimony or statement of a victim or witness, upon request of the victim or if the victim or witness has died or become unavailable. At each hearing the board shall determine the appropriate action to be taken based on the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 3041.
(d) (1) An incarcerated person may request that the board exercise its discretion to advance a hearing set pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) to an earlier date, by submitting a written request to the board, with notice, upon request, and a copy to the victim which shall set forth the change in circumstances or new
information that establishes a reasonable likelihood that consideration of the public safety does not require the additional period of incarceration of the incarcerated person.
(2) The board shall have sole jurisdiction, after considering the views and interests of the victim to determine whether to grant or deny a written request made pursuant to paragraph (1), and its decision shall be subject to review by a court or magistrate only for a manifest abuse of discretion by the board. The board shall have the power to summarily deny a request that does not comply with this subdivision or that does not set forth a change in circumstances or new information as required in paragraph (1) that in the judgment of the board is sufficient to justify the action described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).
(3) An incarcerated person may make only one written request
as provided in paragraph (1) during each three-year period. Following either a summary denial of a request made pursuant to paragraph (1), or the decision of the board after a hearing described in subdivision (a) to deny parole, the incarcerated person shall not be entitled to submit another request for a hearing pursuant to subdivision (a) until a three-year period of time has elapsed from the summary denial or decision of the board.