2011 California Code
Penal Code
PART 3. OF IMPRISONMENT AND THE DEATH PENALTY [2000 - 10007]
ARTICLE 3. Discharge Upon Completion of Term
Section 3042

(a) At least 30 days before the Board of Prison Terms meets to review or consider the parole suitability or the setting of a parole date for any prisoner sentenced to a life sentence, the board shall send written notice thereof to each of the following persons: the judge of the superior court before whom the prisoner was tried and convicted, the attorney who represented the defendant at trial, the district attorney of the county in which the offense was committed, the law enforcement agency that investigated the case, and where the prisoner was convicted of the murder of a peace officer, the law enforcement agency which had employed that peace officer at the time of the murder.

(b) The Board of Prison Terms shall record all those hearings and transcribe recordings of those hearings within 30 days of any hearing. Those transcripts, including the transcripts of all prior hearings, shall be filed and maintained in the office of the Board of Prison Terms and shall be made available to the public no later than 30 days from the date of the hearing. No prisoner shall actually be released on parole prior to 60 days from the date of the hearing.

(c) At any hearing, the presiding hearing officer shall state his or her findings and supporting reasons on the record.

(d) Any statements, recommendations, or other materials considered shall be incorporated into the transcript of the hearing, unless the material is confidential in order to preserve institutional security and the security of others who might be endangered by disclosure.

(e) This section shall not apply to any hearing held to consider advancing a prisoner s parole date due to his or her conduct since his or her last hearing.

(f) (1) The written notice to the judge of the superior court before whom the prisoner was tried and convicted shall be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested.

(2) The judge receiving this written notice may forward to the parole board any unprivileged information from the trial or sentencing proceeding regarding the prisoner, witnesses, or victims, or other relevant persons, or any other information, that is pertinent to the question of whether the parole board should grant parole or under what conditions parole should be granted. The judge may also, in his or her discretion, include information given to him or her by victims, witnesses, or other persons that bear on the question of the prisoner s suitability for parole.

(3) The parole board shall review and consider all information received from the judge or any other person and shall consider adjusting the terms or conditions of parole to reflect the comments or concerns raised by this information, as appropriate.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the type or content of information the judge or any other person may forward to the parole board for consideration under any other provision of law.

(h) Any person who receives notice under subdivision (a) who is authorized to forward information for consideration in a parole suitability hearing or the setting of a parole date for a person sentenced to a life sentence under this section, may forward that information either by facsimile or electronic mail. The Department of Corrections shall establish procedures for receiving the information by facsimile or electronic mail pursuant to this subdivision.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 302, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)