Gann v. Acosta
Annotate this Case
The Court of Appeal affirmed the superior court's denial of a petition for a writ of traditional mandamus in which plaintiff sought an order directing respondent, a correctional counselor with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), to grant his request for an overnight visit with his spouse. The CDCR determined that plaintiff was not eligible for family visitation because family visits are not allowed for inmates convicted of a violent offense (including first degree murder) if the victim was an immediate family member as defined in Penal Code section 3000, and that "step-parents" are included in section 3000's definition of "immediate family members."
The court concluded that it need not decide which form of mandamus was most appropriate because the court's review is functionally the same under either form of mandamus. On de novo review, the court concluded that the CDCR's denial of relief was not clearly unreasonable based on its interpretation of the term "step-parent" as it is used in section 3000. In this case, the CDCR interpreted the term "step-parent" to include the widowed husband of plaintiff's biological mother (deceased). Given the broad authority conferred upon the Director of Corrections (now, the Secretary of CDCR) under Penal Code section 5058, the court concluded that that interpretation does not conflict with the Secretary's statutory authority.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.