Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that she and forty other elected District Attorneys across California have filed a petition with the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) requesting the repeal of temporary emergency regulations awarding additional credits to more than 76,000 state prison inmates.
The regulations were passed under a claim of an emergency and first made public on Friday April 30, 2021, at 3:00 p.m. These regulations would result in the early release of some of California’s most violent criminals.
In adopting these regulations, and claiming an emergency, the CDCR Secretary stated these regulations were necessary to comply with “the direction outlined in the Governor’s Budget Summary” presented a year ago on May 14, 2020. By invoking an emergency, the traditional regulatory scheme and transparent public comment period was bypassed.
The administrative law petition is often the first step in seeking a formal court order declaring the regulations unlawful. If the emergency regulations are nullified by a court, CDCR would be forced to pass the regulations in the traditional manner, requiring the State’s Office of Administrative Law to provide greater transparency and public input. A copy of the administrative law petition is linked below.
District Attorney Jenecke stated, “Allowing the early release of the most dangerous criminals by shortening sentences by as much as 50%, impacts crime victims and creates a serious public safety risk. What we are asking for is that CDCR repeal these regulations and start the process anew. This will allow for the transparency and public input that our communities are entitled to. Victims, their families, and all Californians deserve a fair and honest debate about the wisdom of such drastic regulations
Letter to CDCR re: Emergency Early Release Regulations
