In re Murray

• Decision Date: 31 August 2021
• Docket Number: A161687
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: IN RE Paul MURRAY on Habeas Corpus.

68 Cal.App.5th 456

283 Cal.Rptr.3d 601

IN RE Paul MURRAY on Habeas Corpus.

A161687

Court of Appeal, First District, Division 2, California.

Filed August 31, 2021

Under Appointment of the Court of Appeal, Law Offices of John F. Schuck, John F. Schuck, for Petitioner.

Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey M. Laurence, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Rene A. Chacon, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Catherine A. Rivlin, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, for Respondent.

Richman, Acting P.J.

In 2008, petitioner Paul Murray was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for a first degree special circumstance murder he committed when he was 22 years old. In 2020, he sought a hearing pursuant to People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261, 202 Cal.Rptr.3d 496, 370 P.3d 1053 on the ground that he was eligible for a Penal Code section 3051 youth offender parole hearing. The trial court denied his request because the terms of section 3051 expressly exclude LWOP offenders who were 18 years old or older at the time of their offense.

Petitioner has filed a petition for habeas corpus, contending that section 3051 violates his constitutional right to equal protection by affording juvenile LWOP offenders a youth offender parole hearing but denying such a hearing to youthful LWOP offenders. In conformity with an order from our Supreme Court, we issued an order to show cause why petitioner is not entitled to the relief sought. Respondent filed a return, petitioner a traverse, and neither side requested oral argument. We now deny the petition, concluding there is a rational basis for distinguishing between juvenile and youthful LWOP offenders in this context.

BACKGROUND

In 2008, petitioner was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole (LWOP) for a first degree special circumstance murder he committed when he was 22 years old.¹ In 2010, we affirmed his judgment of conviction. (People v. Murray , supra , A121746.)

On March 16, 2020, petitioner filed a motion for a Franklin hearing,² contending he was eligible for a youth offender parole hearing under Penal Code section 3051.³ The trial court denied his motion because under the terms of section 3051, subdivision (h), "people sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for crimes committed when they were at least 18 years of age but no more than ‘25 years of age or younger’ are not eligible for youth offender parole hearings." Petitioner appealed, arguing he was not in fact sentenced to LWOP. Because the record confirmed he did receive an LWOP sentence, we affirmed the trial court's order.⁴ ( People v. Murray (Mar. 15, 2021, A160981, 2021 WL 960496 ) [nonpub. opn.].)

Meanwhile, on December 30, 2020, petitioner filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus asserting an equal protection violation. The alleged violation is based on section 3051, subdivision (h), which excludes from the benefits of the statute individuals sentenced to LWOP who were 18 years of age or older at the time of their offense. According to petitioner, the statute violates his right to equal protection by affording juvenile LWOP offenders (those under 18 at the time of their offense) a youth offender parole hearing while denying youthful LWOP offenders (those 18 to 25 years old at the time of their offense) a hearing.⁵

DISCUSSION

Youth Offender Parole Hearings

The origin and evolution of section 3051 have been well and thoroughly summarized by a number of courts. (See, e.g., People v. Jackson (2021) 61 Cal.App.5th 189, 194–195, 279 Cal.Rptr.3d 396 ( Jackson ); People v. Acosta (2021) 60 Cal.App.5th 769, 775–777, 275 Cal.Rptr.3d 110 ( Acosta ); In re Williams (2020) 57 Cal.App.5th 427, 431–433, 271 Cal.Rptr.3d 453 ; In re Jones (2019) 42 Cal.App.5th 477, 484–485, 255 Cal.Rptr.3d 571 (conc. opn. of Pollak, J.).) We quote one such summary at length here, that from Acosta :

"The Legislature first enacted section 3051 in 2013 in response to a series of decisions concerning Eighth Amendment limitations on juvenile sentencing. (See Graham [v. Florida ] 560 U.S. [48,] 74 [130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010)] [juvenile who commits nonhomicide offense cannot be sentenced to LWOP]; Miller v. Alabama (2012) 567 U.S. 460, 465 [132 S.Ct. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407] [juvenile who commits homicide offense cannot be sentenced automatically to LWOP]; People v. Caballero (2012) 55 Cal.4th 262, 268 [145 Cal.Rptr.3d 286, 282 P.3d 291] [juvenile cannot be sentenced to functional equivalent of LWOP for a nonhomicide offense].) These decisions rested in part ‘on science and social science’ ( Miller , at p. 471 ), and noted that ‘developments in psychology and brain science continue to show fundamental differences between juvenile and adult minds’ and in the ‘parts of the brain involved in behavior control’ ( Graham , at p. 68 ; see Caballero , at p. 266 [145 Cal.Rptr.3d 286, 282 P.3d 291] ).

" ‘[T]he Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 260 [(2013–2014 Reg. Sess.)] explicitly to bring juvenile sentencing into conformity with Graham , Miller , and Caballero .’ ( People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261, 277 [202 Cal.Rptr.3d 496, 370 P.3d 1053].) In enacting section 3051, the Legislature explained that ‘youthfulness both lessens a juvenile's moral culpability and enhances the prospect that, as a youth matures into an adult and neurological development occurs, these individuals can become contributing members of society.’ (Stats. 2013, ch. 312, § 1.) The bill's stated purpose was ‘to establish a parole eligibility mechanism that provides a person serving a sentence for crimes that he or she committed as a juvenile the opportunity to obtain release when he or she has shown that he or she has been rehabilitated and gained maturity, in accordance with the decision of the California Supreme Court in [ Caballero ] and the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in [ Graham and Miller ].’ (Ibid. )

"As originally enacted, section 3051 only afforded a youth parole eligibility hearing to juvenile offenders, not to young adults. ( In re Trejo (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 972, 981 & fn. 6 .) It also excluded juveniles who were sentenced to LWOP, since they were already eligible for resentencing under section 1170. (Former § 3051, subd. (h) [‘This section shall not apply to cases ... in which an individual is sentenced to’ LWOP], as enacted by Stats. 2013, ch. 312, § 4.) In the years that followed, however, the Legislature expanded section 3051 ’s provisions on who is eligible for a youth offender parole hearing, ‘recogniz[ing] that the maturity process does not end at 18 and in many cases extends to at least 25 years of age.’ ( In re Jones (2019) 42 Cal.App.5th 477, 484 (conc. opn. of Pollak, J.) ( Jones ).)

"In 2015, the Legislature expanded section 3051 to apply to offenders who committed crimes at the age of 23 or younger. (Former § 3051, subd. (a)(1), added by Stats. 2015, ch. 471, § 1.) The amendment's author cited ‘[r]ecent scientific evidence on adolescent and young adult development and neuroscience show[ing] that certain areas of the brain—particularly those affecting judgment and decision-making—do not fully develop until the early-to mid-20s.’ (Sen. Com. on Public Safety, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 261 (2015–2016 Reg. Sess.) Apr. 28, 2015, p. 3.)

"In 2017, the Legislature twice amended section 3051. First, the Legislature further increased the age from 23 to 25, such that offenders serving a determinate or life sentence for crimes committed when they were 25 or younger are now eligible for a youth offender parole hearing. ( § 3051, subd. (b) ; Stats. 2017, ch. 675, § 1.) The amendment's author cited research that the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decisionmaking and impulse control, ‘doesn't have nearly the functional capacity at age 18 as it does at 25.’ (Assem. Com. on Public Safety, Analysis of Assem. Bill No. 1308 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.), as amended Mar. 30, 2017, Apr. 25, 2017, p. 2.)

"That same year, the Legislature also amended section 3051 to allow youth offender parole hearings for juveniles—but not young adults—sentenced to LWOP. ( § 3051, subd. (b)(4) ; Stats. 2017, ch. 684, § 1.) This amendment was designed to ‘bring California into compliance with the constitutional requirements of Miller and Montgomery [v. Louisiana (2016) 577 U.S. 190, 136 S.Ct. 718, 193 L.Ed.2d 599 ],’ which held that Miller ’s prohibition on mandatory LWOP sentences for juvenile offenders was retroactive. (Sen. Com. on Public Safety, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 394 (2017–2018 Reg. Sess.) Mar. 21, 2017, p. 4.) The bill sought ‘to remedy the now unconstitutional juvenile sentences of life without the possibility of parole,’ without the need for ‘a resentencing hearing, which is time-consuming, expensive, and subject to extended appeals.’ (Id. at p. 3.)

"Thus, in its current form, section 3051 ‘permit[s] the reevaluation of the fitness to return to society of persons who committed serious offenses prior to reaching full cognitive and emotional maturity,’ unless the person was ‘between 18 and 25 years of age when they committed their offense [and] sentenced to life without possibility of parole.’ ( Jones, supra , 42 Cal.App.5th at p. 485 (conc. opn. of Pollak, J.).) It therefore ‘distinguishes both between those who committed their offenses under 18 years of age and those between 18 and 25 years of age, and between offenders 18 to 25 years of age sentenced to prison terms with the possibility of parole and those in the same age group who have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.’ ( Id. at p. 483 (conc. opn. of Pollak, J.).)"⁶ (Acosta , supra , 60 Cal.App.5th at pp. 775–777, 275 Cal.Rptr.3d 110, footnotes omitted.)

Equal Protection Principles

"The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 7 of the California Constitution guarantee all persons the equal protection of the laws." ( People v....