DA Hestrin joins with 40 elected district attorneys challenging the early release of 76,000 state prison inmates

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin announced today, May 13, 2021, that he and 40 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 April 30, 2021. These regulations would result in the early release of some of California’s most violent criminals.

“Releasing dangerous and violent felons into our communities by reducing their sentences by as much as 50 percent puts the public in danger,” DA Hestrin said. “This petition asks CDCR to repeal these regulations and rethink their approach. Specifically, victims and their families deserve to be heard on how these regulations might affect them and public safety in general.” 

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.

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