California Appellate Report links to Hayward v. Marshall (9th Cir. - Jan. 3, 2008), in which the Ninth Circuit orders the granting of a writ of habeas corpus to a convict that the state of California (in fact, governor Gray Davis) constantly turned down for parole for no real reason. This defendant, it seems, had really made good in prison.
But, for fun, take a look at the political realities:
- Gray Davis wanted to be “tough on crime” so he made what amounts to an illegal decision
- The Governator was forced to defend that decision in court, via his lawyer, Jerry “The Hippie” Brown who, when he was governor, probably wouldn’t have done what Davis did.
- Having lost before the Ninth Circuit, the Governator is now constrained by this precedent (and likely so are the California Courts), all because Gray Davis wanted to prove how tough he was.
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