144 Cal. App. 4th 475 - In Re Elkins’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

2 federal appellate · 47 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 59 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[t]he commitment offense is one of only two factors indicative of unsuitability a prisoner cannot change (the other being his `Previous Record of Violence'). Reliance on such an immutable factor `without regard to or consideration of subsequent circumstances' may be unfair [citation], and `runs contrary to the rehabilitative goals espoused by the prison system and could result in a due process violation.' [Citation.] The commitment offense can negate suitability only if circumstances of the crime reliably established by evidence in the record rationally indicate that the offender will present an unreasonable public safety risk if released from prison. Yet, the predictive value of the commitment offense may be very questionable after a long period of time. [Citation.] Thus, denial of release based solely on the basis of the gravity of the commitment offense warrants especially close scrutiny.”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 150 Cal. App. 4th 1511 - In Re Lawrence · 156 Cal. App. 4th 1387 - In Re Dannenberg

2. “`Given the lapse of 2[9] years and the exemplary rehabilitative gains made by [Barker] over that time, continued reliance on the aggravating facts of the crime no longer amount[s] to "some evidence”

   3 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 159 Cal. App. 4th 1089 - In Re Rozzo · 150 Cal. App. 4th 1511 - In Re Lawrence

3. “(b) All relevant, reliable information available to the panel shall be considered in determining suitability for parole. Such information shall include the circumstances of the prisoner’s social history; past and present mental state; past criminal history, including involvement in other criminal misconduct which is reliably documented; the base and other commitment offenses, including behavior before, during and after the crime; past and present attitude toward the crime; any conditions of treatment or control, including the use of special conditions under which the prisoner may safely be released to the community; and any other information which bears on the prisoner’s suitability for release. Circumstances which taken alone may not firmly establish unsuitability for parole may contribute to a pattern which results in a finding of unsuitability. (c) The following circumstances each tend to indicate unsuitability for release. These circumstances are set forth as general guidelines; the importance attached to any circumstance or combination of circumstances in a particular case is left to the judgment of the panel. Circumstances tending to indicate unsuitability include: (1) Commitment Offense. The prisoner committed the offense in an especially heinous, atrocious or cruel manner. The factors to be considered include: (A) Multiple victims were attacked, injured or killed in the same or separate incidents. (B) The offense was carried out in a dispassionate and calculated manne”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage
   e.g. 573 F. Supp. 2d 1303 - Saldate v. Adams · 156 Cal. App. 4th 1387 - In Re Dannenberg