Court overturns injunction on longer wait for parole hearings

Sacramento Bee ^ | 12/10/10 | Denny Walsh

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An appellate court on Monday struck down a Sacramento federal judge's injunction prohibiting enforcement of parts of a state law governing California's parole system.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton ruled in February that life-term prisoners were likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that those sections of the so-called Victims' Bill of Rights Act that reduce availability and frequency of parole hearings violate the ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution. The clause bars laws that retroactively increase punishment after the commission of a crime.

But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared Monday that the prisoners are unlikely to succeed because the act – Proposition 9 on the November 2008 ballot – "does not create a significant risk of prolonging (their) incarceration."

The appellate judges found that Karlton abused his discretion, reversing his order granting a preliminary injunction.

[SmithL]

Smacked down by the 9th Circus? Wow! That's gonna leave a mark!

[SmithL]

Karlton, Lawrence K.

Born 1935 in Brooklyn, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Nominated by Jimmy Carter on June 5, 1979, to a seat vacated by Thomas J. MacBride; Confirmed by the Senate on July 23, 1979, and received commission on July 24, 1979. Served as chief judge, 1983-1990. Assumed senior status on May 28, 2000.

Education:
Columbia Law School, J.D., 1958

Professional Career:
U.S. Army, 1958-1960
Civilian legal officer, Sacramento Army Depot, 1960-1962
Private practice, Sacramento, California, 1962-1976
Judge, Superior Court of California, Sacramento County, 1976-1979