Parole Hearing Legal Team

Assistant General Counsel, Anna Awiszus

With nearly 165,000 prisoners, 115,000 parolees, and 50,000 staff, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has the largest and most diverse population directly affected by parole policy of any state in this country.

The Parole Team provides advice to Board of Parole Hearing (BPH) management and program staff concerning parole policy and compliance with applicable parole law and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  It provides officer-of-the day telephone support to BPH Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners conducting 2,400 life term inmate hearings and 92,000 parole violation proceedings per year. It also responds to sentencing and parole-related questions from parole offices, judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys, probation offices and allied law enforcement, and to questions from victims and witnesses concerning pending hearings.

The Parole Team, in coordination with the Legal Access Team and BPH investigators, provide extensive reviews of BPH hearing decisions for legal sufficiency and recommend modifications as necessary. The team oversees the planning, organizing and conducting of training for BPH commissioners and deputy commissioners, and parole and institutional staff regarding hearing policy and procedures, and provides legal support to staff responsible for drafting proposed regulations or regulation amendments
The Parole Team analyzes and makes recommendations on current litigation, habeas petitions and administrative proceedings that may affect the BPH or DAPO; coordinating with the Office of the Attorney General.

The Parole Team assists in the drafting, amending or review of contracts for the services of attorneys, physicians, mental health clinicians, and interpreters related to parole proceedings. It negotiates, reviews, administers, audits and monitors program performance of the legal service contract for the provision of llegal representation to 84,000 parolees facing revocation proceedings.

The Parole Team participates in and supports compliance monitoring activities relating to Armstrong v. Schwarzenegger and Valdivia v. Schwarzenegger. Attorneys monitor, supervise, and assure compliance with orders stemming from these class actions. The Parole Team also works closely with the Litigation Project Team that formulates litigation and compliance strategies in Valdivia, Armstrong and Rutherford.