California Supreme Court Reaffirms Lawrence Holding

On December 29, 2011, the California Supreme Court decided In re Richard Shaputis (Shaputis II), in which it reaffirmed the “some evidence” standard first articulated in Lawrence in 2008.

In Shaputis II, the Supreme Court reversed a Court of Appeal’s decision to overturn the Board of Parole Hearing’s denial of parole to Richard Shaputis. The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal had gone too far in reviewing that Board’s denial by “reweighing” the evidence presented before the Board. The Court also articulated a new standard for lower courts to review Board denials based on an inmate’s “lack of insight.”