Do Parolees Have A Right To An Attorney ?

All of the hullabaloo over Proposition 8 in California and its denial of equal rights to homosexuals has overshadowed another proposition also approved by California voters. A key provision of Proposition 9 also concerned the rights of a segment of the population -- the right of parolees to have a state-paid attorney in revocation hearings.

Proposition 9 denied that right to parolees unless the case is unusually complex or involves an issue of mental competency. That would cover only about 15% of California's revocation hearings. In the other 85% of hearings, the parolee would not get a lawyer unless he/she had enough money to hire one (which is highly unlikely in the vast majority of cases).

But yesterday, that provision of Proposition 9 was overturned by a federal judge. In Sacramento, U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton ruled that California must provide attorneys for parolees in ALL revocation hearings.

I expect California will appeal this decision to a higher court, and unless it is overturned by the Court of Appeals, it could go all the way to the Supreme Court. That's because this California decision could affect a whole lot of states.

Here in Texas, parolees are not provided with an attorney unless they are charged with a new felony (most likely because any testimony or evidence introduced in a revocation hearing could later be used in a court of law). If a parolee is accused of a misdemeanor or a technical violation, he will not be appointed an attorney by the state. A technical violation is a violation of parole that is not also a law violation, such as failing to report to a parole officer or moving to an undisclosed address.

Right now, the ruling only affects California. But it could easily affect other states, especially if it is upheld by a higher court. In states as large as California or Texas, that could be a pretty big budget hit (an estimated $40 million in California).

What do you think? In a court of law, a defendant is entitled to a government-paid attorney if he cannot afford to hire one on his/her own. Should parolees have that same right at a parole revocation hearing?