A Franklin hearing is a court proceeding that inmates can request if they were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences while they were still young. At the hearing, the inmate can present evidence that would mitigate their sentence that is related to their age at the time of the offense. This supplements the evidence from the sentencing hearing.
What is a Franklin hearing?
A Franklin hearing is a supplemental sentencing hearing for defendants who were convicted for a controlling offense when they were under a certain age. The hearing gives these inmates an opportunity to provide additional mitigating evidence related to their youth to the court. That evidence can then be used by the Board of Parole Hearings when it holds the eventual youth offender parole hearing.
The name for a Franklin hearing comes from the California Supreme Court case, People v. Tyris Lamar Franklin.1 Since this case in 2016, California has passed several laws that explicitly provide for these hearings.
Evidence provided during Franklin hearings often deal with the defendant’s:
- young age at the time of the offense and related factors,
- upbringing and any negative influences in the defendant’s early years,
- mental and emotional state,
- maturity,
- juvenile record,
- ability to understand that the offense was wrong,
- diminished culpability, when compared to adults,
- hallmark features of youth at the time of the offense, and
- subsequent growth and increased maturity while in prison.2
These mitigating factors can take the form of:
- prison disciplinary records,
- testimony from friends and family members,
- psychology and mental health reports, and
- reports of risk assessments.
These factors must now be given great weight before imposing a long-term sentence in state prison for a young offender. According to case law from the Supreme Court of the United States, offenses that carry long prison terms for a young defendant can violate the Eighth Amendment if the defendant does not have an adequate opportunity to present this evidence.3
For inmates already in prison on lengthy sentences, they can be presented as evidence of the inmate’s parole suitability.
Eligible inmates who do not request a Franklin hearing will have a youth offender parole hearing that does not have this mitigating evidence before the board. Before the Franklin case in 2016, California trial courts did not take this evidence during the sentencing hearing. Without mitigating evidence to show that the youth of the inmate contributed to his or her criminal offense, the board at the future parole hearing is less likely to release the inmate on parole.
What is a controlling offense?
A controlling offense is any crime or sentencing enhancement for which a sentencing court imposed the longest term of imprisonment.4 It is a controlling offense if the5 :
- defendant was 25 years of age or younger at the time of the offense, and he or she was given a determinate sentence,
- defendant was 25 or younger, and the minimum sentence was under 25 years and the maximum was life in prison,
- defendant was 25 or younger, and the sentence was 25 years to life in prison, or
- defendant was 17 or younger but not treated as a juvenile offender, and the sentence was life without the possibility of parole (an LWOP sentence).
These offenses are often severe crimes, like:
When is an inmate eligible for youth parole?
Inmates are eligible for youth parole after they have served a significant portion of their prison sentence. In some cases, this only happens after the inmate’s 25th year of incarceration.
An inmate’s precise youth parole eligibility date depends on their age at the time of the offense and the sentence that was imposed6 :
| Defendant’s age at time of offense | Sentence imposed | Youth parole eligible date |
| 25 or younger | Determinate sentence | 1st day of 15th year in prison |
| 25 or younger | Between less than 25 years and life in prison | 1st day of 20th year in prison |
| 25 or younger | At least 25 years to life in prison | 1st day of 25th year in prison |
| 17 or younger | Life without possibility of parole | 1st day of 25th year in prison |
Inmates who are eligible for youth parole are entitled to their first youthful offender parole hearing within 6 months of their youth parole eligibility date.7 It is at this hearing that the parole board will consider mitigating evidence that suggests that the inmate committed the crime because of his or her young age.
Requesting a Franklin hearing is the only way to ensure that the parole board will have that mitigation evidence before it.
How can an inmate request a Franklin hearing?
Inmates who are eligible for release on youth parole in California, and who were sentenced before 2016, when the Franklin case was decided, have to request a Franklin hearing. They can request one by filing a writ of habeas corpus at the trial court that sentenced them.
Legal References:
- People v. Franklin, 63 Cal.4th 261 (2016).
- See California Penal Code 4801(c) PC.
- Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012) and Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010).
- California Penal Code 3051(a)(2)(B) PC.
- California Penal Code 3051(b) PC.
- California Penal Code 3051(b) PC.
- California Penal Code 3051(a)(2)(C) PC.
