Changes in good conduct rules for California inmates on hold again after court hearing

Four days after a Sacramento judge rejected efforts by 28 California district attorneys to stop state prison officials from adopting new good conduct rules that could speed up release of some inmates, another judge has ordered the state to hold off on using the rules pending an appeal.

Judge Judith S. Craddick issued an order in Sacramento Superior Court early Tuesday reinstating a temporary restraining order against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation that originally had been issued Dec. 30 and stopped state prison officials from moving forward on Jan. 1 with their planned good conduct credit changes.

CDCR won an order last week by Judge Shami Mesiwala that dissolved that TRO and rejected a request for a preliminary injunction.

But after a hearing Tuesday, Judge Craddick reinstated the TRO and stayed further proceedings in the D.A.’s lawsuit against state prison officials pending the filing of a writ with the 3rd District Court of Appeal.

The decision is the latest in a fight between most of California’s district attorneys and crime victims groups seeking to stop California prison officials from using new rules that prosecutors say could lead to early releases of up to 76,000 serious and violent criminals.

The D.A.s, led by Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert’s office, originally sued last summer after CDCR issued its new good conduct rules effective May 1 without first accepting comment from the public.

CDCR subsequently made additional changes that were to take place Jan. with good-conduct credit rules aimed at non-violent second-strike inmates who were to see their good-conduct credits increase from 50 percent to 66 percent, a move CDCR said would increase incentives for inmates to take part in rehabilitation programs.

“The department will evaluate and comply with this new order. CDCR has followed the regulatory process in our Good Conduct Credit regulations as stipulated by the Administrative Procedure Act, which allows for input from stakeholders and the public, and has always acted in the best interest of public safety,” said CDCR spokeswoman Vicky Waters in a statement provided to the Bee on Tuesday.

The department’s changes in good conduct credit rules has been controversial from the start, with prosecutors warning that they would lead to the release of dangerous felons and inmates in fire camps saying the rules changes actually increased the lengths of their sentences.

CDCR last month changed the firefighter rules, and prosecutors have not challenged those changes.