Tomorrow the Supreme Court will issue its long-awaited opinion in People v. Williams. The issue presented is: “Does Penal Code section 3051, subdivision (h), violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by excluding young adults convicted and sentenced for serious sex crimes under the One Strike law (Pen. Code, § 667.61) from youth offender parole consideration, while young adults convicted of first degree murder are entitled to such consideration?”
The First District, Division Four issued a published opinion on this issue in 2019 and found an equal protection violation. (People v. Edwards (2019) 34 Cal.App.5th 183.) The Supreme Court did not grant review in that case, but granted review in Williams when the published part of an opinion by the Fourth District, Division One disagreed with Edwards.
The Supreme Court granted review in Williams in July 2020.
