The friend-of-the-court brief provides analysis and guidelines for courts reviewing parole denials and revocations in order to ensure that the Board of Prison Terms and Governor operate within constitutional boundaries and that judicial oversight of the process is maintained. The brief was filed on May 27, 2005.

“Constitutional guarantees of due process demand that parole decisions reflect an individualized consideration of all relevant factors, be based on relevant and reliable evidence, and present a reasonable interpretation of all the circumstances,” said Julia Harumi Mass, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California. “The brief confirms that, notwithstanding the discretion afforded the Governor’s parole decisions, California courts continue to have a meaningful—and critical—role in ensuring that the liberty interests of California inmates remain adequately protected,” said Sadik Huseny, an associate at Latham & Watkins LLP.

Scott was granted parole after serving almost 17 years for killing a drug dealer who furnished drugs to his wife and then began a sexual relationship with her once she became addicted. Governor Schwarzenegger reversed the Board of Prison Terms' grant of parole despite Scott's perfect prison record, his lack of any criminal or unstable history outside the period in which his marriage was breaking down, and extremely positive recommendations from prison psychologists regarding his rehabilitation and likelihood of success on parole. The Governor and Board of Prison Terms deny parole in the vast majority of cases, despite a legislative mandate that parole be granted unless the inmate poses a current unreasonable threat to public safety. In 2003, 99.6% of eligible inmates were denied parole.

“The threshold for being able to deny parole is already very low,” said Matt Gray, the Sacramento lobbyist for Voters Corrections Reform Coalition. “The government’s repeated violation of even these standards sends a message that parole is really all about politics and the need to appear tough on crime to voters.”

Voters Corrections Reform Coalition is a statewide organization of advocacy groups and individuals who seek to ensure that corrections and parole policies are fair and appropriate, provide intervention and rehabilitation for offenders, and improve public safety through the efficient use of taxpayer dollars. One of the coalition groups, California Prisoners Union (CPU), represents the 308,000 membership of inmates, juvenile wards, parolees, and persons who are on probation. CPU is now gearing up to sue the state over what it sees as continued abuses in the prison system.