www.paladium.net
www.paladium.net service markSM

Horse Racing at Del Mar racetrack 2004-08-14

Horse Racing at Del Mar Racetrack 2004-08-14
Source: pdphoto.org

CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT OFFICERS: PAROLE AGENT

  1. INTRODUCTION

    A table follows the parole discussion below. The table contains names of some government officers who BOTH have an occupation the name of which contains "parole agent" AND contributed to a California political entity.

  2. PAROLE DISCUSSION

    The events and conditions described below are not necessarily described perfectly. There may be errors.

    Many prisoners get out of prison before completing their full sentence. In some places, the prisoners must, as a precondition of being let out early, give their word ("parole" means word in French) that they will follow certain rules. As soon as they leave prison, they are parolees.

    Not all prisoners want to leave early. Not all prisoners want parole. There are a variety of reasons for this. For example, some prisoners prefer to serve their full sentence, then leave without the many, onerous obligations of parole hanging over their head. This is particularly true if a prisoner has almost completed serving his prison sentence at the time parole would begin, and parole would last for a long time.

    Consider a prisoner who, one day ("day one", is ordered to sign the piece of paper which is a prerequisite to being let out on parole. If he refuses to sign, and instead serves the full remainder of his sentence, he will get out of prison several months after that day (after day one). Then he will be free again. For example, a person on parole cannot simply move. He must first seek permission from his parole officer, who may deny that permission. Prisoners often form good friendships with fellow prisoners. However, parole officers have a policy that parolees should not socialize with people convicted of a felony. Thus, being on parole can force a parolee to abandon some of his friends. Parole officers annoyingly investigate parolees. For example, a parole officer might go to a parolee's home in the middle of the night while the parolee is asleep, then want to talk to the parolee to see if the parolee lives where he said he does. It is annoying to be woken in the middle of the night especially if the parolee wants a full night's sleep before going to work in the morning. Parolees must refrain from "bad acts". Behavior may be a bad act in the parole sense even if it is completely legal. The duration of parole varies. Some prisoners are on parole longer than others. Many prisoners are on parole for years. During, that period, he will have extremely restricted rights. If he violates parole rules (of, more precisely, if his parole officer thinks that he has violated parole rules) during the years he is on parole, he might be sent back to prison to complete his prison sentence. There are so many parole rules, and as a group they are so difficult to obey (especially by people who recently have left prison), that almost everyone on parole violates at least one of the rules. For the parolee we are considering (the one who has to decide whether to sign the piece of paper), the sensible thing to do is serve his full sentence (which requires only several more months in prison), then leave prison a free person, without parole hanging over his head for years.

    There are other reasons for prisoners not wanting parole.

    In California, when a prisoner is close to the date on which he is theoretically eligible to be evicted from prison onto parole, the DoC decides whether to evict him. Parole is a kind of eviction from prison, an eviction which some prisoners seek to avoid. If the DoC decides to evict a prisoner by giving him parole, he is summoned to a room, told that he will get parole, handed a piece of paper, ordered to sign it, then sent out of the room after he signs. Signing is not voluntary. In California, it is wrong to say that a parolee gave his word. In California, a parolee signed where he was ordered to sign.

    What if the prisoner disobeys the order to sign? What if he refuses to sign? Then, he is disobeying an order, and he is actually punished. Punishment persists unless and until he signs. There was a prisoner who was illegally ordered to sign. He refused and filed a grievance. DoC did not deny that it had ordered him to sign. He lost the grievance because the hearing officer held that, given all the facts, the illegality did not vitiate the prisoner's duty to obey the order. Thus, the prisoner still had a duty to obey the order to sign.

    What does the piece of paper say? It says that the prisoner will obey the parole rules which are on that piece of paper. Those rules require, among many other things, that he will obey his parole officer (although it is impossible for him to know in advance what his parole officer will order). There was a prisoner who, upon reading the list of rules, realized that, despite his best efforts to obey all of the rules for the entire period of his parole, he would disobey. It can be a crime to make a promise one knows that one shall not keep, especially if a prisoner falsely makes a promise to a DoC officer. The prisoner did not want to falsely promise to obey rules. The prisoner told the DoC officer (who had ordered the prisoner to sign), that he, the prisoner would disobey the list of rules. The officer repeated the order to sign. The prisoner said that he would sign only if he could write, above his signature, that he would disobey the rules. The office permitted that. The prisoner wrote on the piece of paper more or less that he predicted that he would not obey the rules on that piece of paper. He underlined the word "not". Under that statement, the prisoner signed. DoC evicted him from prison on parole. Later, the prisoner was in the office of his parole agent's (parole officer). The parole agent had the parolee's file open to the piece of paper (possibly a copy) with the compulsory signature. The officer saw the parolee's statement predicting that he would not obey. The agent called someone else (maybe a fellow parole agent) into the office and silently pointed to the disobedience prediction. They visitor silently looked at it.

    The anecdotes above illustrate California's policy of letting prisoners out of prison early without requiring that they first give their word that they will obey parole rules. The signature on the piece of paper is proof only that the prisoner obeyed an order to sign. The prisoner is not told, "Read this. If it's true [in other words, if you promise to follow the rules on the piece of paper], sign it." The prisoner is not told, "Read this. If you want to leave prison early by being on parole, sign this." The prisoner is simply ordered to sign. What is the advantage to the state government of those pieces of paper? It seems like a waste of time and paper, and therefore money, to get them all signed. California's state government tries to trick people outside prison into thinking that a prisoner's signature on the piece of paper is voluntary. Maybe the trickery is done in parole hearings or in court hearings. Maybe a government officer falsely says in a hearing that the prisoner gave his word, or that he was let out of prison in exchange for his promise to follow rules.

    There are many reasons why a parolee should be expected to violate parole rules. One reason is that he never promised to obey the rules. He simply signed where he was ordered to sign. The DoC coerces his signature.

    Sometimes a prisoner is evicted from prison on parole. He now is forced to spend money that he would not spend if he continued serving his sentence (for example, a wide range of living expenses). Then, although he has done no crime, he is sent back to prison because he broke a parole rule he didn't promise to follow. This strikes us as unfair.

    What if a parolee harms someone (regardless of whether the harmful conduct is legal)? Is DoC recklessly forcing people to leave prison on parole? We think that DoC is reckless in not asking prisoners, before letting them out of prison on parole, if they will obey the parole rules. If it's important that parolees follow those rules after leaving prison, the prisoners should be tested on the rules before being let out. If the parole rules are important and a prisoner does not know what they are, he shouldn't be permitted to be on parole. Why spend government money getting prisoners to sign a promise to obey parole rules if the signatures are not voluntary and the signers don't know what the rules are?

    Most prisoners want parole and have terrible reading ability. They have little or no understanding of what they are signing. They would voluntarily sign anything if told that they will get parole if they sign. If the list of rules contained a rule that said, "I will fly to the moon weekly to congratulate Benjamin Franklin on his almanac.", almost all prisoners would sign and most prisoners would have no idea that the word "moon" appeared in what they had signed. Therefore, what lawful advantage does the government gain by ordering prisoners to sign?

    By the way, California DoC lacks space in its prisons for all prisoners. It must evict many prisoners on parole to make space for new prisoners coming in. DoC officers decide whether to let a prison out on parole. The decision is pursuant to rules which are rigged to result in huge numbers of prisoners getting out on parole. The rules are rigged because, among other reasons, space is needed for new prisoners.

    Some California prisoners are denied parole. Some of them (those who are denied) request parole. A few of the post-denial requesters are granted parole. For those grantees, parole is a privilege, not a duty. Those few prisoners are let out on parole in response to their explicit request. They are not evicted on parole. However, those prisoners sign the piece of paper because they are ordered to, and most sign without reading it.

    In the several paragraphs abovebove, we discuss a class of parole coercion: prisoners who sign a piece of paper because they are ordered to do so (class one coercion). There is a second class of coercion. Almost all California prisoners (perhaps all Caifornia prisoners) are treated illegally in prison. Many of them, to escape that illegal treatment, seek parole and therefore sign (class two coercion).

    If prison is a punishment the prisoner deserves, why let people out of prison before they get their full punishment? If prison rehabilitates prisoners, why let them out before their rehabilitation is finished? If a prisoner has gotten the full punishment and rehabilitation which is right for him, why not simply release him from prison? If a person on parole does a crime, the government should pay his victim for at least one of the following, independent reasons:

    1. The paroled prisoner was let out of prison before his sentence was complete. This reason is stronger if the judge explicitly mentioned rehabilitation as a reason for the prison sentence.
    2. The paroled prisoner wanted to serve his full sentence but instead was evicted from prison on parole. This reason may apply if a class one coercion victim harms someone outside prison.
    3. The paroled prisoner sought parole to avoid the government's illegal treatment of him in prison. This reason may apply if a class two coercion victim harms someone outside prison.

    The discussion above is about, among other things, the common lie that California parolees gave their word to get out of prison, and the common misconception that California parole is voluntary.

  3. TABLE

    Contributor Recipient Contest Name Amount Contributed Contribution Date Contribution Type
    BARROS PHIL, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, SACRAMENTO, VC 95823HERNANDEZ FOR ASSEMBLY, MANNY, ID#1251835State Assembly 09$100.006/2/2003MONETARY
    HERNANDEZ FOR ASSEMBLY, MANNY, ID#1251835State Assembly 09$100.006/12/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$200.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$200.00
    BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA MARQUEZ-, DEPT. OF CORRECTING, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411ROMERO FOR STATE SENATE, GLORIA, ID#1233960State Senate 24$100.0010/17/2002MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA M., CA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92414BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$1,000.0010/16/2004MONETARY
     Total Monetary$1,000.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$1,000.00
    BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA, CALIFORNIA DEPT OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411SOTO, FRIENDS OF NELL, ID#1253169State Assembly 61$600.009/15/2004MONETARY
    SOTO FOR SENATE 2002, ID#1223120State Senate 32$100.009/27/2002MONETARY
     Total Monetary$700.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$700.00
    CALLAHAN JOHN MR., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, RIVERSIDE, CA 92504NO ON KNIGHT - NO ON PROP. 22, ID#990089LIMIT ON MARRIAGES. INITIATIVE STATUTE 22$100.002/25/2000MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    COOK JAMES A., STATE OF CA, PAROLE AGENT, ELK GROVE, CA 95758DEMOCRATIC STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF CALIFORNIA, ID#741666-$345.002/25/2003MONETARY
    DEMOCRATIC STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF CALIFORNIA, ID#741666-$275.001/20/2004MONETARY
    DEMOCRATIC STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF CALIFORNIA, ID#741666-$60.006/30/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$680.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$680.00
    GRIFFITH HELEN E., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, BREA, CA 92821BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$700.006/30/2003MONETARY
    BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$25.007/25/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$725.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$725.00
    GRIFFITH HELEN, CALIFORNIA DEPT OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, ALISO VIEJO, CA 92656DEMOCRATIC STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF CALIFORNIA, ID#741666-$100.002/28/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    HILL RONALD, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, FRESNO, CA 93722ARAMBULA FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1250851State Assembly 31$100.0010/12/2004MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    JACKSON BONITA A., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, FONTANA, CA 92336BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$200.0010/10/2003MONETARY
    BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$100.009/28/2003MONETARY
    BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$15.009/28/2003MONETARY
    BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62($200.00)11/3/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$115.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$115.00
    JOHNSON LES H., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, SACRAMENTO, CA 95831CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$100.006/29/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$55.006/30/2001MONETARY
    GARAMENDI COMMITTEE, ID#1234626Insurance Commissioner$50.0012/20/2002MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$25.009/27/2001MONETARY
     Total Monetary$230.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$230.00
    JOHNSON LES, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, SACRAMENTO, CA 95831STEINBERG, FRIENDS OF DARRELL, ID#1237420State Assembly 09$150.0010/22/2001MONETARY
     Total Monetary$150.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$150.00
    KEVORKIAN RANDY, STATE OF CA, PAROLE AGENT, FRESNO, CA 93729POOCHIGIAN SENATE COMMITTEE, ID#990479State Senate 14$300.006/9/2000MONETARY
     Total Monetary$300.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$300.00
    LIZARRAGA LOUIS, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, SAN JOSE, CA 95125TAX RELIEF COMMITTEE, A PROJECT OF THE HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION, ID#922117SCHOOL FACILITIES LOCAL VOTE BONDS TAXES 39$100.008/23/2000MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    LOUIS LOUIS, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, SAN JOSE, CA 95125SIMON FOR GOVERNOR, BILL, ID#1233478Governor$100.004/10/2002MONETARY
     Total Monetary$100.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$100.00
    LOWERY PAM, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, COLTON, CA 92324-6824BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$300.008/7/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$300.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$300.00
    MARQUEZ-BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA, CA DEPT OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411SOTO, FRIENDS OF NELL, ID#1253169State Assembly 61$1,500.008/11/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$1,500.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$1,500.00
    MARQUEZ-BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA, CA DEPT. OF CORRECTION, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$250.0010/19/2002MONETARY
     Total Monetary$250.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$250.00
    MARQUEZ-BERMUDEZ VIRGINIA, CA DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92411SOTO FOR SUPERVISOR, ID#1255632-$500.0010/15/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$500.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$500.00
    MATSUO KEITH E., STATE OF CA, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867CHIANG FOR CALIFORNIA, JOHN, ID#1254774State Treasurer$500.0012/10/2003MONETARY
    CHIANG FOR BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, JOHN, ID#971663Other 04$250.003/20/2002MONETARY
    CHIANG FOR BOARD OF EQUALIZATION, JOHN, ID#971663Other$200.0010/30/2001MONETARY
     Total Monetary$950.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$950.00
    MATSUO KEITH E., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867DE LEON, FRIENDS OF KEVIN, ID#1263087State Assembly 45$1,000.0012/6/2004MONETARY
    DE LEON, FRIENDS OF KEVIN, ID#1263087State Assembly 45$750.0012/6/2004MONETARY
    DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$305.009/4/2002MONETARY
    DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$300.0012/4/2001MONETARY
    DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$300.0010/28/2002MONETARY
    DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$250.008/12/2002MONETARY
    DAVIS COMMITTEE, THE GOVERNOR GRAY, ID#962636Governor 00$200.004/3/2002MONETARY
    BACA JR. FOR ASSEMBLY, JOE, ID#1250669State Assembly 62$200.001/30/2004MONETARY
     Total Monetary$3,305.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$3,305.00
    MATSUO KEITH EVANS, STATE OF CA, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867BUSTAMANTE, FRIENDS OF CRUZ, ID#1257245Governor$125.009/3/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$125.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$125.00
    MATSUO KEITH EVANS, STATE OF CALIFORNAI, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867BROWN FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL, ID#1265698Attorney General$250.009/17/2004MONETARY
     Total Monetary$250.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$250.00
    MATSUO KEITH, STATE OF CA, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867CHACON FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1254869State Assembly 50$500.006/30/2003MONETARY
    THE CALIFORNIA VOTER PROJECT, ID#992357-$200.009/15/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$700.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$700.00
    MATSUO KEITH, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, ORANGE, CA 92867MATTHEWS FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, BARBARA, ID#990390State Assembly 17$250.001/12/2000MONETARY
     Total Monetary$250.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$250.00
    POTNICK GREGORY R., STATE OF CALIFORNIA, PAROLE AGENT, WEST SACRAMENTO, CA 95691CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$250.009/4/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$50.004/22/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$50.006/8/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$50.007/1/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$50.008/9/2001MONETARY
    CABALDON FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, CHRISTOPHER, ID#1231946State Assembly 08$50.009/13/2001MONETARY
     Total Monetary$500.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$500.00
    VERDUGO JOHN, DEPT OF CORRECTIONS, PAROLE AGENT, MONTEBELLO, CA 90640CHACON FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1254869State Assembly 50$500.006/30/2003MONETARY
    CHACON FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1254869State Assembly 50$500.003/2/2004MONETARY
    CHACON FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1254869State Assembly 50$100.002/12/2004MONETARY
    CHACON FOR ASSEMBLY, ID#1254869State Assembly 50$100.009/5/2003MONETARY
     Total Monetary$1,200.00 
    Total Loan$0.00
    Total Non-monetary$0.00
    Grand Total$1,200.00