In Re Cleaver

California Court of Appeal Jul 25, 1984 No. Civ. 33175Published

Before: Rickles

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Holding. The court held that pretrial detainees are not entitled to worktime credits under Penal Code section 2933 because they are not similarly situated to post-sentenced state prison inmates, and the statute does not violate equal protection or due process rights.

Issues

Whether pretrial detainees are entitled to worktime credits under Penal Code section 2933.
Whether the denial of section 2933 credits to pretrial detainees violates equal protection.
Whether the denial of section 2933 credits to pretrial detainees violates substantive due process by burdening the right to a jury trial.

Disposition. denied

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The first prerequisite to a meritorious claim under the equal protection clause is a showing that the state has adopted a classification that affects two or more similarly situated groups in an unequal manner.”

“Section 2933’s work-time credits cannot be considered, even in the most remote sense, as an incentive to a defendant to waive this right.”

Opinion

RICKLES, J.

In this petition we are asked to determine if an indigent, detained in county jail after having exercised his right to request trial, is entitled to worktime credits under Penal Code section 2933.

The original petition for writ of habeas corpus was denied without opinion by this court. However, the Supreme Court issued an order to show cause and returned the matter to this court. As indicated below, we have chosen to follow our initial ruling and deny this writ.

On December 17, 1982, petitioner (Cleaver) was incarcerated in county jail and charged with violating section 496 (receiving stolen property). Being indigent, Cleaver was unable to make bail. He remained in jail until May 19, 1983, when, after jury trial conviction, he was sent to state prison.

Under section 2931, Cleaver was credited one day for each two days spent in county jail. Cleaver seeks local time credits calculated on a day-for-day

[773]

basis as provided for by section 2933. This section applies to convicted felons serving time in state prison. Under some circumstances, subject to “institutional security and available resources,” the prisoner may take part in work or educational programs which would entitle him to worktime credits and thus a reduction of his term on a day-for-day basis.

There is no counterpart to section 2933 that would apply to pretrial felons incarcerated in county jail due to their inability to make bail. Cleaver’s petition suggests the following when a pretrial felon cannot make bail; The felon who is able to make bail and the felon who choses to plead guilty, rather than exercise his right to a trial, are at least in a position to

possibly

take advantage of section 2933 sooner than the indigent felon sent to prison after a guilty verdict. Admittedly, in comparing these hypothetical felons discussed above, it is mathematically possible for the former to serve less total days of incarceration than the latter, assuming the same terms are assigned.

In Re Cleaver

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RICKLES, J.

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