Lyons v. Kernan CA3

Filed 7/28/16 Lyons v. Kernan CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Amador) ----

WILLY CARL LYONS, C077367

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. 14 CV 8778)

v.

SCOTT KERNAN, as Secretary, etc.,

Defendant and Appellant.

Plaintiff Willy Carl Lyons (Lyons), imprisoned and representing himself in propria persona, appeals from an order denying his petition for writ of mandate against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The petition challenged the manner in which the CDCR calculated Lyons’s inmate classification score, and sought an order compelling the CDCR to recalculate Lyons’s score based on revisions to the scoring system implemented in July 2012. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 15,

1

§ 3075.1.)1 The trial court denied the petition sua sponte. The CDCR, which was never properly served, did not appear before the trial court and does not appear in this appeal. Consequently, the Attorney General declined to file a response. Finding no error, we affirm. BACKGROUND Lyons is an inmate at Mule Creek State Prison. He is currently serving a sentence of seven years to life plus 216 years for, among other things, attempted murder (Pen. Code, § 187), forcible rape (Pen. Code, § 261), lewd or lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 years (Pen. Code, § 288, subds. (a)-(c)), sodomy by force (Pen. Code, § 286, subd. (c)), forcible penetration by a foreign object (Pen. Code, § 289), and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (Pen. Code, § 261.5). Lyons has been imprisoned since 1989. The CDCR uses an inmate classification system to ensure inmates are properly housed and supervised. (§ 3375 et seq.) An inmate’s classification score determines the security level of the penal institution or facility in which he or she will be placed. (§ 3375, subd. (d).) Inmate classification scores are initially calculated when an inmate is committed to custody (§ 3375, subd. (a)), and adjusted from time to time based upon the inmate’s conduct in custody (§ 3375.4). Effective July 1, 2012, the CDCR implemented revisions to the inmate classification scoring system. (§ 3375.3, Cal. Reg. Notice Register 2012, No. 26 (filed June 26, 2012, as an emergency, operative July 1, 2012).) Among other things, the new scoring system limits the points an inmate can receive for the length of his or her term (§ 3375.3, subd. (a)(3)(A)), and discontinues the practice of assessing points for such