In re Monzo

Opinion

BROWN (G. A.), P. J. The People of the State of California have appealed from an order of the superior court which vacated an order of the Adult Authority denying Edwin Joseph Monzo’s request for a review hearing before the Adult Authority board pursuant to resolution No. 283 of the Adult Authority and ordered that the Adult Authority “grant said Petitioner an immediate hearing at its next calendar for a review in accordance with Resolution No. 283 and that under all of the circumstances a review hearing be granted to Petitioner to consider this matter in the light of this opinion.”

Monzo was released on parole on February 25, 1970. He did not sign a parole agreement. On March 10, 1972, a parole violation charge was [146]prepared, charging him with a violation of “Condition 7 of the Old Conditions of Parole, by having in his possession a firearm, to wit; a .25 caliber automatic pistol.”

A notice of complaint dated April 6, 1972, alleging the same violation was served upon Monzo on April 7, 1972. A revocation hearing was held on May 17, 1972. He pleaded not guilty but was found guilty, and his parole was revoked.

Monzo applied for a review of the decision pursuant to Adult Authority resolution No. 283. A hearing was held without the petitioner being present on June 20, 1972, and on that date the request was denied.

The pivotal question for decision is whether the Adult Authority had the power to revoke Monzo’s parole absent a signed parole agreement, and, if so, whether the ground stated in this instance was a sufficient' basis for the exercise of that power. Both questions must be answered in the affirmative.

It is first to be noted that all events in the parole revocation process occurred prior to June 29, 1972, the effective date of Morrissey v. Brewer (1972) 408 U.S. 471 [33 L.Ed.2d 484, 92 S.Ct. 2593], which delineates minimum guidelines that must be followed after that date in parole revocation proceedings. The case, therefore, is governed by the law as it existed before Morrissey.

We have concluded that all parole violations are based upon the Adult Authority’s general power to revoke paroles and that there is no legal requirement that there be a parole contract or that an express condition of a parole contract be violated. Penal Code sections 3053, 3060, 3063 and 50771 confer broad authority on the Adult Authority in this area.