The voters in California in November, 2008 approved a new “victims rights” initiative that stated that only in rare cases would a person facing a parole violation be entitled to a skilled criminal defense lawyer in Los Angeles or another city in California to defend him or her from the allegations. What this meant is that in the vast majority of cases, parolees were facing being returned to prison without the right to have a lawyer defend them.

However, federal Judge Lawrence K. Karlton has ruled that this provision of the new law is unconstitutional.

He recently ruled that pursuant to an agreement entered into in 2004 by the State of California, all persons facing parole violations must be provided with a lawyer to defend them when they are facing a parole violation.

This decision is an extremely important one for persons who often find themselves facing parole violations brought by parole officers who do not like the parolee and often may act in unfair ways in attempt to return persons to prison unjustly. Now all persons facing parole violations once again have the right to fight their violation with a lawyer.

If you would like to discuss your parole violation matter with an experienced California criminal defense lawyer at Wallin and Klarich, feel free to call us at 888-280-6839 or go to wklaw.com to learn more about your legal rights. We will be there when you call.