It's not only criminals who get benefits from technicalities:
"Appellant Joseph McCauley (McCauley) was promoted to the position of
Correctional Sergeant at Avenal State Prison by his employer, the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The new position began on December 2,
2008, and was subject to a 12-month probationary period before it became permanent.
On December 1, 2009, CDCR served a notice of rejection on McCauley to remove him
from the position of Correctional Sergeant effective on December 8, 2009. On
December 2, 2009, another document was served on McCauley, this one purporting to
extend his probationary period until December 8, 2009. McCauley maintained that
CDCR’s notice of rejection and other papers were invalid due to failure to comply with
certain timing and notice requirements relating directly to the duration of the
probationary period. . . .
We hold that McCauley is correct that the notice of rejection was fatally deficient
under applicable law because the effective date of the rejection (i.e., Dec. 8, 2009) was
after the completion of his probationary period."
