Just last night, at a holiday gathering, someone -- a non-lawyer -- asked me to explain what a "Franklin hearings" was. (I know, I know; that's super geeky, but in my defense, I was sitting next to a guy who does 'em.) Lo and behold, today, Justice Moore does a better job than I did. She says:
"Broadly speaking, a Franklin proceeding allows youth offenders sentenced to long prison terms an opportunity to introduce into the record mitigating evidence relating to their youth. As explained in the case for which it is named, People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261 (Franklin), the purpose of this proceeding is to preserve such evidence for consideration at future parole hearings. . . . . Franklin processes are more properly called ‘proceedings’ rather than ‘hearings.’ A hearing generally involves definitive issues of law or fact to be determined with a decision rendered based on that determination. [Citations.] A proceeding is a broader term describing the form or manner of conducting judicial business before a court. [Citations.] While a judicial officer presides over a Franklin proceeding and regulates its conduct, the officer is not called upon to make findings of fact or render any final determination at the proceeding’s conclusion. Parole determination [sic] are left to the Board.” (In re Cook (2019) 7 Cal.5th 439, 449 fn. 3 (Cook).)"
There you go.
