A Franklin hearing in California is a court proceeding that gives a person sentenced for a crime committed at age 25 or younger the chance to put youth-related evidence on the record for a future parole hearing. It takes its name from the 2016 California Supreme Court decision in People v. Franklin, and its purpose is practical: the Board of Parole Hearings is required by law to give “great weight” to the diminished culpability of youth, the hallmark features of youth, and any later growth and maturity, but the Board can only weigh what is actually in the file. A Franklin hearing exists to make sure something is there.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 4801
The hearing matters most for people sentenced before the law changed. For years, judges had no reason to develop evidence about a defendant’s adolescent brain development, trauma history, or family circumstances, because the parole statute requiring the Board to consider those things did not yet exist. The Supreme Court in Franklin described the goal as creating “an accurate record of the juvenile offender’s characteristics and circumstances at the time of the offense” so the Board could properly weigh youth-related factors years later.2California Supreme Court Resources. People v. Franklin
Who Qualifies
Eligibility follows Penal Code 3051, the statute governing youth offender parole hearings. You qualify if you were 25 or younger when you committed your “controlling offense” (the single offense or enhancement carrying the longest term) and you were sentenced to state prison. If the sentence was life without the possibility of parole, you qualify only if the controlling offense happened before you turned 18.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 3051
Depending on the sentence, the eventual youth offender parole hearing takes place during the 15th, 20th, or 25th year of incarceration. That timing matters because the Franklin hearing is meant to build the record before the parole hearing happens. If a parole hearing is approaching and the court file contains little or nothing about youth-related circumstances, the case for requesting a Franklin hearing gets stronger.
People sentenced after 2016 can still qualify if the sentencing court did not give them a meaningful chance to develop the record. The threshold question is practical: does the existing file already have enough youth-related evidence for the Board to do its job? If it does not, the Franklin hearing fills the gap.
Who Is Excluded
Penal Code 3051(h) bars several categories of offenders from youth offender parole hearings, which means a Franklin hearing would serve no purpose for them:4California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Youth Offender Parole Hearings Overview
- Anyone sentenced under California’s Three Strikes law (Penal Code 667(b)–(i) or 1170.12).
- Anyone sentenced under the One Strike law for serious sex offenses (Penal Code 667.61). The California Supreme Court affirmed this exclusion in People v. Williams (2024).
- Anyone sentenced to death.
- Anyone sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for a controlling offense committed at age 18 or older.
- Anyone who would otherwise qualify but later committed a crime involving malice aforethought, or received a life sentence for conduct after age 26.
How to Request One
If the conviction is already final, the request goes to the superior court as a motion filed under the original case caption and number. A habeas corpus petition is not required. The California Supreme Court settled this procedure in In re Cook (2019).5California Supreme Court Resources. In re Cook
The motion should cite Penal Code 1203.01 along with the authority of Franklin and Cook. It needs to show entitlement to a youth offender parole hearing based on age at the time of the offense and the sentence imposed, and it should state when that parole hearing is expected or whether it has already happened. The person is appointed counsel for the hearing itself.
What Happens at the Hearing
A Franklin hearing is not a retrial and not a resentencing. Guilt is not the question. The hearing captures a snapshot of who the person was at the time of the offense so the parole board can use it years later.
Both sides can offer documents, evaluations, and live testimony subject to cross-examination. Defense evidence typically covers cognitive development, emotional maturity, family background, trauma history, and the influence of peer pressure or gang involvement. Psychological evaluations addressing the hallmark features of adolescence and young adulthood (impulsiveness, susceptibility to outside influence, underdeveloped judgment) are common, as is testimony from family members, former teachers, counselors, and mental health professionals.2California Supreme Court Resources. People v. Franklin
The prosecution participates fully. It can introduce evidence of the offender’s culpability, cognitive maturity at the time, or anything else bearing on how much youth-related factors actually shaped the crime. This is an adversarial proceeding, and the prosecution has every right to push back on the defense’s account of developmental limitations.6Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Judge Erred in Denying Franklin Hearing
How the Record Gets Used Later
Everything produced at the hearing is added to the person’s central file at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. When the youth offender parole hearing eventually arrives, the Board of Parole Hearings reviews that file along with the rest of the record.
Penal Code 4801 requires the Board to give great weight to three things: the diminished culpability of youth compared to adults, the hallmark features of youth, and any growth and increased maturity the person has shown since the offense. If the Board uses a risk assessment tool, that tool must also account for these youth-specific factors.4California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Youth Offender Parole Hearings Overview
A thin record does not guarantee denial, but it leaves the Board very little to work with when the statute tells it to weigh factors nobody documented. A well-developed record gives the Board something concrete, and that is the whole function the Franklin hearing was built to serve.