In re Lira, 58 Cal. 4th 573

Johnny Lira, convicted of second-degree murder (15 to life plus enhancements), was subject to a parole term not to exceed five years under the statute in effect at his crime.
After a successful habeas challenge to a 2005 denial, the Board of Parole Hearings found Lira suitable in November 2008; Governor Schwarzenegger reversed in April 2009.
Lira filed habeas challenging the Governor’s 2009 reversal; while that petition was pending, the Board again found him suitable on November 3, 2009, and the Governor did not review the 2009 decision.
Lira was released on parole April 8, 2010. He then sought credit against his parole term for time spent in custody between the Governor’s 2009 reversal and his 2010 release (and earlier periods), arguing that the later judicial invalidation of the Governor’s reversal rendered that custody unlawful.
The superior court granted relief and ordered credit against parole for the period after the Governor’s reversal; the Court of Appeal limited credit to the period between the Governor’s 2009 reversal and the 2010 release. The Attorney General appealed only the credit issue to the California Supreme Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether days spent in custody after a gubernatorial reversal (later set aside) but before actual release must be credited against the parole term	Lira: custody after the Governor’s unsupported reversal was unlawful and therefore must be credited against his parole term under Penal Code §§ 2900/2900.5	People: custody during the interbranch review and release process was lawful and already credited to imprisonment; parole begins only upon release, so no parole credit is available	Court: Denied — custody was lawful until release; no statutory authorization to credit parole term; parole term runs from release, not retroactively; habeas remedy cannot rewrite parole duration

In re Lawrence, 44 Cal.4th 1181 (parole review requires some-evidence scrutiny of current dangerousness)
In re Rosenkrantz, 29 Cal.4th 616 (standards for judicial review of parole suitability decisions)
In re Bush, 161 Cal.App.4th 133 (credits and life-prisoner parole-period issues; distinguishes determinate-term credit rules)
In re Prather, 50 Cal.4th 238 (Governor’s independent review authority over parole suitability)
In re Chaudhary, 172 Cal.App.4th 32 (parole-discharge eligibility counts time after actual release; pre-release custody not creditable to parole period)
In re Dannenberg, 34 Cal.4th 1061 (no vested right to parole at a particular date; limits on judicial alteration of executive parole decisions)