1. (a) Claims that are untimely or are otherwise not in compliance with Penal Code sections 4900 and 4901 will be rejected by a hearing officer and will not be heard or considered by the Board. Claims not in compliance with sections 4900 and 4901 include, but are not limited to, the following circumstances:

   1. (1) A claim that fails to state facts upon which relief may be granted. For example, relief may not be granted for a claim based upon a charge that did not result in a felony conviction or a claim based upon a felony conviction for which probation was granted without imposition of any term of imprisonment.
   2. (2) Successive or duplicative claims. The Board will consider on the merits only a single claim by a claimant challenging the same underlying conviction.
   3. (3) A claim solely based upon a conviction that was vacated due to a change in the legal definition of the crime, for example pursuant to Penal Code section 1172.6. To be compliant, the claim must allege that the claimant is innocent of the crime with which they were erroneously convicted because the charged crime was either not committed at all or not committed by the claimant under the law in effect at the time the charged crime allegedly occurred.
   4. (4) A claim solely based upon a conviction that was vacated due to satisfactory completion of the sentence, for example pursuant to Penal Code section 1203.4.
   5. (5) A claim that lacks injury as a matter of law, such as when only one conviction is challenged as erroneous, and an equivalent sentence was concurrently imposed for another, unchallenged conviction.

2. (b) Prior to rejecting a claim not in compliance with Penal Code sections 4900 and 4901, the claimant shall be:

   1. (1) notified of the reason for rejecting the claim and,
   2. (2) given thirty (30) calendar days to present evidence that will overcome the rejection. The deadline may be extended upon the claimant's written request for demonstrated good cause.
   3. (3) At the hearing officer's discretion, a response from the Attorney General may be requested. The Attorney General shall be given thirty (30) calendar days to submit the response, which may be extended upon the Attorney General's written request for demonstrated good cause.
   4. (4) Upon receipt of the response, the claimant may submit a reply within thirty (30) calendar days, which may be extended upon the claimant's written request for demonstrated good cause.
3. (c) If the claimant's response provides sufficient evidence to prove that the claim was timely submitted and is otherwise compliant with the requirements of Penal Code sections 4900 and 4901, the claim will be deemed filed as of the date the additional evidence was received and considered.
4. (d) If the claimant's response does not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the claim was timely submitted and is otherwise compliant with the requirements of Penal Code sections 4900 and 4901, the claim will be rejected without a hearing and will not be considered by the Board. The rejection constitutes a final decision.

5. (e) A claimant, whose claim was rejected, is not barred as a result of that rejection from presenting a new claim with new evidence or law that overcomes the basis for rejection. The timing of the new claim must satisfy the statutory deadline and shall not relate back to the date of submission of the rejected claim.

   1. (1) A new claim that fails to provide new evidence or law to overcome the basis for a previous rejection will not be considered by the Board or hearing officer.

Note: Authority cited: Section 13920, Government Code; and Section 4906, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 1172.6, 1203.4, 4900, 4901, 4902, 4903 and 4904, Penal Code.

History

1. New section filed 10-4-2010; operative 11-3-2010 (Register 2010, No. 41).

2. Editorial correction of History 1 (Register 2010, No. 44).

3. Amendment of section and Note filed 11-23-2022; operative 1-1-2023 (Register 2022, No. 47).

4. Amendment of section and Note filed 4-29-2025; operative 7-1-2025 (Register 2025, No. 18).