Three-quarters of California prosecutors are suing the state, to block rules that could allow for the early release of many violent offenders.
The emergency rules, which expand good conduct credits, went into effect earlier this month and cover about 76,000 inmates. But, it could be months or years before their sentences are shortened.
The lawsuit objects on procedural grounds, arguing that Corrections Secretary Kathleen Allison used the emergency declaration to bypass the usual regulatory and public comment process.
Forty-four of the state’s 58 district attorneys brought the lawsuit, which says the only stated emergency was the corrections department’s desire to follow the “direction outlined in the Governor’s Budget Summary” nearly a year earlier. Notably absent were district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco who have backed criminal sentencing changes.
Los Angeles’ progressive DA George Gascon is not among those suing.
Associated Press contributed to this story.