Franklin Hearings - what are they for?

A Franklin hearing does not allow an inmate to be re-sentenced or in any way change his conviction or sentence. This “hearing” is named for a case called Franklin, that said it’s not fair to give a youth offender a life sentence without giving him a meaningful opportunity to demonstrate that because of the hallmarks of youth (things like brain immaturity, recklessness, the inability to escape from a dysfunctional family environment, and susceptibility to peer pressure) he is capable of change, less culpable, and likely to grow and mature.

So the court in Franklin said: youth offenders have the right to demonstrate all that before they are sentenced, so that they’ll have that information available when they come before the parole board. Which means for those who are youth offenders, but have already been in prison for a while, that they have the right to go BACK and demonstrate relevant evidence related to their youth, which can then be considered at parole hearings.

So in effect, a Franklin hearing is just a chance to subpoena and present evidence, to get it preserved on the record for future use at a parole hearing. It is useful if there is possible evidence out there related to the offender's youthfulness, immaturity, and psychological state at the time of their crime, stuff like educational difficulties, childhood abuse, etc…then a Franklin hearing can be a helpful way to gather that information and preserve it through the courts. It could even be used to get testimony from someone (i.e. a teacher, social worker, etc) that you couldn’t otherwise ask to write a letter describing what they know.

It also potentially affords the offender the chance to utilize the financial resources of the public defender's office to collect evidence, as well as the subpoena power of the court (for testimony or documents). But it’s really only useful if you need help collecting documentation of something in particular. If you (the offender, your family, your prison Central file) already have all such relevant info, then a Franklin hearing has no other purpose or value.

Knowing all that, if that sounds useful to you, you don’t need a writ to get a Franklin hearing. You have a right to it, and the public defender in each county is generally tasked with assisting you and calendaring such a hearing. I recommend you contact them (in the county where the crime and conviction originated), and make sure you include your original case number.

But let me be clear: a Franklin hearing will NOT help an inmate prove their innocence, nor reverse or change a conviction or sentence. It is also not a good way to get in contact with a D.A. just to request 1170(d) resentencing. If there is not a legitimate reason to do a Franklin hearing, requesting one will waste resources and will NOT make the DA pleased with you.

It's sole purpose is to get available exculpatory or mitigating evidence into your file, to potentially help you when you go to the parole board.