People v. Hardin

Summary

The court held that Penal Code section 3051’s exclusion of young adults sentenced to life without parole from youth offender parole hearings does not violate equal protection under rational basis review, including as applied to special-circumstance murder. The court concluded that the Legislature could rationally balance youthful offenders’ capacity for growth against the seriousness and culpability associated with offenses punishable by life without parole. The court also held that courts need not separately determine whether facially distinguished groups are similarly situated before evaluating whether the classification is adequately justified.