Resource: An Impossible Standard: The California Parole Board Process for Inmates with Cognitive Impairments

This Note argues that reform must come from re-envisioning the manner in which the parole process is administered and by applying a truly individualized approach. To be clear, the legal standard of current dangerousness is not at issue; it is the process by which the parole board determines a given inmate's current danger that needs reform. Although many have evaluated the intersection between the DD population and the criminal justice system-including, for example, the often-unfair treatment and lack of opportunities at parole hearings for DD inmates7-few have studied inmates that fall into a "grey area." That is, individuals who do not fall within the DD classification, but who cannot successfully meet the requirements of parole without a more personalized assessment.