Opinion ID: 2036430
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Parole Systems

Text: Defendant argues that our mandatory MSR system affords an Illinois parolee a greater expectation of privacy than a California parolee, who may elect to stay in the physical custody of the Department of Corrections or choose to accept a set of conditions and complete his sentence on parole. According to defendant, because MSR is mandatory for an Illinois prisoner, he is not presented with the choice between staying in prison or being released on parole, and therefore does not have the same level of unambiguous awareness of the acceptance of a search condition that California prisoners have. We find defendant's argument to be without merit. There is nothing in the statutes that govern the Illinois parole system that supports defendant's contention that Illinois parolees are somehow less aware than their California counterparts that they are accepting a collection of conditions in order to secure their release from physical custody. Further, we can find no appreciable differences between each state's operational process for entering a period of parole or for remaining on parole. In California, prisoners sentenced to any term, other than natural life in prison without parole, may become eligible for parole based on a decision of the Board of Parole Hearings. Cal.Penal Code § 3041 (West 2007). California prisoners who are declared eligible for parole must sign and retain a copy of a parole agreement that places conditions on their liberty during their parole, including a condition that requires them to be subject to search or seizure at any time for any reason. Cal.Penal Code § 3067 (West 2007). If a California prisoner refuses to sign such an agreement, he remains imprisoned. Cal.Penal Code § 3060.5 (West 2007). In California, parolees enjoy freedom from the physical custody of the California Department of Corrections, but remain under the legal custody of the Department, and are subject to reimprisonment for any violations of their parole agreement. Cal.Penal Code § 3056 (West 2007). Similarly, in Illinois, prisoners not serving a term of natural life imprisonment will eventually become eligible for parole (730 ILCS 5/3-3-3(c) (West 2006)), and when eligible for parole are presented with an agreement that sets forth the conditions of their release from the physical custody of the Department of Corrections (730 ILCS 5/3-3-7 (West 2006)). They must sign this agreement and retain a copy in order to secure their release from the physical custody of the Department of Corrections. 730 ILCS 5/3-3-7(c) (West 2006); People v. Powell, 217 Ill.2d 123, 128, 298 Ill.Dec. 361, 839 N.E.2d 1008 (2005) (prisoner who refused to sign his MSR agreement was kept in physical custody). Illinois parolees remain in the legal custody of the Department of Corrections for the duration of their parole. 730 ILCS 5/3-14-2(a) (West 2006). We find that the parole systems of Illinois and California are very much alike in operation. The parallels illustrated above belie defendant's assertion that the systems of the two states differ to the degree that precludes Samson from controlling our analysis of a search of an Illinois parolee.