Opinion ID: 762046
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Retroactive Application of Texas's Parole Laws

Text: 29 Mayabb contends that he is entitled to retroactive application of an amendment to Texas's parole laws decreasing the time a prisoner must serve before becoming eligible for parole. He asserts that under a 1987 amendment of the parole law, he would be eligible for parole after serving one-fourth of his sentence, rather than one-third of his sentence. Mayabb contends that the failure to apply the amendment retroactively violates the Equal Protection Clause. 30 Mayabb was convicted of murder under Texas law in 1980. Effective September 1, 1987, the Texas legislature amended its parole eligibility law, making inmates convicted of aggravated offenses eligible for release after serving the lesser of one-fourth of the sentence imposed, or 15 calendar years (one-fourth law). Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 42.18, § 8(b) (West 1991). The prior version of the statute required inmates convicted of aggravated crimes to serve the lesser of one-third of the sentence imposed, or 20 calendar years (one-third law). TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 42.12, § 15(b) (West 1979). The one-fourth rule is prospective only and is not given retrospective effect. Ex Parte Choice, 828 S.W.2d 5, 8 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). 31 The Equal Protection Clause requires that all persons similarly situated should be treated alike. City of Cleburne, Tex. v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 439, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985). In determining an equal protection challenge to state legislation, such legislation is generally presumed to be valid and will be sustained if the classification drawn by the statute is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Id. at 440, 105 S.Ct. 3249 (citations omitted). A claimant who alleges an equal protection violation has the burden of proving the existence of purposeful discrimination. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 292, 107 S.Ct. 1756, 95 L.Ed.2d 262 (1987). A violation of equal protection occurs only when the governmental action in question classif[ies] or distinguish[es] between two or more relevant persons or groups[,] Brennan v. Stewart, 834 F.2d 1248, 1257 (5th Cir.1988), or when a classification impermissibly interferes with a fundamental right. Hatten v. Rains, 854 F.2d 687, 690 (5th Cir.1988). The Equal Protection Clause is violated only by intentional discrimination. Discriminatory purpose ... implies more than intent as violation or as awareness of consequences[.] It implies that the decisionmaker singled out a particular group for disparate treatment and selected his course of action at least in part for the purpose of causing its adverse effect on an identifiable group[.] Lavernia v. Lynaugh, 845 F.2d 493, 496 (5th Cir.1988) (internal quotations, citations, and footnote omitted). 32 This court has upheld the purely prospective application of the one-fourth statute against an identical equal protection challenge. Ruiz v. Morales, 9 F.3d 103, 1993 WL 481708 (5th Cir.1993) (unpublished). 10 The one-fourth statute does not discriminate on any purposeful or invidious basis ... [and][t]he Texas legislature acted rationally in making its change in the parole eligibility law prospective only. Id. Consequently, we reject Mayabb's claim. 33 We also find that Mayabb has no constitutional right to parole. Orellana v. Kyle, 65 F.3d 29, 32 (5th Cir.1995). He has not shown that the Texas legislature intended to cause any adverse effects on any identifiable group when it amended the parole laws. His equal protection contention lacks merit.