I've represented people in California parole proceedings for twenty-plus years with the discipline a hearing demands and the compassion a family deserves.
My work begins with a simple belief: every person has inherent worth and the capacity for growth. No one should be defined solely by the worst acts of their life. At the same time, meaningful change requires an honest examination of the harm that occurred, the choices that led to it, and the patterns that must change to prevent it from happening again.
I approach parole representation with compassion, but not avoidance. I help clients understand their past without excusing it, accept responsibility without becoming trapped in shame, and communicate the ways they have transformed their lives.
How the Work Unfolds
A parole hearing is not a test that can be passed by memorizing the "right" words. Commissioners may ask about the commitment offense, criminal history, relationships, trauma, substance use, emotional regulation, thinking patterns, institutional behavior, risk factors, insight, and release plans. A scripted answer often falls apart when the question is asked differently or the hearing becomes emotionally difficult.
I do not give clients a script or manufacture a presentation for the Board. Instead, I help each client examine the experiences, beliefs, emotions, coping strategies, relationships, thinking patterns, and decisions that shaped their conduct. Together, we work to understand how those factors interacted, what has genuinely changed, and how the client will respond differently when faced with stress, conflict, rejection, fear, substances, unhealthy relationships, or other risks in the community. The goal is for clients to speak in their own words, from an understanding that truly belongs to them.
Accountability and compassion are not opposites. Accountability asks a person to recognize the choices they made, the harm they caused, and the consequences of their conduct. Shame tells a person that the harm they caused is the entirety of who they are — and shame can lead to defensiveness, hopelessness, emotional avoidance, or rehearsed answers. Honest accountability creates the possibility of change.
My role is to provide a nonjudgmental space in which clients can look closely at difficult parts of their lives without being reduced to those parts. This allows for a deeper and more truthful understanding of the past — and a more realistic plan for the future.
Trauma can affect how a person understands safety, relationships, trust, power, vulnerability, and self-worth. It may contribute to emotional suppression, substance use, aggression, unhealthy relationships, criminal thinking, or other harmful coping strategies. Understanding trauma does not excuse harmful conduct — it helps identify the complete pathway that led to it.
This approach allows clients to examine why certain patterns developed, how those patterns affected their choices, and what healthier responses they have developed since. That work can follow a spiritual path, a secular path, or a combination of both. What matters is that the transformation is genuine, personally meaningful, and demonstrated through the client's life and conduct.
The incarcerated person is always the client — even when a family member or supporter pays the legal fee. The client determines the objectives of the representation and controls confidential communications and important legal decisions. I do not assume that every client wants the same outcome, and I do not substitute the wishes of family members for the informed decisions of the person I represent.
I also recognize that disability, mental illness, trauma, cognitive limitations, literacy, language, or other communication needs can affect how a person participates in the process. When necessary, I advocate for accommodations and effective communication so that the client has a meaningful opportunity to understand the proceeding, express their wishes, and participate fully in their own representation.
Every parole case is different. The commitment offense may be only one part of a record that spans decades. A person's institutional history, psychological evaluations, disciplinary conduct, programming, relationships, personal development, and release plans must all be understood in context.
I represent clients throughout California in parole suitability hearings and related proceedings. My work may include detailed record review, confidential preparation meetings, risk-factor analysis, development of individualized risk-management and release plans, written advocacy, disability and effective-communication issues, hearing representation, and selected post-hearing matters. The legal standard focuses on current risk — my responsibility is to help the Board see the complete person: the harm that occurred, the path that led to it, the work the client has undertaken, the person they have become, and the evidence showing whether that transformation can be sustained in the community.
Representation Grounded in Dignity, Truth, and Transformation
I believe people can accept responsibility for the harm they have caused, transform their lives, and find a path toward redemption.
My purpose is not to create a perfect story. It is to provide careful legal advocacy while helping each client communicate an honest, coherent, and deeply understood account of their life and change.
"Dignity without denial, accountability without condemnation, and hope grounded in meaningful transformation."The foundation of this representation
"Whoever saves a single life is considered to have saved an entire world."Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a
One of several interfaith reflections rotated site-wide — never the same tradition twice in a row.
Ready to Discuss a Parole Case?
Lori Kelley Law
Attorney at Law · California Parole Suitability Hearings · Sacramento, California