JFK University Law Grad Appointed To State Board Of Parole Hearings

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA – Gov. Jerry Brown appointed two East Bay residents to the state Board of Parole Hearings on Wednesday.

The first new appointee, Concord resident Patricia Cassady, 64, has been a deputy commissioner at the Board since 1995. Cassady, a Democrat, practiced law from 1988 to 1995 after graduating from the John F. Kennedy University College of Law in Pleasant Hill, according to the governor's office.

The other appointee, Alameda resident Troy Taira, 56, has been a deputy commissioner at the Board since last year. Between 1992 and 2009, Taira served as staff counsel and prosecutor for the U.S. Coast Guard and a senior staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Taira served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1988 to 1992 and graduated from the University of California at Davis School of Law.

The Board is composed of 12 full-time commissioners appointed by the governor for staggered three-year terms. Appointments require Senate confirmation, and commissioners are paid $142,095, according to the
governor's office.

Commissioners conduct life prisoner parole suitability hearings for adult offenders. They hold a monthly public session to review cases referred by the governor, and travel to prisons throughout the state to conduct on-site parole hearings.

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