If the judge revokes my parole and orders me back into custody, where will I serve and for how long?

It depends on your conviction history.

(1) MOST PEOPLE – Almost everyone who has his or her parole revoked will serve the parole revocation sentence in county jail.[706] You will most likely get 180 days in county jail, even if there were multiple grounds for the revocation.[707]

You can earn “half-time” credit on parole revocation sentences (meaning 2 days “good conduct credit” for every 2 days actually served in custody), regardless of the nature of the commitment offense or parole violation. If you are serving a parole revocation sentence and you violate jail rules or refuse to do assigned work, then you may lose some or all of your good conduct credits.[708]

(2) FORMER “LIFER” –There are different rules if you are on parole after serving an indeterminate prison term of “life with the possibility of parole.” If you are a former lifer:

    You can get a parole revocation sentence term of up to 12 months;
    You are not entitled to earn good conduct credits; and
    Your revocation sentence could be extended if you violate rules while you are in custody.[709]

(3) CERTAIN SEX OR MURDER CONVICTIONS – There are also different rules for people convicted of certain sex offenses or certain murder convictions:[710]

    If you have life-long parole (some people convicted of sex offenses or murder) and it gets revoked, you’ll be sent back to prison, not county jail.[711]
    Within 1 year of being returned to prison, a two-member BPH panel will hold a hearing. The panel must release you within 1 year of the date of the revocation—unless it determines the seriousness of the parole violation requires longer incarceration for public safety. If the two-member BPH panel keeps you in prison longer than 1 year, you have the legal right to a parole consideration hearing every year afterwards.[712]
  1. 706

    Cal. Penal Code § 3056(a).

  2. 707

    Cal. Penal Code § 3056(a). A parolee may not be kept in custody beyond the maximum parole discharge date (see Section 16.C, above). You are no longer subject to extensions of your revocation sentence for in-custody misconduct (meaning bad behavior while you are in jail/custody). See Cal. Penal Code § 3057(e).

  3. 708

    Cal. Penal Code § 4019.

  4. 709

    Cal. Penal Code § 3057(e).

  5. 710

    Cal. Penal Code § 3000.1(d).

  6. 711

    Cal. Penal Code §§ 3000.08(h), 3056(b).

  7. 712

    Cal. Penal Code § 3000.1(d).