Barlor v. Patton

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMarch 7, 2017
Docket16-6093
StatusUnpublished

This text of Barlor v. Patton (Barlor v. Patton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barlor v. Patton, (10th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

Appellate Case: 16-6093 Document: 01019716770 Date Filed: 11/07/2016 Page: 1

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS llf' 1'"''1 - l IJ,!Jh'''-1' FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT ,, ' ,... ,,., l'illt::: 27 DANNY BARLOR, ) Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) v. ) Case No. 16-6093 ) ROBERT PATTON, ) TRACY ELLIS, ) OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF ) OF CORRECTIONS, et al., ) Defendants-Appellees. ) I BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF PETITION FOR WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

COMES NOW, Danny Reece Barlor, hereinafter Plaintiff, with his Brief in Support of the attached Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the above-entitled and numbered cause, pursuant to the provisions of 28 USC § 2241. Plaintiff hereby adopts and incorporates all issues, allegations and exhibits contained in his previous USC 28 subsection 1983 into his Writ of Habeas Corpus now before this Court. The Plaintiff is currently incarcerated as inmate number 85688 at the James Crabtree Correctional Center, 216 North Murray Street, Helena, Oklahoma 73741. The Defendant- Appellee is the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, et al. Plaintiff cannot afford to hire an attorney to represent him and is thus proceeding on a pro se basis. It is respectfully requested that this court hold the Plaintiff to a lesser standard than an attorney, in view of his prose status and the findings of Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F2d 1106 (lOth Cir 1991) and Haines v. Kerner, 92 SCt 594 (1972). In this action, the Plaintiff is not challenging his underlying criminal conviction in Cleveland County case #CRF-80-282. He is challenging the execution of his sentence by prison officials, seeking restoration of lost earned credits, which occurred due to a loss in his earned credit level, as well as challenging the condition of his confinement. The courts have long held that an inmate may initiate a Petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus to challenge the execution of his sentence under the provisions of 28 USC § 2241. See Montez v. McKinna, 208 F3d 862 (lOth Cir. 2000); Mcintosh v. US Parole Comm., 115 F3d 809 (1oth Cir. 1997); Bradshaw v. Story, 86 F3d 164, 166 (1oth Cir. 1996).

1 I I

Appellate Case: 16-6093 Document: 01019716770 Date Filed: 11/07/2016 Page: 2 .J

The courts have also long held that prisoners do not forfeit all equal treatment rights upon incarceration. Prison practices that result in unequal treatment among prisoners must bear a rational relation to a legitimate penal interest. Lee v. Washington, 390 US 333-334 (1968). To prevail on an equal protection claim, an inmate must prove (1) that similarly situated inmates have been treated differently by the government, and (2) that there is no rational relation between the dissimilar treatment and any legitimate penal interest. Turner v. Safley, 482 US 78, 95-97 ( 1987); Whitmire v. Arizona, 298 F3d 1134, 1136 (9 1h Cir. 2002). In other very similar cases as that of this Plaintiff, Danny Barlor, ODOC inmates have filed an 28 USC § 2241 petition against the Department of Corrections as this Plaintiff, alleging a violation of their due process rights because prison officials revoked their earned credits in a disciplinary proceeding wrongly. See Gamble v. Calbone, 375 F3d 1021 (10 1h Cir. 2004). In Gamble, the Tenth Circuit held that there was a complete failure of proof of guilt, reversed the matter, and remanded for issuance of the writ of habeas corpus. This case as well as many others including the Plaintiffs shows the pattern and practice of the ODOC prison officials to railroad and wrongfully punish inmates in an arbitrary manner.

JURISDICTION Plaintiff is invoking the provisions of 28 USC § 2241 in this actions. He asserts that prison officials have arbitrarily and wrongfully taken previously earned good-time credits, wrongfully demoted him in credit level, wrongfully restricted his eligibility to advance in earned credit level and imposed many directly related sanctions and restrictions upon him. Federal habeas corpus review is warranted and requested. See Montez v. McKinna, 208 F3d 862, 865 (1 01h Cir. 2000); also Aguiar v. Tafoya, 95 Fed Appx 931 (1 01h Cir. 2004); also Ewards v. Balisok, 520 US 641 (1997). Plaintiff asserts that a favorable ruling by this court would greatly affect his length of incarceration. The US Supreme Court has long held that when a prison regulation or practice offends a fundamental constitutional guarantee, the federal courts will discharge their duty to protect constitutional rights. Procunier v. Martinez, 416 US 405 (1974). Federal habeas corpus review is warranted and requested in this pleading for just cause shown in this action.

2 I II

Appellate Case: 16-6093 Document: 01019716770 Date Filed: 11/07/2016 Page: 3

In addition, on a related issue, the ODOC has arbitrarily and deliberately has misapplied a DOC policy, which has created due process as well as ex post facto violations and has used those violations to discriminate against the Plaintiff by applying said policy OP-060213. As a result of the misapplication of this policy, the Plaintiffs security status has been manipulated to place the Plaintiff in maximum security as stated in his original complaint filed in the United States District Court. The policy at issued and from which the Plaintiff seeks relief has been previously scrutinized by this court in Smith v. Scott and Plaintiff appeals to this court for relief under the provisions of Smith v. Scott and requests the application of 2 part ex post facto test in this instant case as in Weaver v. Graham, 450 US 24, 29 (1981) which required proof of both retroactivity and disadvantage. GROUNDS ASSERTED

Ground One: A private prison official arbitrarily revoked earned credits, demoted Plaintiffs earned credit level, and greatly restricted or prevented Plaintiff from promotion to a higher earned credit level.

Ground Two: Prison officials have retroactively applied a change in prison policy and regulations to Plaintiff, which has prejudiced him. This is in violation of the ex post facto clause ofthe US Constitution's 141h Amendment.

Ground Three: Prison officials did conceal evidence of officer involvement where a serious inmate injury did occur and used Plaintiff as a scapegoat to shift blame as well as avoid consequence for their unprofessional actions. Plaintiff believes he has a constitutional right not to be subjected to the arbitrary actions of governing officials.

Ground Four: The Oklahoma Department of Corrections is in violations ofthe prohibition ofthe ex post facto clause by applying a prison policy to his disadvantage and prejudice which was not foreseeable, and has given the Plaintiff security points that has also resulted in blatant discrimination.

3 I I . ..., Appellate Case: 16-6093 Document: 01019716770 Date Filed: 11/07/2016 Page: 4

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff Danny Barlor is incarcerated pursuant to his conviction for Armed Robbery in the District Court of Cleveland County in the State of Oklahoma. He was sentenced in May 1980 to 20 years in prison. In this action, Plaintiff is not attacking his conviction in his criminal case. Rather, he is challenging the execution of his sentence by the Department of Corrections (DOC), as well as the conditions of his confinement. On or about June 6, 1985 and while incarcerated at the Dick Connors Correctional Center in Hominy, Oklahoma, Plaintiff was "accused" of the offense of escape. Plaintiff was never formally charged with that alleged offense by the DOC or by the Osage County District Court. He did not receive any disciplinary write-up. As will be set forth subsequently in this Brief, he is nevertheless still being punished and prejudiced for this alleged offense despite several years of diligent efforts to have all mention of this alleged offense expunged from his field file jacket and DOC records.

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Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Lee v. Washington
390 U.S. 333 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Haines v. Kerner
404 U.S. 519 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Wolff v. McDonnell
418 U.S. 539 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Weaver v. Graham
450 U.S. 24 (Supreme Court, 1981)
United States v. Bagley
473 U.S. 667 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Granberry v. Greer
481 U.S. 129 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Turner v. Safley
482 U.S. 78 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Lynce v. Mathis
519 U.S. 433 (Supreme Court, 1997)
Edwards v. Balisok
520 U.S. 641 (Supreme Court, 1997)
O'Sullivan v. Boerckel
526 U.S. 838 (Supreme Court, 1999)
Holmes v. South Carolina
547 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 2006)
Bradshaw v. Story
86 F.3d 164 (Tenth Circuit, 1996)
Montez v. McKinna
208 F.3d 862 (Tenth Circuit, 2000)
Miller v. Menghini
213 F.3d 1244 (Tenth Circuit, 2000)
Smith v. Scott
223 F.3d 1191 (Tenth Circuit, 2000)
Mayberry v. Saffle
43 F. App'x 343 (Tenth Circuit, 2002)
Aquiar v. Tafoya
95 F. App'x 931 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
Gamble v. Calbone
375 F.3d 1021 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)

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Bluebook (online)
Barlor v. Patton, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barlor-v-patton-ca10-2017.