Burns v. Newell

507 P.2d 414, 12 Or. App. 621, 1973 Ore. App. LEXIS 1089
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMarch 12, 1973
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 507 P.2d 414 (Burns v. Newell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burns v. Newell, 507 P.2d 414, 12 Or. App. 621, 1973 Ore. App. LEXIS 1089 (Or. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

SCHWAB, C.J.

Petitioner brought this habeas corpus proceedings contending he had been arbitrarily and capriciously denied “good time” credits on the sentence he was serving. Defendants are the members of the Board, of Parole and Probation and the Superintendent of theOregon State Penitentiary. The circuit court ruled in petitioner’s favor, computed what it believed to be the proper. amount of good time credit, determined petitioner had completed service of his sentence based on *623 its computations, and ordered his release from custody. Defendants appeal. We reverse.

In certain circumstances, Oregon prisoners are entitled to good time credits which have the effect of reducing the sentence served. The relevant statute, ORS 421.120 (1) provides:

“Each inmate now or hereafter confined, in execution of the judgment or sentence upon any conviction, in the penal or correctional institution,- for any term other than life, and whose record of conduct shows that he faithfully has observed the.rules of the institution, and where industry and general reformation are certified to the Governor by the superintendent of the penitentiary or correctional institution, shall be entitled, upon the order of the Governor, to a deduction from the term of his sentence to be computed as follows: U-Y? # # * # »

The balance of ORS 421.120 (1) specifies various formulas for determining the amount of good time a prisoner can accumulate.

When a prisoner is paroled, but violates the terms of his parole, resulting in the revocation thereof, ORS 421.120 (2) comes into play. It provides:

“When a paroled inmate violates any condition of his parole, no deduction from the term of his sentence, as provided in subsection (1) of this section, shall be made for service by such inmate in the penal or correctional institution prior to his acceptance and release on parole, except when authorized by the State Board of Parole and Probation upon recommendation of the superintendent thereof.”

On September 28, 1955, petitioner began serving an indeterminate sentence, not to exceed 20 years, for conviction, based .on his plea of guilty, of assault with *624 intent to commit robbery. On August 5, 1963, he was paroled. In November 1963, petitioner and two other ex-convicts, all armed, robbed a bank in Sacramento, California. They escaped in a stolen car. When a police officer stopped them, one of petitioner’s confederates shot and killed the officer. On November 18, 1963, Oregon officials, upon learning of petitioner’s crimes in California, revoked his parole. Petitioner was convicted of murder in California and began serving a life sentence there. On July 28, 1968, petitioner was transferred from California to the Oregon State Penitentiary, with California authorities filing a detainer for his return when he completed his Oregon sentence.

Because his parole was revoked, by operation of OPS 421.120 (2), petitioner lost the good time credits he would otherwise be entitled to for the period of his pre-parole 1955 to 1963 incarceration. In June 1970 and July 1971, defendant Superintendent recommended to the Board of Parole and Probation that plaintiff’s pre-parole good time be restored. The Board decided against restoring plaintiff’s lost good time.

*625 The petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenged only the Board’s decision not to restore petitioner’s pre-parole good time. The circuit court’s opinion concluded:

“* * * [T]his court finds * * * that petitioner is entitled to full credit for good conduct time actually served in the institution both before and after parole * * (Emphasis supplied.)

The circuit court’s gratuitous determination concerning good time for the period since petitioner’s return to the state penitentiary in 1968 is erroneous, in that it goes beyond the pleadings and proof in this case. There is no showing that petitioner is entitled to any post-1968 good time.

“It will be noted that petitioner was entitled to a reduction of his sentence for good conduct only if his ‘record of conduct shows that he faithfully has observed the rules of the institution,’ and if the warden certifies petitioner’s ‘industry and general reformation,’ to the governor, and if the governor orders petitioner’s release.” Gibbs v. Gladden, 230 Or 272, 273-74, 369 P2d 772 (1962).
“* * * [U]nder our statute good conduct credits are contingent (a) upon certification by the warden to the Governor of the ‘industry and general reformation’ of the prisoner, and (b) upon the order of the Governor * * State v. Cloran, 236 Or 109, 112, 386 P2d 913 (1963).

Nothing in this record even suggests the required contingencies that would entitle petitioner to post-1968 good time have occurred.

Turning to the pre-parole good time question, petitioner contends the decision of the Board of Parole and Probation not to restore that good time is arbitrary and capricious. The parties seem to refer to petitioner’s pre-parole good time as if it were a *626 vested right. - However, we note ORS 421,120 (1)- implies that no rights to good time vest unless and until the Governor takes final action in this regard. Both opinions in Fredericks v. Gladden, 209 Or 683, 308 P2d 613, 211 Or 312, 315 P2d 1010 (1957), indicate that the normal practice is for prison officials (1) to compute the amount of good time a prisoner is entitled to, thereby- arriving at a release date, (2) on the eve of the release date, certify their computations to the Governor, and (3) upon receiving the Governor’s approval, release the prisoner on the appropriate date. If this is the procedure used, as ORS 421.120 (1) appears to contemplate, then it would follow that a prisoner is never “entitled” to any good time unless and until the Governor orders his release on a certain date based on the good time computations.

Nevertheless, for present purposes we proceed on the assumption, but do not decide, that petitioner “accumulated” good time between 1955 and 1963 to which he was entitled until his parole violation and the operation of ORS 421.120 (2) resulted in his losing that good time!

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Bluebook (online)
507 P.2d 414, 12 Or. App. 621, 1973 Ore. App. LEXIS 1089, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burns-v-newell-orctapp-1973.