David Bleeke v. Bruce Lemmon, in his capacity as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Thor R. Miller, as Chairman of the Indiana Parole Board

CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 16, 2014
Docket02S05-1305-PL-364
StatusPublished

This text of David Bleeke v. Bruce Lemmon, in his capacity as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Thor R. Miller, as Chairman of the Indiana Parole Board (David Bleeke v. Bruce Lemmon, in his capacity as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Thor R. Miller, as Chairman of the Indiana Parole Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
David Bleeke v. Bruce Lemmon, in his capacity as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Thor R. Miller, as Chairman of the Indiana Parole Board, (Ind. 2014).

Opinion

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES Daniel G. McNamara Gregory F. Zoeller Patrick L. Proctor Attorney General of Indiana Fort Wayne, Indiana David A. Arthur Stephanie L. Rothenberg Deputy Attorneys General Indianapolis, Indiana

In the Indiana Supreme Court Apr 16 2014, 10:17 am

No. 02S05-1305-PL-364

DAVID BLEEKE, Appellant (Plaintiff below),

v.

BRUCE LEMMON, IN HIS CAPACITY AS COMMISSIONER OF THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION; THOR R. MILLER, AS CHAIRMAN OF THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD; VIRGIL R. MADDEN, AS VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD; RANDALL P. GENTRY, AS A MEMBER OF THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD; VALERIE J. PARKER, AS A MEMBER OF THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD; CHARLES F. MILLER, AS A MEMBER OF THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD; MIA KELSAW, AS A PAROLE SUPERVISOR FOR THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD, FORT WAYNE DISTRICT 2; DAMITA VANLANDINGHAM, AS A PAROLE SUPERVISOR FOR THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD, FORT WAYNE DISTRICT 2; SUSAN FEASBY, AS A PAROLE SUPERVISOR FOR THE INDIANA PAROLE BOARD, FORT WAYNE DISTRICT 2, Appellees (Defendants below). Appeal from the Allen Superior Court, No. 02D01-1005-PL-164 The Honorable Nancy Eschcoff Boyer, Judge

On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 02A05-1201-PL-25

April 16, 2014

David, Justice.

In this case, a parolee convicted of a sex crime against an adult female challenges a number of his parole conditions, including several that prohibit him from having contact with children—even his own. He also challenges the constitutionality of a state treatment program for sex offenders that he must participate in as part of his parole, claiming that under the program he is required to provide self-incriminating statements about his underlying offense and sexual history without immunity and under the threat of being found in violation of his parole.

We conclude that some of his parole conditions are impermissible on several grounds, but find no fault with the remainder. We likewise find no constitutional flaw in the state treatment program.

Facts and Procedural History

On January 31, 2005, David Bleeke was convicted of residential entry and attempted criminal deviate conduct in Allen County, Indiana, and sentenced to ten years in the Indiana Department of Correction. His victim was an adult woman who was, at the time of the crime, over the age of twenty-one. Bleeke was incarcerated until March 19, 2008, when he was released to a community transition program. Bleeke completed the community transition

2 program on April 24, 2009, and was released to statutorily mandated parole. He is to remain on parole until 2015.

Bleeke’s Parole Conditions

The conditions of Bleeke’s parole were spelled out in a standardized form initially provided to him before his assignment to the community transition program (and then again when he was released on parole): State Form 49108. Those conditions, among other things, required Bleeke to participate in, and successfully complete, a court-approved sex offender treatment program: the Indiana Sex Offender Management and Monitoring Program (“SOMM”). As part of the SOMM program, Bleeke was required to admit guilt for his offense; refusal to do so, or to otherwise deny responsibility for the offense, would result in him being unsuccessful in his treatment and would violate one of his parole conditions. He was also required to disclose any prior sex-related crimes by way of a “sexual history disclosure exam,” administered under a polygraph required by the parole conditions. The conditions relevant to these requirements provided that:

1. You shall enroll in, actively participate in and successfully complete an approved sex offender treatment program. You must maintain steady progress toward all treatment goals and may not change treatment providers without prior approval of your parole agent. Prompt payment of any fees is your responsibility.

2. You shall sign any waiver of confidentiality, release of information, or any other documents required to permit your parole agent and/or behavioral management or treatment providers to examine any and all records, to collaboratively share and discuss your behavioral management conditions, treatment progress, and parole stipulation needs as a team. This permission may extend to: (1) sharing your relapse prevention plan and treatment progress with your significant others and/or your victim and victim’s therapist as directed by your parole agent or treatment provider(s),

3 and (2) sharing of your modus operandi behaviors with law enforcement personnel.

21. You shall actively participate in offense specific mental health treatment program(s) approved and ordered by your parole agent at your own expense. You will contact the approved/designated provider within seven (7) days of release to parole to schedule an appointment unless an appointment was already scheduled prior to release on parole. Treatment is considered a behavioral management requirement of your parole and may include plethysmograph or polygraph testing or similar assessment/management tools. Termination from treatment or non-compliance with other required behavioral management requirements will be considered a violation of your parole release agreement. Subsequent treatment referrals, if any, will be at the direction of your parole agent. Should you request and be permitted to change treatment providers, stricter stipulations may be applied.

22. You shall participate in and complete periodic polygraph testing at the direction of your parole agent or any other behavioral management professionals who are providing treatment of [sic] assisting your parole agent in monitoring your compliance with your parole rules and special stipulations.

(App. at 159–60.)

As part of Bleeke’s community transition program, in October 2008 Bleeke was ordered to take an “instant offense” polygraph, asking him if he committed the acts underlying his prior conviction. The examination process required Bleeke to sign a form stating that he requested the polygraph “without duress, coercion, force, intimidation, or promises of immunity,” authorizing the examiner to share the results with his probation office “and other applicable agencies for whatever purposes they may determine,” and acknowledging that the examiner was obliged to comply with “any and all State and Federal laws involving the administration of polygraph testing, which includes proper statutory disclosure and reporting requirements.” (App. at 148, 158.) Bleeke refused to sign the form, but offered to proceed with the polygraph examination

4 anyway—instead the examiner stopped the examination and reported Bleeke’s non-compliance. Bleeke was ordered to spend a weekend in jail for violating the conditions of the program.

Bleeke was again ordered to conduct an instant offense polygraph after his release from the weekend in jail; this time he signed the consent form and completed the examination. He stated that he completed the form this time because “I did not want to go to jail or back to prison.” (App. at 148.) The polygraph examiner concluded that Bleeke “ha[d] not told the entire truth concerning his alleged sexual contact.” (App. at 313.) As a result, his provider labeled him as uncooperative and concluded that because he “continues to maintain his innocence to the charges he was convicted for . . . counseling for sex abuse issues is not appropriate.” (App. at 314.) Bleeke was then assigned to another provider, with whom he continues to participate, although he has been told that he cannot complete the SOMM program unless he admits his guilt.

Form 49108 also contained limitations on Bleeke’s conduct aimed at restricting his contact with children and establishing intimate relationships with other adults.

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David Bleeke v. Bruce Lemmon, in his capacity as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction Thor R. Miller, as Chairman of the Indiana Parole Board, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/david-bleeke-v-bruce-lemmon-in-his-capacity-as-commissioner-of-the-ind-2014.