Dodson v. Mohr

District Court, S.D. Ohio·Decided July 26, 2021·No. 2:18-cv-00908·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

RICARDO VERNAIR DODSON, : Plaintiff, Case No. 2:18-cv-908

Judge Sarah D. Morrison v. Magistrate Judge Sharon L.

Ovington

GARY C. MOHR, et al., :

Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Ricardo Vernair Dodson, a state prison inmate proceeding without the assistance of counsel, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a number of Defendants associated with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (“ODRC”) and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority (“OAPA” or “Parole Board”). On February 19, 2021, Magistrate Judge Ovington issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that summary judgment be entered in favor of Defendants on Mr. Dodson’s sole remaining claim that, in July 2018, Defendants violated his constitutional right to meaningful parole consideration. (ECF No. 122.) Mr. Dodson filed his Objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (Objs., ECF No. 127) and Defendants filed a Response (ECF No. 128). Mr. Dodson has since filed several supplemental motions, including a Motion for Leave to Supplement the Summary Judgment Record (ECF No. 125), a Motion for Leave to File Out of Time Reply and Objection to Defendants’ April 16, 2021 Response to Plaintiff’s Objections (ECF No. 130), and two motions related to a May 17, 2021 decision of the OAPA (ECF Nos. 131, 132). For the reasons set forth below, the Court OVERRULES Mr. Dodson’s

objections (ECF No. 127) and ADOPTS and AFFIRMS the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 122). I. BACKGROUND In 1991, Mr. Dodson was convicted of rape and, in a separate case, of kidnapping, rape, and attempted rape. (ECF No. 83-2, 1.) He was sentenced to “an indeterminate sentence of 56 to 130 years.” (ECF No. 46, ¶ 12.) In 2000, and every three years since, Mr. Dodson has appeared before the Parole Board. On each

occasion, he was denied parole. Mr. Dodson’s sole remaining claim centers on his July 2018 parole proceedings, and the resulting denial of parole. After the July 2018 proceedings, Mr. Dodson received a copy of the Parole Board’s Decision and Minutes. (ECF No. 83-2, PAGEID # 869–70.) That document reflects the Parole Board’s conclusions that: There is substantial reason to believe that the inmate [(Mr. Dodson)] will engage in further criminal conduct, or that the inmate will not conform to such conditions of release as may be established under [Ohio’s Administrative Code;] There is substantial reason to believe that due to the serious nature of the crime, the release of the inmate into society would create undue risk to public safety, or that due to the serious nature of the crime, the release of the inmate would not further the interest of justice or be consistent with the welfare and security of society. (Id., PAGEID # 869.) The Parole Board further reasoned: Inmate Dodson has been assessed as having an elevated risk for reoffending. Inmate Dodson’s case is aggravated by the case-specific factors of violence, brutality, multiple occurrences, multiple victims, and extensive victimization. Inmate Dodson has completed some relevant programs to address his risk factors for reoffending; however, the serious nature of the crimes and the aggravated circumstances in the offenses do outweigh the efforts presented by inmate Dodson. The aggravating circumstances in this case lead the Board to concluded that release would demean the seriousness of the offenses and not further the interest of justice. After weighing relevant factors, the Board does not consider the Inmate suitable for release at this time and assesses a three year continuance. (Id.) The Parole Board’s Vote Sheet from that proceeding, which is not typically provided to the subject inmate, reflects some additional details related to the offense conduct, Mr. Dodson’s criminal history, behavior and programming while incarcerated, release plan, offender change, general observations, and final action and rationale. (Id., PAGEID # 871–73.) II. STANDARD OF REVIEW If a party objects within the allotted time to a report and recommendation, the Court “shall make a de novo determination of those portions of the report or specified proposed findings or recommendations to which objection is made.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). Upon review, the Court “may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). III. ANALYSIS Mr. Dodson makes the following objections to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation. The objections are presented as written and as numbered: A. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law where she erroneously-improperly failed to correctly apply the burden of proof standard as set forth in State ex rel. Keith v. Ohio Adult Parole Authority, 141 Ohio St. 3d 375 (2014) on the claim that Plaintiff kidnapped and raped a mental [sic] retarded female[.] B. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law when she relied on clearly erroneous findings of fact, used hearsay statements, improperly applied the law, and used an erroneous legal standard in determining summary judgment on the claim that Plaintiff kidnapped and raped a mentally retarded white female[.] C. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law where she ignored and/or refused to apply clearly established state and United States Supreme Court law in determining summary judgment on the claim that Plaintiff caused the victim to become pregnant with an African-American child resulting in placing the child up for adoption[.] E. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law when she relied on clearly erroneous findings of fact, improperly applied the law, and used an erroneous legal standard in her review of Plaintiff’s claim that the Parole Board in 2015 and 2018 relied on false information that community member(s) had previously objected to release on parole[.] F. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law when she relied on clearly erroneous findings of fact in her review of Plaintiff’s claim that his parole records falsely report that he was convicted of domestic violence[.] G. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law when she relied on clearly erroneous findings of fact, improperly applied the law, and used and [sic] erroneous legal standard in her review of Plaintiff’s claim that the denial of parole based on factors of violence, brutality was based on false information/reports[.] H. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law when she relied on clearly erroneous findings of fact, failed to apply the correct legal standard, and disregarded the jury verdict in her review of Plaintiff’s claim that the Parole Board relied on false information to deny parole based on violence and brutality. I. The Magistrate Judge abused her discretion and erred as a matter of law where she intentionally failed to consider and analyze Plaintiff’s claim Number #1 in his summary judgment arguing that he was denied meaningful and fair parole consideration where Defendants withheld and/or intentionally concealed, or failed to give Plaintiff notice of all the grounds considered to deny parole[.] K.

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