Frederick A. Young v. Keith Butts and Indiana Parole Board (mem. dec.)

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 6, 2020
Docket19A-MI-1589
StatusPublished

This text of Frederick A. Young v. Keith Butts and Indiana Parole Board (mem. dec.) (Frederick A. Young v. Keith Butts and Indiana Parole Board (mem. dec.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frederick A. Young v. Keith Butts and Indiana Parole Board (mem. dec.), (Ind. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be Mar 06 2020, 9:34 am regarded as precedent or cited before any court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK Indiana Supreme Court the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals and Tax Court

estoppel, or the law of the case.

APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES Frederick A. Young Curtis T. Hill, Jr. New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana Abigail R. Recker Aaron T. Craft Deputy Attorneys General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Frederick A. Young, March 6, 2020 Appellant-Petitioner, Court of Appeals Case No. 19A-MI-1589 v. Appeal from the Henry Circuit Court Keith Butts and Indiana Parole The Honorable Board, Kit C. Dean Crane, Judge Appellees-Respondents. Trial Court Cause No. 33C02-1710-MI-125

Kirsch, Judge.

[1] Frederick A. Young (“Young”) appeals from the trial court’s order granting

summary judgment in favor of Keith Butts and the Indiana Parole Board

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-MI-1589 | March 6, 2020 Page 1 of 18 (together, “the State”) and denying Young’s petition for writ of habeas corpus

relief (“habeas petition”). Young raises several issues, which we consolidate

and restate as:

I. Whether the trial court should have construed Young’s habeas petition as a petition for post-conviction relief; and

II. Whether the trial court erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of the State.

[2] We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History [3] Young is currently incarcerated in the Indiana Department of Correction (“the

DOC”) at the New Castle Correctional Facility; his earliest possible release date

is December 30, 2027. On November 19, 2004, Young was sentenced to thirty-

five years for Class A felony child molesting. Appellant’s App. Vol. 2 at 18.

Young remained incarcerated in the DOC until February 26, 2017, when he

was released on parole. Id. at 36-37. While on parole, Young was required to

comply with the conditions of parole and the parole stipulations related to his

status as a sex offender. Id. at 31-33. Among these stipulations and conditions

that Young was required to follow were: (1) not to have contact with minors

without prior approval; (2) not to possess personal contact materials that

contain information about persons who are seeking sexual relationships; (3) not

to use an electronic device with internet connection to access any online

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-MI-1589 | March 6, 2020 Page 2 of 18 computer search without prior approval; and (4) not to possess or use alcohol

and any illegal controlled substances. Id.

[4] On May 3, 2017, a warrant was issued for Young’s arrest due to his allegedly

having violated several conditions of his parole. He was taken into custody the

same day. Id. at 43. On May 5, 2017, Young was provided with notice of the

preliminary hearing and notice that he had violated five of the parole

stipulations, including Rule #4, contact with minors, Rule #9, possession of

personal contact materials, Rule # 10, unapproved computer or electronic

device usage, Rule # 12, possession or use of alcohol or illegal controlled

substances, and #19, unapproved relationship. Id. at 45. Young waived his

right to a preliminary hearing and was provided notice of the June 15, 2017

parole violation hearing. Id. at 46-47. On June 1, 2017, Young requested a

copy of the summary of his parole agent’s statement, as well as any documents

pertaining to the case, so he could prepare his defense. Id. at 48.

[5] On June 15, 2017, the Indiana Parole Board (“Parole Board”) held a parole

revocation hearing regarding Young’s alleged violations. Id. at 52. Young

admitted that he had received notice and that he was ready to proceed. Ex. 1.

Young pleaded not guilty to all five allegations. Appellant’s App. Vol. 2 at 53; Ex.

1. After listening to evidence on the matter, the Parole Board found Young

guilty of violating four conditions of his parole and issued the following

findings of fact:

[Rule #4]: Contact with Minors

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-MI-1589 | March 6, 2020 Page 3 of 18 Subject’s personal phone was searched by Agent and had photos of a minor on his phone who Subject advised was his grandson, some of the photos were screen shots of a “face time” phone call.

[Rule #19]: Unapproved Relationship

Parole Agent searched Subject’s phone and discovered various messages of the Subject looking for a physical relation [sic] and advising that he was busy at the moment and was actively involved in a physical relationship.

[Rule #10]: Unapproved Computer or Electronic Device Usage

Subject used his cell phone to access the internet for more than legal work and also had made a Facebook account where he was looking people up and talking to various people. Subject used the fake name of Tamosie Young. Subject was also using the phone to gain access to a dating app.

[Rule #12]: Possess or use of Alcohol or Illegal Controlled Substance

On 05/03/2017, Subject was given a drug test and failed for Meth.

All of the above occurred while the offender was a parolee.

Appellant’s App. Vol. 2 at 53-54.

[6] On October 16, 2017, Young filed a habeas petition, alleging that his parole

revocation was in retaliation for a previous lawsuit he had filed against the

Parole Board and that his parole agent and other parties conspired to adversely

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-MI-1589 | March 6, 2020 Page 4 of 18 affect his right to parole, to quash his First Amendment rights, and to deny him

educational time and good time credits. Id. at 87-114. Young’s retaliation

claim was based on a motion for declaratory judgment and preliminary

injunction that he had filed against the DOC and the Parole Board on February

3, 2017, asserting that the requirement that he wear a monitoring device was a

violation of the Ex Post Facto Clause (“the declaratory judgment case”). Id. at

88. Young was arrested for his parole violations one day before a hearing was

scheduled in the declaratory judgment case, which resulted in Young’s failure

to appear for the hearing and the trial court’s dismissal of Young’s motion in

the declaratory judgment case. Id. In the habeas petition, Young also argued

that he was entitled to relief because he was not provided with the evidence

against him prior to the parole revocation hearing. Id. at 102. Further, Young

challenged the constitutionality of Rule #10, the unapproved computer or

electronic device usage condition. Id. at 106-13. Young requested that the trial

court reverse the Parole Board’s decision revoking his parole. Id. at 113.

[7] On November 30, 2017, the State filed a motion for summary judgment,

arguing that Young had pleaded guilty at the parole revocation hearing and,

therefore, could not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the

revocation, and that Young was afforded all of the process due at the hearing.

Id. at 120-28. On January 3, 2018, Young filed an affidavit asserting that he did

not plead guilty on May 5, 2017, or at any time thereafter. Id. at 141. Young

then filed an amended brief in opposition to the State’s motion for summary

judgment, claiming that he did not ask the habeas court to discharge his

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