G.A. Boyd-Chisholm v. PBPP

CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 27, 2020
Docket876 C.D. 2019
StatusUnpublished

This text of G.A. Boyd-Chisholm v. PBPP (G.A. Boyd-Chisholm v. PBPP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
G.A. Boyd-Chisholm v. PBPP, (Pa. Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Gary A. Boyd-Chisholm, : Petitioner : : v. : No. 876 C.D. 2019 : Submitted: April 24, 2020 Pennsylvania Board of Probation : and Parole, : Respondent :

BEFORE: HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, Judge HONORABLE PATRICIA A. McCULLOUGH, Judge HONORABLE J. ANDREW CROMPTON, Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY JUDGE CROMPTON FILED: July 27, 2020

Gary A. Boyd-Chisholm (Boyd-Chisholm), who is represented by appointed counsel, petitions for review of an order of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole1 (Board) that denied his request for administrative relief. Boyd-Chisholm argues that the Board erred by not articulating a causally-linked reason to deny him credit for time spent while at liberty on parole and by determining that the time credit arguments in his administrative appeal were rendered moot by the Board’s recalculation of his maximum sentence. Boyd-Chisholm also asserts that the Board may not take time from him which was originally granted as time in

1 Subsequent to the filing of the petition for review, the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole was renamed the Pennsylvania Parole Board. See Sections 15, 16, and 16.1 of the Act of December 18, 2019, P.L. 776, No. 115 (effective February 18, 2020); see also Sections 6101 and 6111(a) of the Prisons and Parole Code, as amended, 61 Pa. C.S. §§ 6101, 6111(a). good standing while he was at liberty on parole prior to technical violations. Upon review, we affirm the Board.

I. Background The Board states that Boyd-Chisholm is an inmate at State Correctional Institution (SCI) – Somerset. The Board has parole authority over Boyd-Chisholm based on an aggregated sentence of 2 years and 6 months to 12 years for 2 counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Firearm not to be Carried Without a License, Person not to Possess Firearms, Conspiracy to Commit Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Board’s Br. at 4; Certified Record (C.R.) at 1. Boyd-Chisholm’s minimum sentence date was June 6, 2010, and his maximum sentence date was originally June 6, 2016. C.R. at 1. However, he was released on parole on July 6, 2010. C.R. at 7. Between January 7, 2011, and July 31, 2013, the Board filed three separate detainers against Boyd-Chisholm after criminal charges were filed against him and later dismissed. C.R. at 11-24.

On August 22, 2013, the Harrisburg Police Department filed criminal charges against Boyd-Chisholm of Simple Assault, Carrying a Firearm Without a License, Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession, Use, Control, Sale, Transfer or Manufacture of a Firearm. C.R. at 27-36. On October 12, 2013, additional charges were filed against Boyd-Chisholm by the Harrisburg Police Department, and the Board issued a warrant to commit and detain Boyd-Chisholm. C.R. at 37; 47. On November 27, 2013, the Board rendered a decision to detain Boyd-Chisholm pending the outcome

2 of new criminal charges concerning his October 12, 2013 arrest. C.R. at 64. Boyd- Chisholm posted bail on December 6, 2013. C.R. at 49. On October 16, 2014, Boyd- Chisholm pled guilty to Disorderly Conduct, Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Marijuana, among other charges, and was ordered to serve one year of probation, with any time credit going toward his detainer. C.R. at 63.

On October 29, 2014, Boyd-Chisholm signed a Waiver of Revocation Hearing and Counsel/Admission Form, waiving his right to a revocation hearing and his right to counsel and admitting that he violated his parole by committing the aforementioned offenses. C.R. at 67. The Board accepted Boyd-Chisholm’s waivers and indicated on the Hearing Report, dated November 10, 2014, that Boyd- Chisholm would not receive credit for time he spent at liberty on parole by checking “No” next to “Credit time spent at liberty on parole.” C.R. at 71-78. By decision mailed on January 16, 2015, the Board recommitted Boyd-Chisholm as a convicted parole violator (CPV) to serve 12 months of backtime for his new criminal convictions and recomputed Boyd-Chisholm’s maximum sentence date to June 22, 2019, with no credit for time spent at liberty on parole.

Boyd-Chisholm was released on parole on February 18, 2016. C.R. at 83-84; 88. Boyd-Chisholm signed conditions of parole and special conditions of parole. C.R. at 89-99. On December 16, 2016, the Harrisburg Police Department filed charges against Boyd-Chisholm for Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. C.R. at 101-04. On March 24, 2017, the Board issued a decision declaring Boyd-Chisholm delinquent effective March 22, 2017. C.R. at 100. On July 24, 2017, Boyd-Chisholm pled guilty to

3 Use/Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and was sentenced to six months of probation. C.R. at 107-08.

On September 14, 2017, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General filed charges against Boyd-Chisholm in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, for delivery of a controlled substance, i.e., crack cocaine, and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility. C.R. at 112-15. On September 15, 2017, the Board issued a warrant to commit and detain Boyd-Chisholm. C.R. at 116. On October 31, 2017, the Board recorded an action declaring Boyd-Chisholm delinquent as of March 24, 2017, and cancelling the delinquency period of March 22, 2017, through August 23, 2017. C.R. at 121. On November 3, 2017, the Board recorded a decision to detain Boyd-Chisholm, pending the disposition of the criminal charges against him. C.R. at 122. On January 29, 2018, Boyd-Chisholm pled guilty to use/possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to six months of probation. C.R. at 125, 132. All other charges were dismissed. On February 21, 2018, the Board issued an order releasing Boyd-Chisholm from temporary detention. C.R. at 133.

On April 13, 2018, a revocation hearing for Boyd-Chisholm was held at SCI-Camp Hill, and on July 9, 2018, (recorded June 19, 2018), the Board issued a decision recommitting him as a CPV for six months and declining to award credit for time spent at liberty on parole. The reasons for the Board’s decision to deny credit for time spent at liberty on parole were “SCI misconduct” and that Boyd- Chisholm “shows risk to the community.” C.R. at 185-86. Boyd-Chisholm’s maximum date was recomputed to April 5, 2021. C.R. at 188. Boyd-Chisholm filed a request for administrative review on August 2, 2018. C.R. at 190-93.

4 On May 22, 2019, the Board issued a decision modifying its June 19, 2018, October 4, 2018, and April 15, 2019, orders due to a technical error and recalculating Boyd-Chisholm’s parole violation maximum date to January 17, 2021. C.R. at 207. On May 31, 2019, Boyd-Chisholm filed an administrative appeal seeking credit for his time at liberty on parole from July 2010 to July 31, 2013, and from February 2016 to August 2017 and seeking his “immediate discharge in full from the Pennsylvania [Department of Corrections] and [the Board].” C.R. at 210- 11.

On June 20, 2019, the Board issued a decision denying Boyd- Chisholm’s appeal. C.R. at 219. The Board subsequently notified Boyd-Chisholm of an action recorded on July 29, 2019, modifying its actions of January 5, 2015, May 28, 2015, and January 14, 2016, and recalculating his parole violation maximum date to April 28, 2019. C.R. at 221. The same Board action also corrected the Board’s actions of June 19, 2018, October 4, 2018, April 15, 2019, and May 22, 2019, due to technical errors, and recalculated Boyd-Chisholm’s parole violation maximum date to November 23, 2020. On July 30, 2019, the Board responded to Boyd-Chisholm,2 addressing his contentions that the Board was continuing to miscalculate his time in incarceration and had “wrongfully and illegally removed”

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