Lonnie K. Stephens v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)

• Court: Indiana Court of Appeals
• Decided: March 7, 2018
• Docket: 05A02-1708-CR-1974
• Status: Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED this Memorandum Decision shall not be regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 07 2018, 7:16 am

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 APPELLEE Lonnie K. Stephens Curtis T. Hill, Jr. New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana

Frances Barrow Deputy Attorney General Indianapolis, Indiana

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Lonnie K. Stephens, March 7, 2018 Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No. 05A02-1708-CR-1974 v. Appeal from the Blackford Circuit Court State of Indiana, The Honorable Dean A. Young, Appellee-Plaintiff Judge The Honorable Jay L. Toney, Special Judge Trial Court Cause No. 05C01-0312-FB-52

Altice, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 1 of 3 Case Summary

[1] Lonnie K. Stephens appeals pro se from the trial court’s denial of his petition to

reinstate good time credit. On appeal, Stephens argues that the Department of

Correction (DOC) has not awarded him the full amount of good time credit to

which he is entitled. The State responds that the trial court properly dismissed

Stephens’s petition because it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the

DOC’s decisions regarding the deprivation of good time credit.

[2] We affirm.

Facts & Procedural History

[3] Stephens is currently serving a thirty-year sentence at the New Castle

Correctional Facility. As a result of various disciplinary convictions during his

incarceration, Stephens was deprived of a total of 540 days of good time credit.

Stephens filed one or more administrative petitions with the DOC for

restoration of good time credit, which he claims resulted in the restoration of

406 days of good time credit. According to Stephens, however, the DOC has

applied only 198 of those days toward his sentence. Stephens filed his petition

for reinstatement of credit time with the trial court on July 18, 2017. The trial

court denied the petition the same day without holding a hearing. Stephens

now appeals.

Discussion & Decision

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 2 of 3 [4] Our Supreme Court has held that “DOC inmates have no common law,

statutory, or federal constitutional right to review in state court [of] DOC

disciplinary decisions.” Blanck v. Ind. Dep’t of Corr., 829 N.E.2d 505, 507 (Ind.

2005). Offenders who have been deprived of good time credit time may appeal

the decision to the DOC commissioner. Ind. Code § 35-50-6-5.5. The Indiana

Administrative Orders and Procedures Act (AOPA) governs the orders and

procedures of state administrative agencies, including the DOC. Blanck, 829

N.E.2d at 510. The AOPA “establishes the exclusive means for judicial review

of an agency action.” Ind. Code § 4-21.5-5-1. However, “the Legislature has

specifically excluded from the AOPA’s application any ‘agency action related

to an offender within the jurisdiction of the department of correction.’” Blanck,

829 N.E.2d at 510 (quoting I.C. § 4-21.5-205(6)). Thus, our Supreme Court has

held that prisoner disciplinary actions are not subject to judicial review in State

court. Id. Because Stephens is not entitled to judicial review of the DOC’s

decisions concerning the deprivation and restoration of good time credit, the

trial court properly denied his petition to reinstate good time credit.

[5] Judgment affirmed.

[6] May, J. and Vaidik, C.J., concur.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 3 of 3