Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative v. Hogan

316 F.R.D. 106, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116114, 2016 WL 4525029
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maryland
DecidedAugust 30, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. ELH-16-1021
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 316 F.R.D. 106 (Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative v. Hogan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative v. Hogan, 316 F.R.D. 106, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116114, 2016 WL 4525029 (D. Md. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Ellen Lipton Hollander, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Calvin McNeill, Nathaniel Foster, and Kenneth Tucker (collectively, the “Named Plaintiffs”), along with the Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative (“MRJI”), “a grassroots membership organization dedicated to prisoners’ rights,” have filed suit against several Maryland officials, challenging Maryland’s parole system as applied to individuals who received sentences of life imprisonment for offenses committed as juveniles (“Juvenile Offender” or “Juvenile Offenders”). EOF 1 (“Complaint”). See id. ¶¶ 13, 16. The Named Plaintiffs allege that although Maryland permits parole for a Juvenile Offender serving a life sentence, in practice the Maryland parole system, of [108]*108which the Governor is a part, inflicts unconstitutional “de facto” sentences of life without parole. ECF 1 (“Complaint”), ¶¶ 11-12, 167-186. According to the Named Plaintiffs, they “have been and continue to be denied a meaningful opportunity for release,” in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution and Article 25 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Id. ¶ 1.

Plaintiffs’ 61-page Complaint also includes a challenge on behalf of all Maryland “ ‘juvenile lifers’ ” (ECF 1, ¶ 1), a group of “more than 200 individuals,” including the Named Plaintiffs. Id. ¶ 78. Plaintiffs assert that, as applied to individuals serving life sentences for offenses committed as minors, the Maryland parole system subjects them to “unconstitutionally disproportionate punishment.” Id. ¶ 12.

In support of their claims, plaintiffs rely on several recent decisions of the Supreme Court that bar, as unconstitutional, sentences of life without parole for Juvenile Offenders. These include Montgomery v. Louisiana, 577 U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 718, 734, 193 L.Ed.2d 599 (2016); Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S.-, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 2469, 183 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012); and Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48, 82, 130 S.Ct. 2011, 176 L.Ed.2d 825 (2010). Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, and a declaration that Md. Code § 7-301(d)(4) of the Correctional Services Article and § 2-201(b) of the Criminal Law Article of the Maryland Code are unconstitutional. They also seek attorneys’ fees and costs. ECF 1 at 59-61.

Defendants are four Maryland officials associated with the Maryland parole system: Governor Larry Hogan; David Blumberg, Cham of the Maryland Parole Commission (“MPC”); Stephen Moyer, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services; and Wayne Webb, Commissioner of the Maryland Division of Correction (“DOC”) (collectively, the “State”). Each defendant has been sued in his official capacity. See ECF 1 at 1-2.

Roberta Roper; Deborah Kempl and Jessica Fisher; and Patti Krogmann (“Individual Movants”), as “Crime Victim’s Representatives,” and the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center, Inc. (“MCVRC”) (collectively, “Movants”), have filed a motion to intervene as defendants (ECF 9), supported by a memorandum (ECF 9-2) (collectively, “Motion” or “Motion to Intervene”). Individual Movants are family members of persons who were killed by Juvenile Offenders. See ECF 9-2, ¶¶ 1-3.1 MCVRC “is a private, non-profit organization [that seeks] to ensure that victims of crime receive justice and are treated with dignity and compassion by providing comprehensive victims’ rights and services, including representing victims of crime and their lawful representatives.” Id. 1Í 4.

With their Motion, Movants also filed a proposed motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ Complaint (ECF 9-5); a supporting memorandum for the proposed motion (ECF 9-6); an appendix for the proposed motion (ECF 9-7); and a proposed answer (ECF 9-8).

Defendants filed a response to the Motion to Intervene (ECF 16, “State’s Response”), in which they ostensibly “take no position on the ultimate question whether the Court will exercise its discretion to permit intervention by the movants....” Id. at 1. Plaintiffs have filed a response in opposition to the Motion (ECF 17, “Opposition”), and the Movants have filed a reply (ECF 18, “Reply”), supported by exhibits.

No hearing is necessary to resolve the Motion to Intervene. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, the Motion shall be denied. However, Movants shall be permitted to participate in this case as amici curiae.

I. Factual Background 2

The Named Plaintiffs are adult inmates in Maryland correctional institutions. They are all serving life sentences for offenses they committed when they were juveniles. ECF 1, ¶¶ 1,13.3

[109]*109Calvin McNeill “was sentenced to life with parole under Maryland’s mandatory sentencing scheme for felony murder” (ECF 1, ¶ 122) for “his role in a fatal robbery of a dice game that occurred in 1981, the day he turned 17 years old.” Id. ¶ 120. McNeill is now 51 years old. Id. ¶ 121. He has earned “an exceptional institutional record in the DOC” {id. ¶ 124), and has “taken advantage of every program available to him, earned positions of trust in employment, and taken leadership roles in programs to promote alternatives to violence within and outside DOC.” Id. ¶ 124. He was recommended for “commutation” in 2008, “[i]n recognition of this strong record....” Id. ¶125. In 2011, “Governor O’Malley rejected this recommendation without explanation.” Id. ¶ 126. McNeill’s sixth parole hearing was scheduled for 2015 (id. ¶ 127) and, during that hearing, parole commissioners “told him they would be recommending him for a risk assessment.” Id. ¶ 128. As of the date of filing of the Complaint, McNeill had “not been transferred for the assessment.” Id.

Kenneth Tucker “was sentenced to life with parole in 1974 at age 17 under Maryland’s mandatory sentencing scheme...for participating in a robbery-murder with another teenager.” Id. ¶ 136. According to plaintiffs, in the commission of the robbery, “Mr. Tucker’s co-defendant killed the victim.” Id. And, “[bjecause the ease involved a homicide that occurred during the course of a robbery, Mr. Tucker was charged with felony murder and faced a mandatory penalty of life in prison.” Id. ¶ 137. Tucker has been incarcerated for 42 years. Id.

Plaintiffs maintain that Tucker “began turning his life around almost immediately upon his incarceration, earning his high school equivalency in 1975, an associate’s degree in 1989, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1994.” Id. ¶ 139. Tucker has “obtained certification or training in several professions” and “is currently an observation aide in the prison hospital, where he provides consolation and coping strategies to terminally ill and mentally distressed peers.” Id. Tucker also belongs to the prison’s “Scholars program” and serves as a volunteer mentor. Id. Plaintiffs aver that as early at 1987, “case management recommended [Tucker’s] transfer to preferred trailer housing and medium security because of his good institutional adjustment and infraction-free record....” Id. ¶ 140. Tucker has received consistently positive reviews and participated in numerous parole hearings. Id. ¶¶ 140-142.

Tucker had his sixth parole hearing in 2014. Id. ¶ 143.

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316 F.R.D. 106, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116114, 2016 WL 4525029, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maryland-restorative-justice-initiative-v-hogan-mdd-2016.