Wilcox v. United States Parole Commission

810 F. Supp. 186, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 436, 1993 WL 6877
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedJanuary 14, 1993
DocketCiv. A. No. 92-0078-E
StatusPublished

This text of 810 F. Supp. 186 (Wilcox v. United States Parole Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilcox v. United States Parole Commission, 810 F. Supp. 186, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 436, 1993 WL 6877 (N.D.W. Va. 1993).

Opinion

ORDER

MAXWELL, Chief Judge.

Petitioner, Carl E. Wilcox, a federal prisoner who is proceeding pro se, instituted the above-styled habeas corpus action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 on June 8, 1992. On October 14, 1992, Respondent, United States Parole Commission, by Patrick M. Flatley, Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, filed Answer of the United States Parole Commission, with supplemental exhibits.

Due to the contemporaneous submission of exhibits, this Court interprets the Answer as a Motion for Summary Judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. By Order entered November 30, 1992, this Court notified the pro se Petitioner that he was granted twenty (20) days to respond to Respondent’s Motion. The Court also informed Petitioner of the possible consequences of failure to respond. On December 17, 1992, this Court received a letter written by Petitioner that was forwarded by Respondent. The Court interprets the letter as a Response to Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Accordingly, it is

ORDERED that the above mentioned letter be filed and made part of the record in the above-styled civil action.

The Court will now address Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment in view of Petitioner’s Response.

Motions for summary judgment under Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P., impose a difficult standard on the movant, for it must be obvious that no rational trier of fact could find for the nonmoving party. Miller v. FDIC, 906 F.2d 972, 974 (4th Cir.1990). Rule 56(c) provides that summary judgment shall be entered whenever “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” The “mere existence of a scintilla of evidence[,]” favoring the nonmoving party, will not prevent entry of summary judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

To withstand Respondent’s Motion, Petitioner must offer evidence from which “a fair-minded jury could return a verdict for [Petitioner,]” after examining the record as a whole. Id. Such evidence must consist of facts which are material, meaning that the facts might affect the outcome of the action under applicable law, as well as genuine, meaning that they create fair doubt rather than encourage mere speculation. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510; Ross v. Communications Satellite Corp., 759 F.2d 355, 364 (4th Cir.1985).

Petitioner’s Response does not controvert the facts as presented in Respondent’s Motion for Summary Judgment. Therefore, the facts as set forth in Respondent’s Motion are deemed to be admitted. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); and Local Rule 2.07(d). The issues, as delineated in Respondent’s Motion, are numbered and addressed below.

1. Whether the United States Parole Commission’s failure to give a timely parole revocation hearing was a violation of Petitioner’s right to due process.

Respondent asserts that the delay in Petitioner’s parole revocation hearing, though untimely, does not warrant habeas corpus relief. Mere delay in a parole revocation hearing does not constitute a violation of due process, nor does it necessitate habeas corpus relief. ■ See Heath v. U.S. Parole Commission, 788 F.2d 85, 89 (2d Cir.1986) (absent prejudice or bad faith by the Commission, the appropriate remedy is not habeas corpus relief, but a petition for mandamus for a hearing); Bryant v. Grinner, 563 F.2d 871, 872 (7th Cir.1977) (remedy for a late hearing is a hearing).

[188]*188To be entitled to habeas corpus relief, Petitioner must therefore demonstrate that he was prejudiced by the delay in his parole revocation hearing. See Gaddy v. Michael, 519 F.2d 669, 673 (4th Cir. 1975), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 998, 97 S.Ct. 524, 50 L.Ed.2d 608 (1976) (parole board is not required to hold a revocation hearing within a specified period of time if the parolee suffers no prejudice). Though Petitioner’s parole revocation hearing was untimely, he has not set forth specific facts showing that there is genuine controversy on this issue. Petitioner merely rests on the assertion that he was prejudiced by the delay because he has been incarcerated. Petitioner has not submitted any facts to show that the delay in fact caused him prejudice. Habeas corpus relief would be an inappropriate remedy for Petitioner’s delayed hearing.1

2. Whether the Commission’s failure to issue a parole violator warrant after Petitioner’s arrest prohibits the Commission from issuing a violator warrant at a later time.

28 C.F.R. § 2.44(b) provides, “[a]ny ... warrant under this section shall be issued as soon as practicable after the alleged violation is reported to the Commission[.]” The Parole Commission received notice of Petitioner’s arrest and new conviction on January 14, 1992, and issued its parole violator warrant on February 21, 1992, clearly within a reasonable period of time. Judicial relief for agency action is not necessitated, or even permitted, absent a showing that such action violated constitutional, statutory, regulatory or other restrictions. See 18 U.S.C. § 4218(d); Garcia v. Neagle, 660 F.2d 983 (4th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1153, 102 S.Ct. 1023, 71 L.Ed.2d 309 (1982). Petitioner has not made any such showings and is therefore not entitled to habeas corpus relief on this issue.

3. Whether the Parole Commission violated Petitioner’s right to due process when it used information that Petitioner terms erroneous and illegal to revoke his parole.

Respondent correctly notes that this Court lacks authority to substitute its opinion in place of Respondent’s factual determinations. Subsection (d) of 18 U.S.C. § 4218 establishes that Commission decisions regarding parole are committed to the discretion of the agency under the Administrative Procedure Act. This issue has been addressed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit:

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810 F. Supp. 186, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 436, 1993 WL 6877, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilcox-v-united-states-parole-commission-wvnd-1993.