Hines v. State Bd. of Parole
Decision Date | 19 July 1944 |
Court | New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Parties | HINES v. STATE BOARD OF PAROLE. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department.
Proceeding under article 78, s 1283 et seq., of the Civil Practice Act, in the matter of the application for an order of certiorari in favor of James J. Hines against the State Board of Parole in denying petitioner's release from state prison on parole. From an order, 267 App.Div. 881, 46 N.Y.S.2d 572, unanimously affirming an order of a Special Term of the Supreme Court, 181 Misc. 280, 46 N.Y.S.2d 569, Aldrich, J., granting respondent's motion for an order to dismiss, as insufficient, the petition, petitioner, by permission of Court of Appeals, appeals.
Affirmed.
See also 181 Misc. 277, 48 N.Y.S.2d 164.
Jacob Shientag, of New York City, for appellant.
Nathaniel L. Goldstein, Atty. Gen., (William F. McNulty, Orrin G. Judd and Harry F. Karst, all of New York City, of counsel), for respondent.
This is a proceeding under article 78 of the Civil Practice Act for an order of certiorari to review the action of the State Board of Parole in denying parole to petitioner and for the issuance of an order commanding the Board of Parole to certify the petitioner for parole.
The theory upon which the petitioner has appealed to the courts is that the Board has made it a condition precedent to any consideration of his case, that he admit his guilt of the crimes charged against him regardless of whether in fact he was or was not guilty of the crime or crimes of which he stands convicted and thus violated the rule laid down in Sims v. Sims, 75 N.Y. 466;People v. Rodawald, 177 N.Y. 408, 425,70 N.E. 1, 6;Schindler v. Royal Insurance Co., 258 N.Y. 310, 312, 313, 179 N.E. 711, 712, 80 A.L.R. 1142. In the Schindler case we pointed out: ‘In any civil proceeding to which the people are not parties, one may, after having been convicted of a crime, assert his innocence and put his opponent to his proof of guilt, or after having been acquitted on a criminal charge, may himself be subjected to a trial anew of the issue of fact.’ We do not find however, on this record that such improper condition was imposed upon petitioner.
A comprehensive system of parole has been established by the State and is found in the Correction Law, Consol.Laws, c. 43. In section 210 thereof the Board of Parole is charged with the duty of determining ‘what prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence in state prisons and the Elmira Reformatory, may be released on parole and when and under what conditions.’ Under the same section the members of the Board are required personally to study the prisoners confined in the prisons of the State under indeterminate sentences, so as to determine their ultimate fitness to be paroled. Under section 212 it is provided that the time of the release of a prisoner The statutes declare that the action of the Board in releasing or refusing to release prisoners shall not be reviewable if in accordance with law. Thus so long as the Board violates no positive statutory requirement, its discretion is absolute and beyond review in the courts. In this case there was no departure from any statutory requirement and we may not review its action or failure to act. Aside from our lack of power or authority to review the action of the Board in any particular case, the statutory scheme is such that no judicial review of the merits in any case is possible. The action of the Board depends upon information in regard to the personal traits and characteristics of the individual convicted and upon unanimous concurrence of the individual...
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