Maghee v. Iowa Dist. Court Judge, Reade

• Decision Date: 21 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. 03-0841.,03-0841.
• Citation: 712 N.W.2d 687
• Parties: Valentino MAGHEE, Appellant, v. IOWA DISTRICT COURT JUDGE, Linda READE, Appellee.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 687

712 N.W.2d 687

Valentino MAGHEE, Appellant, v. IOWA DISTRICT COURT JUDGE, Linda READE, Appellee.

No. 03-0841.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 21, 2006.

Philip B. Mears of Mears Law Office, Iowa City, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and William A. Hill, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

LAVORATO, Chief Justice.

Valentino Maghee appeals from a penalty order of the district court in which a portion of his earned time credit as an inmate of the Anamosa State Penitentiary was ordered deducted from his total earned time credit because he filed a frivolous lawsuit. He contends he was denied due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution because he was denied appointment of counsel at state expense during the penalty hearing. He also contends the order should be set aside because it was disproportionate to the offense. We reject both contentions and affirm.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

A. Underlying proceeding. On December 4, 1996, Maghee filed a "complaint" in the district court against Des Moines officials, alleging the illegal seizure of his property and malicious prosecution to cover up official misconduct. He alleged these actions occurred in December 1991 and May 1994.

On December 19 the Des Moines officials filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that the action was barred by the statute of limitations pursuant to Iowa Code section 614.1(1) (1995) (one-year statute of limitations for actions to enforce the payment of a penalty or forfeiture under an ordinance). District judge Linda Reade set the motion for hearing on January 27, 1997. (Judge Reade is now a federal district court judge.) Before the hearing, Maghee filed a resistance in which he alleged that Iowa Code section 614.1(4) (five-year statute of limitations for actions founded on unwritten contracts, injuries to property, fraud, and other actions not otherwise provided for except as provided by subsections 8 and 10) applied.

Maghee failed to appear, either personally or by telephone, for the January 27 hearing, which was set for 8:30 a.m. (Maghee was incarcerated at the time.) He did however file a motion for continuance, which was time-stamped by the clerk at 2:27 p.m. on January 27. In his motion, Maghee alleged that he was unable to secure prison telephone privileges on January 27 and that he was not able to obtain possession of his legal files that were in the possession of prison officials. At 4:04 p.m. on January 27, Judge Reade granted the defendants' motion to dismiss on the grounds that Maghee's action was barred by the statute of limitations pursuant to Iowa Code section 614.1(2) (two-year statute of limitations for actions founded on injuries to person or reputation).

After Judge Reade dismissed Maghee's action, Maghee filed on February 3 a motion for reconsideration of the order dismissing his action, and in that motion he also asked the court to add additional defendants. In support of his motion, Maghee again alleged that the correct statute of limitations was section 614.1(4) and that Judge Reade had erred in applying section 614.1(2). Judge Reade denied Maghee's previous motion to continue, the motion to reconsider, and the motion to add additional defendants. That ruling, however, did not deter Maghee from again filing a motion to add additional defendants, a motion that Judge Reade also denied.

On December 7 Maghee filed a motion to vacate Judge Reade's ruling on the motion to dismiss pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 252(e) (now rule 1.1012(5)) on the grounds that he was prevented from participating in the January 27 hearing because he was in solitary lock-up. He further alleged that prison officials withheld and denied him access to his legal papers. District judge Robert Wilson, who has since that time resigned, denied the motion.

On February 16, 1998, Maghee filed a motion to set aside the ruling on the motion to dismiss pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 179(b) (now rule 1.904(2)) and rule 1.1012(5), alleging the same grounds he urged in his December 7, 1997 motion. On February 16, 1998, Judge Wilson denied the motion, following which, on February 27 Maghee filed a motion to enlarge findings pursuant to rule 1.904(2), a motion to recuse Judge Reade and Judge Wilson, a demand for hearing, and another motion for continuance of the January 27, 1997 hearing. On October 8, 1998, Maghee filed a motion for summary judgment, a motion to allow him to proceed with his action pursuant to the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, a demand for hearing, and a motion to add additional defendants. On November 12 Judge Wilson denied all of Maghee's outstanding motions and instructed the clerk of court to close the file and refuse any further filings in the case.

B. Present proceedings. On May 6, 1999, Maghee filed the present action against Judge Reade, alleging that the Des Moines officials in the underlying action recruited Judge Reade and the Iowa Department of Corrections officials in their conspiracy and wrongdoing to cover up and continue their misconduct of illegally seizing his property. Maghee further alleged that Judge Reade never answered his motion to continue in violation of Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 117(c) (now rule 1.455) and in violation of his First Amendment right of access to the courts and in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process and equal protection. Maghee also alleged that Judge Reade failed to rule on his motion for summary judgment that he filed on January 7, 1997. In addition, Maghee alleged that despite section 614.1(4), Judge Reade in furtherance of the conspiracy ruled in favor of the Des Moines officials by making false rulings that the Iowa statute of limitations for injury to property was two years and not the correct law of five years.

For relief, Maghee asked the court to issue (1) a declaratory judgment that Judge Reade violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and (2) an injunction ordering Judge Reade to rule on his January 7, 1997 motion for continuance. He also asked for attorney fees and court costs.

On April 26, 2000, district judge Richard Blane II filed an order of dismissal pursuant to Iowa Code section 610A.2(1)(b) (1999). In the order, Judge Blane in a thorough analysis found that Maghee's current cause of action was frivolous and malicious as defined in Iowa Code section 610A.2.

In the dismissal order, Judge Blane set a hearing for June 8, 2000 to determine whether the court should enter an order imposing penalties under section 610A.3(1)(a) (loss of good conduct time credits) or (b) (deduction from prisoner's account). Further, the judge ordered a representative of the attorney general's office to appear at the hearing to present evidence on the penalty issue and appointed an attorney to represent Maghee at state expense because of the constitutional ramifications of Maghee's loss of good conduct time credits. Finally, the judge ordered the Iowa Department of Corrections to provide the court a record of Maghee's good conduct time credits and the balance of Maghee's prison account and ordered the Polk County Sheriff to transport Maghee to the Polk County Courthouse for the hearing.

Judge Blane entered an order continuing the June 8 hearing pending the outcome of Maghee's postconviction relief application. Because of the delay in trying the postconviction relief action, Judge Blane on August 6, 2002 set a scheduling conference for August 23. In the same order the judge appointed Maghee new counsel. On August 23 the judge set the penalty hearing for April 1, 2003. On the same day — August 23 — the judge relieved Maghee's new counsel of his obligation to represent Maghee for two reasons. First the State Public Defender's office advised the attorney it would not authorize payment for the attorney's services. Second, the judge noted that this court in Maghee v. State, 639 N.W.2d 28 (Iowa 2002), held that a prison inmate challenging loss of good conduct time credit in a prison disciplinary hearing was not constitutionally entitled to appointed counsel at state expense.

On April 1, 2003, district judge Paul Huscher presided at the penalty hearing at which an assistant attorney general appeared as well as Maghee, who represented himself. During the hearing, the judge engaged the parties in a discussion of the amount of earned time credit that could be taken in a prison disciplinary matter and what the district court is empowered to do pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 610A (2003). (As of January 1, 2001, the designation "good conduct time" was changed to "earned time credit.") The judge asked Maghee whether there was any reduction of earned time credit that would discourage him from making further filings in the case that had been closed and was never appealed. Maghee never gave an answer but continued to maintain his right to challenge an improper ruling.

Judge Huscher stated that he believed Maghee had no intention of abiding by the rules or procedures of the court. The court continued:

I would be inclined and could easily find that taking every day of good time that you have would be insufficient as a sanction in this matter but would be appropriate. On the other hand, it seems to me that the time of the sanction and the amount of good time available to be taken legitimately should be the amount that was, at least as best as we can determine, the amount that you would have had available at the time of the finding of the violation and at the time of your conduct. It appears that that amounts to about 2000 days.

Following the hearing, Judge Huscher on April 2 entered an order that sanctioned Maghee for his frivolous and malicious filings with the loss of 2000 days of earned time credit. See Iowa Code § 610A.3(1)(a). The order directed the warden of Maghee's correctional institution to reduce Maghee's total earned time...