Chambers v. Colorado Department of Corrections
| Decision Date | 29 November 1993 |
| Parties | 1999 CJ C.A.R. 125 NOTICE: Although citation of unpublished opinions remains unfavored, unpublished opinions may now be cited if the opinion has persuasive value on a material issue, and a copy is attached to the citing document or, if cited in oral argument, copies are furnished to the Court and all parties. See General Order of |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Before PORFILIO, HOLLOWAY, and HENRY, Circuit Judges.
In this appeal, we revisit the Colorado Department of Corrections' (CDOC) classification of inmate John H. Chambers as a sex offender eligible to participate in the Sexual Offender Treatment Program (SOTP). In a prior appeal to this court, we rejected Mr. Chambers' pro se challenge to the CDOC's reduction of the amount of earned time credit he received because he refused to participate in the SOTP. In an unpublished order, we concluded because there is no constitutional right to good or earned time credit, Mr. Chambers' due process and equal protection claims posited on this non-protected interest must also fail. Chambers v. Bachicha, 39 F.3d 1191 (10th Cir.1994) (unpublished). In this case, Mr. Chambers, again proceeding pro se, challenged the classification itself, asserting under the factual circumstances of his case, the CDOC cannot classify him as an inmate in need of SOTP and then punish him for refusing to participate by reducing the number of earned time credits he may receive. To chart our way, the court ordered the appointment of counsel and defined his route to address the constitutionality of the Standardized Treatment Program for Sex Offenders, Colo.Rev.Stat. §§ 16-11.7-101--16-11.7-107 (1992) (the Act), as applied to Mr. Chambers. However, because the CDOC's response has overlaid an entirely different direction in our analysis, we must remand the case for an evidentiary hearing.
In 1985, Mr. Chambers was convicted of aggravated robbery and attempted theft and, because of prior convictions, sentenced as a habitual criminal to thirty-nine years' imprisonment. In 1992, Phyllis Bachicha, a newly assigned case manager, reviewed Mr. Chambers' CDOC file and discovered a police report indicating Mr. Chambers had been charged with first degree sexual assault in 1983. The case was dismissed without prejudice when the victim decided not to proceed. 1 Based on the report, Ms. Bachicha recommended Mr. Chambers for participation in the SOTP. Under the CDOC Risk Assessment Management Program Sex Offender Component, Mr. Chambers was judged eligible 2 to participate, and the Sex Offenders Treatment staff classified him S4 on the Sexual Violence Scale: "[i]ndividuals whose history indicates sexual assaults or deviance for which they may not have been convicted." However, CDOC did not accept Mr. Chambers in SOTP because he refused to admit to sexually assaultive behavior, a precondition to participation. As a consequence, Ms. Bachicha reduced the amount of earned time Mr. Chambers received from ten to seven days a month.
The action triggered three lawsuits. See Chambers v. Bachicha, 92-F-2238 (D. Colo. June 7, 1993), aff'd, 39 F.3d 1191 (10th Cir.1994) (unpublished) (Chambers I); Chambers v. Colorado Dept. of Corrections, 95 CV 8 (D.C., Lincoln County, June 13, 1995), aff'd, No. 95CA1248 (Colo.Ct.App. Apr. 18, 1996) (Chambers II). In the first federal action, Chambers I, Mr. Chambers, appearing pro se, alleged the classification made him ineligible to receive maximum earned time credits in violation of his rights to due process and equal protection and violated his privilege against self-incrimination. This court affirmed the dismissal upon the conclusion Mr. Chambers failed to assert a constitutional claim, the award of earned time credits being firmly vested within the CDOC's discretionary domain. In Chambers II, Mr. Chambers sought declaratory relief in state court challenging the CDOC's classifying him as a sexual offender but seeking the same goal, restoration of his maximum earned time credits. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the state district court's dismissal based on res judicata.
In the present lawsuit, Mr. Chambers, again proceeding pro se, alleged he was improperly classified as a sexual offender, causing a violation of his equal protection and due process rights. Adopting the Magistrate Judge's Recommendation, the district court agreed res judicata did not bar Mr. Chambers' claim, stating "[i]t is clear from the record that his assertion that he should not be classified as an inmate in need of the SOTP has not been raised in previous lawsuits." Proceeding to address the merits, the district court rejected his equal protection and due process assertions, a newly raised gender discrimination claim, and an ex post facto argument. Mr. Chambers filed this appeal. CDOC did not appeal the court's refusal to dismiss the action based on res judicata. CDOC continues to argue res judicata bars the present action and appeal although it did not cross appeal the district court's contrary finding. Given the present state of the record but mindful CDOC may "defend its judgment on any ground properly raised below whether or not that ground was relied upon," Washington v. Confederated Bands and Tribes, 439 U.S. 463, 476 n. 20, 99 S.Ct. 740, 58 L.Ed.2d 740 (1979), we would await the trial court's clarification of the issue on the merits before we decide whether this action is barred by res judicata.
As noted, we appointed counsel to represent Mr. Chambers in this appeal to address the constitutionality of the Act's SOTP as applied to Mr. Chambers. Because the tangible consequence of Mr. Chambers' refusal to be classified as a sexual offender was the loss of three days of earned time credit per month, a deduction which apparently alters the date he becomes eligible for parole, our analysis remained focused on whether the classification triggered a protected liberty interest. Consequently, both parties filed supplemental briefs addressing whether Mr. Chambers'...
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Chambers v. Colorado Dept. of Corrections
...in part. 1. We have previously set forth some of the procedural and factual history, Chambers v. Colorado Dep't of Corrections, 166 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 1999) (unpublished) (Chambers III). 2. The Sex Offender Component was part of CDOC Administrative Regulation (A/R) 600-1 promulgated in 19......