Graham v. O'Dea

Decision Date03 June 1994
Docket NumberNo. 93-CA-2926-MR,93-CA-2926-MR
Citation876 S.W.2d 621
PartiesDanny GRAHAM, Appellant, v. Michael O'DEA, Appellee.
CourtKentucky Court of Appeals

Danny Graham, pro se.

Susan Alley and John T. Damron, Corrections Cabinet, Frankfort, for appellee.

Before LESTER, C.J., and GUDGEL and WILHOIT, JJ.

PER CURIAM:

The appellant has appealed the Morgan Circuit Court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The petition sought restoration of good-time credits and the expunging of an incident report from his institutional record. Appellant's good-time credits had been lost in a prison disciplinary action resulting from the discovery of marijuana in the common area of a cell that the appellant shared with his brother. The appellant did not allege in the circuit court, nor has he alleged in the appellate Court, that if his good-time credits were restored he would be entitled to immediate release from custody.

In responding to the petition in circuit court, the respondent denied that appellant was being unlawfully detained, thus raising the issue of the applicability of KRS 419.020. The circuit court dismissed the petition without explanation.

This Court entered an order directing the parties to show cause why this case should not be transferred to the regular docket of the Court for briefing and assignment since the appellant was not asserting a right to immediate release. Having considered the responses from the parties to that show cause order, the Court is convinced that the transfer to the regular docket is unnecessary and the show cause order of January 5, 1994, is hereby set aside.

Because the appellant did not assert or prove a right to immediate release from custody, we find the circuit court order denying relief and dismissing the action to have been proper. The decision of the circuit court is hereby affirmed.

KRS 419.020 provides:

The writ of habeas corpus shall be issued upon petition on behalf of anyone showing by affidavit probable cause that he is being detained without lawful authority or is being imprisoned when by law he is entitled to bail. The writ may be issued by any circuit judge on any day at any time and his power to issue such writs shall be coextensive with the Commonwealth.

The statute codifies the constitutional and common law right of an individual to petition a court to determine the legality of his detention. The sole purpose of the writ is to determine whether a person detained is entitled to release from that detention. The remaining sections of KRS Chapter 419 provide procedures for the expeditious processing of the petition in circuit court and for appeal to the Court of Appeals. However, this...

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18 cases
  • Smith v. O'Dea
    • United States
    • Kentucky Court of Appeals
    • February 7, 1997
    ...their disputes with the Corrections Department. Polsgrove v. Kentucky Bureau of Corrections, Ky., 559 S.W.2d 736 (1977); Graham v. O'Dea, Ky.App., 876 S.W.2d 621 (1994). While technically original actions, these inmate petitions share many of the aspects of appeals. They invoke the circuit ......
  • Staub v. Nietzel
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit
    • April 24, 2023
    ... ... 939 S.W.2d 353, ... 355-56 (Ky. Ct. App. 1997) (citing Polsgrove v. Ky ... Bureau of Corrs. , 559 S.W.2d 736 (1977); Graham v ... O'Dea , 876 S.W.2d 621 (Ky. App. 1994)). The ... Smith court observed that while such suits brought ... by inmates are ... ...
  • Santiago v. Chandler, No. 2008-CA-000566-MR (Ky. App. 8/14/2009)
    • United States
    • Kentucky Court of Appeals
    • August 14, 2009
    ...their disputes with the Corrections Department. Polsgrove v. Kentucky Bureau of Corrections, 559 S.W.2d 736 (Ky. 1977); Graham v. O'Dea, 876 S.W.2d 621 (Ky. App. 1994). While technically original actions, these inmate petitions share many of the aspects of appeals. They invoke the circuit c......
  • Garrett v. Webb, No. 2007-CA-000510-MR (Ky. App. 1/25/2008)
    • United States
    • Kentucky Court of Appeals
    • January 25, 2008
    ...seek review of their disputes with the Department of Corrections when Habeas Corpus proceedings are inappropriate. See Graham v. O'Dea, 876 S.W.2d 621 (Ky.App. 1994). While these actions are technically considered original actions, they share many of the same attributes as appeals, as the c......
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