Hoots v. Craven

• Decision Date: 06 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 33327.,33327.
• Citation: 192 P.3d 1095,146 Idaho 271
• Parties: David William HOOTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Olivia CRAVEN, Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

192 P.3d 1095

146 Idaho 271

David William HOOTS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Olivia CRAVEN, Respondent.

No. 33327.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

June 6, 2008.

Rehearing Denied June 6, 2008.

Review Denied September 8, 2008.

David William Hoots, Boise, pro se appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Mark A. Kubinski, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

SUBSTITUTE OPINION

THE COURT'S PRIOR OPINION DATED MARCH 6, 2008 IS HEREBY WITHDRAWN

GUTIERREZ, Chief Judge.

David William Hoots appeals from the district court's dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

In 1996, Hoots was convicted on three counts of lewd conduct with a minor under sixteen years and received a unified sentence of thirty years with one year determinate for each count, all sentences to run concurrently. On March 26, 2001 he was released on parole and resumed his residence in northern Idaho. One year later, Hoots was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). He was not arrested at that time as the Idaho State Police were awaiting results from a blood draw to determine his blood alcohol concentration. Hoots sustained significant injuries in the crash which led to the citation, including broken ribs and head trauma. Hoots's parole officer, Kevin Gentry, sent a request to Olivia Craven, the Executive Director for the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole, for a warning letter regarding this incident. In lieu of revoking Hoots's parole, he was warned that his conduct was contrary to parole conditions, but that he would be granted a second chance to succeed on parole. The warning letter expressly notified Hoots that the incident could be used against him in a future parole revocation proceeding if additional evidence was discovered or if further parole violations occurred. Hoots entered a guilty plea to an amended charge of inattentive driving on August 23, 2002, as his blood alcohol content was found to be below the threshold for DUI.

In January of 2003, Hoots was arrested for domestic battery, which was later reduced to battery, and eventually dismissed. Again Gentry requested a warning letter for Hoots, declaring that he was performing relatively well on parole and should be given a third chance. Two months later, Hoots was again arrested, this time for stalking and three instances of violating a protection order. While Hoots was jailed on these charges, Gentry served him with an agent's warrant to detain him until further action could be taken by the Commission of Pardons and Parole (the Commission). That same evening, Gentry requested that Hoots submit to a breathalyzer examination while in custody, based on the belief of jail staff that Hoots was under the influence. Hoots refused the breath test. A Commission warrant was issued on April 1, 2003. The charges for stalking and violation of a protection order were eventually dismissed later in the year.

A report detailing Hoots's violations of parole was prepared on March 28, 2003, and a violation hearing was held in May before a Commission hearing officer. During that hearing, Hoots was informed that he would be released from custody to continue on parole if he was "found innocent of all charges." If he was found to have violated his parole, a second hearing would be held to determine whether to revoke his parole or continue it with additional conditions. The hearing officer found Hoots guilty of all three violations as charged. Hoots's first violation, of Parole Agreement conditions 5(a) and 5(b), arose because he failed to "obey all municipal, county, state, and federal laws" and to "conduct himself in a manner which [was] not, nor [was] intended to be, harmful to himself or others." Hoots's second violation is of condition 1(c) of the Sex Offender Agreement of Supervision (SOAS), which stated that he would not "purchase, produce, possess or consume alcoholic beverages, nor ... frequent any establishment where the sale of alcoholic beverages is the primary source of business." The third violation stems from Parole Agreement conditions 5(c) and 6(c) wherein Hoots agreed to "follow written or oral instructions of the parole officer or Parole Commission" and to "freely cooperate and voluntarily submit to medical and chemical tests and examinations for the purpose of determining if parolee is using or under the influence of alcohol or narcotics."

Based on the findings at the parole violation hearing, a revocation hearing was held on September 11, 2003. The Commission adopted the findings of the hearing officer, and revoked Hoots's parole. The primary basis for the revocation was Hoots's conviction for inattentive driving, which violated conditions 5(a), 5(b), and 1(c) of the SOAS, and for refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test, which violated conditions 5(c) and 6(c). Numerous other issues were mentioned by the Commission, including Hoots's decreasing participation in therapy programs and his improper sexual relationship with a married woman that he did not disclose to Gentry prior to his arrest for domestic battery.

After the charges of battery, stalking, and violations of a protection order were dismissed, Hoots wrote to the Commission requesting that he be released, since he was "found innocent" of those criminal charges. The Commission responded, explaining that he would have to have been found innocent of the parole violations in order to be released. His parole violations and revocation were not based on the then-pending charges which were later dismissed; therefore the dismissals did not affect his parole revocation or incarceration. Thereafter, Hoots filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus, asserting that he was illegally imprisoned by the Commission's improper use of pending criminal charges that were later dismissed. In his prayer for relief, Hoots requested that he be released from custody, that he be monetarily compensated for the false imprisonment, and that he not be subject to further parole supervision. The state responded with a motion for summary judgment. After considering Hoots's reply to the state's motion, the district court dismissed the petition pursuant to Idaho Code Section 19-4209(1)(e), which allows dismissal of a habeas corpus petition when the relief sought is monetary compensation. Despite Hoots's motion to amend his petition to eliminate that portion of the prayer for relief, the district court refused to reconsider the dismissal. Hoots appeals.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The decision to issue a writ of habeas corpus is a matter within the discretion of the court. Johnson v. State, 85 Idaho 123, 127, 376 P.2d 704, 706 (1962); Brennan v. State, 122 Idaho 911, 914, 841 P.2d 441, 444 (Ct.App.1992). When we review an exercise of discretion in a habeas corpus proceeding, we conduct a three-tiered inquiry to determine whether the lower court rightly perceived the issue as one of discretion, acted within the boundaries of such discretion, and reached its decision by an exercise of reason. Brennan, 122 Idaho at 914, 841 P.2d at 444; Sivak v. Ada County, 115 Idaho 762, 763, 769 P.2d 1134, 1135 (Ct.App.1989). If a petitioner is not entitled to relief on an application for a writ of habeas corpus, the decision by the petitioned court to dismiss the application without an evidentiary hearing will be upheld. Brennan, 122 Idaho at 917, 841 P.2d at 447. When appealing from the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus, the petitioner has the burden of establishing error. Id. at 914, 841 P.2d at 444.

III. DISCUSSION

Hoots claims that the Commission violated his constitutional rights by revoking his parole based on crimes for which he had not been convicted. He also asserts that the district court erred by dismissing his petition for writ of habeas corpus instead of allowing him to amend it to comply with the Idaho Code. The state counters that allowing an amendment would have been futile, as Hoots has not stated a claim upon which relief could have been granted.

The writ of habeas corpus is not a statutory remedy but rather a remedy recognized and protected by Article I, Section 5 of the Idaho Constitution. Mahaffey v. State, 87 Idaho 228, 231, 392 P.2d 279, 280 (1964); Drennon v. Fisher (Drennon II), 141 Idaho 942, 944, 120 P.3d 1146, 1148 (Ct.App.2005); Dopp v. Idaho Comm'n of Pardons & Parole, 139 Idaho 657, 660, 84 P.3d 593, 596 (Ct.App. 2004). The legislature, absent certain contingencies, is without power to abridge this remedy secured by the Idaho Constitution, but may add to the efficacy of the writ. Mahaffey, 87 Idaho at 231, 392 P.2d at 280. As an extraordinary remedy, the writ of habeas corpus is not subject to the rules of technical pleading nor its swift relief hindered by captious objections or fine spun theories of procedure, and a petition therefore will not be scrutinized with technical nicety. Johnson, 85 Idaho at 127, 376 P.2d at 706; Drennon II, 141 Idaho at 944, 120 P.3d at 1148. Habeas corpus statutes should be construed so as to promote the effectiveness of the proceeding. Mahaffey, 87 Idaho at 231, 392 P.2d at 280; Drennon II, 141 Idaho at 945, 120 P.3d at 1149. Habeas corpus proceedings are civil in nature and, generally, the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure apply. I.C. § 19-4208; I.R.C.P. 1(a); Quinlan v. Idaho Comm'n of Pardons & Parole, 138 Idaho 726, 729, 69 P.3d 146, 149 (2003); Jacobsen v. State, 99 Idaho 45, 50, 577 P.2d 24, 29 (1978), overruled on other grounds by Struve v. Wilcox, 99 Idaho 205, 579 P.2d 1188 (1978); Drennon II, 141 Idaho at 943, 120 P.3d at 1147.

The district court entered an order dismissing Hoots's petition, citing I.C. § 19-4209(1)(e), which states in relevant part that the court may dismiss a petition "prior to service of the petition on the respondent, if the court finds [t]he relief sought is monetary damages or the return of property." Although Hoots's petition sought monetary compensation for false imprisonment, Hoots's ...