Hopkins v. Maryland Inmate Grievance Commission, 1290
Decision Date | 10 October 1978 |
Docket Number | No. 1290,1290 |
Parties | Charles HOPKINS v. MARYLAND INMATE GRIEVANCE COMMISSION. |
Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Richard G. Fishman, Baltimore, with whom was Richard L. North, Baltimore, on the brief, for appellant.
F. Ford Loker, Asst. Atty. Gen., with whom was Francis B. Burch, Atty. Gen., on the brief, for appellee.
Argued before MASON, WILNER and COUCH, JJ.
Charles Hopkins, an inmate at the Maryland Penitentiary, was found guilty by the Adjustment Team 1 of attempted escape and possession of contraband, I. e., hacksaw blades. He was sentenced to one year in isolated confinement for the attempted escape conviction and a term of nine months for the possession of contraband conviction. Pursuant to procedures set out in Maryland Annotated Code, Article 41, Section 204F(d), Hopkins filed a complaint with the Inmate Grievance Commission (the Commission) alleging, among other things, that he did not have a hearing before the Adjustment Team within 72 hours of the alleged institutional infractions as mandated by Division of Correction rule 105-2(c) (1):
(Emphasis added).
The alleged violations occurred on Wednesday, September 8, 1976. Excluding Saturday, Sunday and Monday, a holiday (Defender's Day) the 72 hour period ended on Tuesday September 14, 1976. The hearing was held on Wednesday, September 15, 1976.
After holding a hearing on this matter, the Commission concluded:
". . . (T)hat the decision of the Adjustment Team was proper and just, and that the procedural delay was occasioned by exceptional circumstances and not prejudicial to Mr. Hopkins."
In affirming the Order of the Commission, the Judge of the Baltimore City Court, in his oral opinion, stated:
Hopkins' application for leave to appeal to this court was granted and the case was placed on the regular docket. Hopkins, in essence, argues: (1) That the ordinary backlog of cases does not constitute "exceptional circumstances" within the meaning of the Division of Correction Rule 105-2(c)(1). (2) That the 72 hour time requirement of the Division of Correction Rule 105-2(c)(1) is mandatory. (3) That the Division of Correction's failure to comply with its own rule is a violation of the due process clause.
The only evidence in the record before the Commission for the one day's delay in bringing Hopkins to trial before the Adjustment Team was the testimony of James Carrington, a member of the Adjustment Team. The relevant parts of his testimony are as follows:
A reading of Carrington's testimony clearly shows that the single reason for the one day's delay was the regular volume of cases the institution was required to hear. The word "regular" implies continuity and consistency and excludes the idea of incidental and occasional. Obviously there is nothing uncommon or exceptional about a regular volume of cases. If we were to hold that the institution's normal case loads or backlogs justify violation of the rule, it would seriously undermine the purpose and effectiveness of the rule and thrust the inmates back to the same conditions which existed prior to the adoption of the rule. 3
Having determined that there were no exceptional circumstances to toll the 72 hour rule, we must now determine whether the rule is mandatory. The rule declares in unequivocal language that: "(T)he written statement Shall be served to the inmate not later than forty eight (48) hours after the alleged violation, and the inmate Will appear before the Adjustment Team within seventy two (72) hours of the alleged violation unless prevented by exceptional circumstances." (Emphasis added). The term "will" is Black's Law Dictionary, 1771 (4th rev. ed. 1968).
In Moss v. Director, 279 Md. 561, 564-565, 369 A.2d 1011, 1013 (1977), the Court of Appeals stated "it is now a familiar principle of statutory construction in this State that the use of the word "shall" is presumed mandatory unless its context would indicate otherwise." We find nothing in the context of this rule or the rationale giving rise to its promulgation that suggests it is directory.
Nor do we think the absence of sanctions for failure to comply with the 72 hour limitation makes the rule directory. In Moss, supra, the Court, in speaking to this issue, stated: Id., at 566, 269 A.2d at 1014. Furthermore, we do not think the rule requires Hopkins to show that he was prejudiced by the one day's delay or that he was denied due process. Regarding this point the Moss Court said:
Id., at 568, 369 A.2d at 1015.
of Appeals held that Maryland District Rule 723(a), which requires that a defendant shall be taken before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay, is mandatory, and that the defendant did not have to demonstrate that he was unfairly prejudiced by reason of the delay.
Accordingly, we conclude that the rule in question is mandatory and must be complied with unless prevented by exceptional circumstances. If the Division of Correction cannot comply with its own 72 hour rule because of increased case loads it should, consistent with procedural due process requirements, change the rule rather than disregard it.
It is well established that rules and regulations promulgated by an administrative agency cannot be waived, suspended or disregarded in a particular case as long as such rules and regulations remain in force. 2 Am.Jur.2d Administrative Law, P 350; 1 Cooper, State Administrative Law, pp. 266-67 (1965 Edition); K. Davis, Administrative Law of the 70's, Section 5-03-5 (Cum.Supp.1977). This rule has been recognized in federal and state jurisdictions and has become known as the "Accardi doctrine" since it was announced in U. S. ex rel. Accardi v. Shaughnessy, 347 U.S. 260, 74 S.Ct. 499, 98 L.Ed. 681 (1954). There the Supreme Court vacated a deportation order of the Board of Immigration of Appeals because the Board and the Attorney General failed to follow their own regulations. This doctrine...
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