Matthews v. Jones
| Decision Date | 25 September 2012 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:09-cv-00462-CWD |
| Parties | TERRENCE MATTHEWS, Petitioner, v. KIM JONES, Warden, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Idaho |
Pending before the Court is Respondent's Motion for Summary Dismissal. (Dkt. 34.) The Motion is now fully briefed, with a Response, Reply, and Sur-reply. (Dkt. 38, 39, 40.) Both parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a United States Magistrate Judge to enter final orders in this case. (Dkt. 6, 11.) See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 73.
Having fully reviewed the record, including the state court record, the Court finds that the parties have adequately presented the facts and legal arguments in the briefs and record and that the decisional process would not be significantly aided by oral argument.Therefore, the Court will decide this matter on the written motions, briefs and record without oral argument. D. Idaho L. Civ. R. 7.1(d). Accordingly, the Court enters the following Order.
Petitioner Terrence Matthews is proceeding on his Second Amended Petition. (Dkt. 26.) This Petition concerns only parole issues, rather than conviction and sentencing issues, which were addressed by the Court in a prior proceeding, not relevant here. For clarification purposes, however, the Court briefly reviews the entire history of Petitioner's state and federal court proceedings.
Petitioner was convicted of two counts of lewd conduct with a minor and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor after a jury trial in the Third Judicial District Court in Gem County, Idaho. (State's Lodging A-1, p.40.) He was sentenced to four concurrent sentences of five years fixed, followed by ten years indeterminate. (Id., pp. 40-41.)
Petitioner filed a direct appeal challenging his convictions and sentences, which was heard by the Idaho Court of Appeals. State v. Matthews, 864 P.2d 644 (Idaho Ct. App. 1993). Petitioner next filed an application for post-conviction relief, which was denied by the state district court. On appeal, the Idaho Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of the post-conviction application. Matthews v. State, 936 P.2d 682 (Idaho Ct. App. 1997).
Petitioner filed a federal habeas corpus petition challenging his convictions, which was dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust state court remedies. Case No. 3:5-cv-00237-EJL, Matthews v. Hope. Dismissal of that case was affirmed by Matthews v. Hope, 152 F.3d 927, 1998 WL 382758 (9th Cir. 1998) (unpublished).
Another federal habeas corpus petition, Case No. 1:07-cv-00253-BLW, Matthews v. Spaulding, was dismissed with prejudice on March 17, 2000, and a certificate of appealability was denied. Petitioner filed a third federal habeas corpus petition, Case No. 1:00-cv-00123-EJL, Matthews v. Spaulding, on March 7, 2000, which was dismissed for failure to obtain authorization from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. When Petitioner sought authorization, it was denied.
Petitioner was first released on parole in October 1996, and completed approximately five years on parole, but his parole was revoked in February 2002, as a result of violations. (State's Lodging A-1, p.122.) Petitioner was placed on parole again in May 2002, with specific parole restrictions and conditions. (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 43-46.)
Petitioner believed that his parole was progressing well, but, after three years, in July 2005, he was assigned a new parole officer, Chris Colson, who required Petitioner totake a polygraph examination on August 1, 2005. Four days later, on August 4, 2005, Colson issued a parole violation report, with recommendations that parole be revoked, that time spent on parole be forfeited, and that Petitioner be returned to prison to serve the duration of his sentence. (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 59-65.) The list of parole violations included the following: (1) failing to submit monthly reports; (2) failing to follow the instructions of his parole officer; (3) leaving his assigned district without written permission; (4) failing to remain alcohol and drug free; (5) frequenting establishments where alcohol is the main source of income; (6) failing to obtain a substance abuse evaluation; (7) failing to comply with sex offender treatment; and (8) associating with minor children without approved supervision. (Id.)
A preliminary hearing before Parole Officer Andy Martin was held on August 16, 2005, after twice being continued at Petitioner's request, with Petitioner represented by attorney Bob Pangburn. (State's Lodging A-1, p.80-83.) At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer issued a preliminary hearing report finding probable cause as to all of the allegations. (Id.)
Petitioner had an evidentiary parole violation hearing before Hearing Officer Juanita Hutchison, on October 21, 2005, after being continued twice on Petitioner's request, just as with the prior hearing. (State's Lodging A-1, p.92, et seq.) Petitioner was represented by counsel at the hearing and had an opportunity to cross-examine severalwitnesses, including two ex-girlfriends, Judy Walsberg and Barbara Stott, who testified about facts supporting numerous violations. (Id.) The hearing officer did not issue a decision within the 20-day time period provided by Idaho Code § 20-229B.
Rather, several months later, on January 3, 2006, the hearing officer issued a written decision, finding that Petitioner had committed violations for charges (1) through (5) and (7) through (8) because he had unauthorized contact with minor children, frequented places where minors congregate, used the Internet without permission, failed to inform an employer of his criminal convictions, left the state and the supervising district without permission, went to places where alcohol was served, failed to comply with sex offender treatment, changed residences without permission, and failed to submit monthly reports to his parole officer. (Id.)
Petitioner was found innocent of charge (6), failing to obtain a substance abuse evaluation. (Id.) Based on the violations, the hearing officer recommended to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole that parole be revoked. Petitioner received a copy of the hearing officer's decision on January 25, 2006. (Id.)
A final disposition hearing commenced March 15, 2006, but could not be completed until April 13, 2006, because Petitioner "became hysterical and could not control his emotions." (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 124-26.) Petitioner was represented by attorney Anita Warrant at the first disposition hearing, and Bob Pangburn at the second.Two of the same adverse witnesses, ex-girlfriends Judy Walsberg and Barbara Stott, who testified at the evidentiary parole violation hearing of October 21, 2005, testified at both final parole hearings, but Petitioner was not permitted to cross-examine them at the second hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Parole Commission elected to adopt the hearing officer's findings from the parole violation hearing; revoke Matthews' parole; pass him to his full-term release date; grant him credit for parole from May 9, 2002, through July 6, 2002, for the time he had been incarcerated awaiting the parole hearing (59 days); and forfeit his remaining time on parole from July 7, 2002, through July 29, 2006 (1,118 days). (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 128-36.)1 The Parole Commission specifically stated that it did not rely on testimony given at the second hearing in deciding to revoke parole, but relied solely on Hearing Officer Juanita Hutchison's findings. ((State's Lodging C-7, p. 2.)
After revocation, Petitioner filed numerous administrative appeals, self-initiated progress reports (SIPR), and civil actions, all challenging his parole violations and revocation.
On October 30, 2006, Petitioner filed a pro se state habeas corpus petition challenging the Parole Commission's decision to revoke his parole and require forfeitureof his parole time. (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 1-30.) The State responded and requested summary judgment. With the assistance of a new attorney, Robert Van Idour, Petitioner responded to the state's motion for summary judgment. Magistrate Judge Randall Robinson granted the State's motion and dismissed the petition. (Id., pp. 173-97.)
Petitioner appealed the magistrate judge's decision to the state district court, raising only three issues: "(1) Did the Magistrate commit error in finding that sufficient evidence existed to support the findings of fact of the Department of Corrections in this case?; (2) Did the Magistrate properly apply the standards for summary judgment in this case?; and (3) Did the procedures used by the Department of Corrections in this case violate the Appellant's rights to due process of law?" (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 200-09.) After reviewing the parties briefing, Idaho District Judge John Bradbury disagreed with Petitioner' position that he was entitled to an evidentiary hearing to demonstrate that the Parole Commission abused its discretion, and Judge Bradbury affirmed Magistrate Judge Robinson's dismissal of the habeas corpus petition. (Id., pp. 225-31.)
Petitioner filed an appeal challenging the district court's decision, which was assigned to the Idaho Court of Appeals. (State's Lodging A-1, pp. 232-36.) On appeal, Petitioner raised the following issues in his pro se opening brief: "(1) Did the courts avoid addressing Petitioner's allegations on his Writ of Habeas Corpus in arguing the violations?; (2) Did the courts avoid petitioner's allegations that the petitioner was alreadybeing punished and sanctioned for every violation in the parole officers' report?; (3) Was petitioner denied due process when one of the very few statutes that the commission 'shall' do, fail to give a decision...
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