Roy v. Missouri Dept of Corr.

• Decision Date: 31 May 2000
• Citation: 23 S.W.3d 738
• Parties: (Mo.App. W.D. 2000) Michael P. Roy, Appellant, v. Missouri Department of Corrections, Respondent. WD57724 0
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

23 S.W.3d 738 (Mo.App. W.D. 2000)

Michael P. Roy, Appellant, v. Missouri Department of Corrections, Respondent.

WD57724

Missouri Court of Appeals Western District

05/31/2000

Appeal From: Circuit Court of Cole County, Hon. Byron L. Kinder

Counsel for Appellant: Michael Roy

Counsel for Respondent: Stephen D. Hawke

Opinion Summary: Michael P. Roy appeals dismissal of his petition for declaratory judgment for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Roy is serving sentences in the Missouri Department of Corrections for two counts of forgery imposed by the Circuit Court of Clay County. In his petition, Roy sought a declaration that he is entitled to credit on his Clay County sentences for time he served in the Jackson County jail and in the department of corrections on various Jackson County felonies which were unrelated to the Clay County forgery charges.

Division Four holds: (1) Pursuant to Goings v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections, 6 S.W.3d 906 (Mo. banc 1999), a prisoner can request a determination of entitlement to sentence credit in a declaratory judgment petition.

(2) Under section 558.031.1, RSMo 1994, Roy's petition sufficiently stated a claim for a declaration of his entitlement to credit on his Clay County sentences for time he served in the Jackson County jail because of a Clay County detainer. The claim is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

(3) Under the plain language of section 558.031.1, Roy was not entitled to credit on his Clay County sentences for time he served in the department of corrections. Roy was in the department of corrections because of the imposition of his Jackson County sentences, and not because of the Clay County detainer. Thus, the trial court correctly found that this portion of Roy's petition failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

(4) Roy's petition failed to raise a viable claim that his right to due process of law was violated. Roy made no allegation that the department's action in recalculating the credit on his sentences to conform with the statutory guidelines established in section 558.031.1, RSMo 1994, was truly irrational and not related to a legitimate state interest. Moreover, this court finds as a matter of law that section 558.031.1, RSMo 1994, is not unconstitutionally vague.

(5) Roy's petition failed to raise a viable claim that his right to equal protection of the law was violated. Roy's "equal protection" complaint was more in the nature of a procedural due process claim, and the facts he alleged in his petition failed to properly articulate a procedural due process claim.

Patricia Breckenridge, Chief Judge

Opinion modified by Court's own motion on August 1, 2000. This substitution does not constitute a new opinion.

Michael P. Roy appeals the dismissal of his petition for declaratory judgment for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Mr. Roy is currently serving sentences in the Missouri Department of Corrections for two counts of the class C felony of forgery imposed by the Circuit Court of Clay County. In his petition, Mr. Roy sought a declaration from the trial court that he is entitled to credit on his Clay County sentences for time he served in the Jackson County jail and in the Missouri Department of Corrections on various Jackson County felonies which were unrelated to the Clay County forgery charges. On appeal, Mr. Roy claims that the trial court clearly erred in dismissing his petition because (1) a prisoner may file a petition for declaratory judgment seeking a determination that he or she is entitled to credit toward the completion of a sentence pursuant to section 558.031, RSMo 1994;¹ (2) as a matter of law, he is entitled to credit toward his Clay County sentences for time he spent in the Jackson County jail awaiting sentencing on the Clay County charges; (3) as a matter of law, he is entitled to credit toward his Clay County sentences for time he spent in the department of corrections after he was convicted of the Jackson County felonies and while he was awaiting sentencing on the Clay County charges; (3) the department of corrections' rescission of credit on his sentences four years after the entry of his guilty plea violated his right to due process of law; and (4) the department of corrections' rescission of credit on his sentences violated his right to equal protection of the law.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed, in part, and reversed and remanded, in part.

Factual and Procedural Background

In reviewing the trial court's dismissal of a petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, this court deems the facts pleaded in the petition to be true. Duvall v. Silvers, Asher, Sher & McLaren, M.D.'s, 998 S.W.2d 821, 823 (Mo. App. 1999). In his petition, Mr. Roy alleged that in May of 1994, he was charged in the Circuit Court of Clay County with committing two counts of the class C felony of forgery. In June of 1994, he was charged in the Circuit Court of Jackson County with committing the class C felonies of forgery, burglary, stealing and receiving stolen property. Mr. Roy was arrested and taken into custody in Jackson County on June 10, 1994. On that same day, after learning that Mr. Roy was in custody in Jackson County, the Clay County Sheriff's Department filed a detainer against Mr. Roy for the two counts of forgery in Clay County.

On December 1, 1994, the Circuit Court of Jackson County sentenced Mr. Roy to terms of seven years imprisonment each on the counts of forgery, burglary, stealing and receiving stolen property, to be served concurrently. On December 6, 1994, Mr. Roy began serving his sentences on the Jackson County charges in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Mr. Roy subsequently pleaded guilty to the Clay County forgery charges. On September 21, 1995, the Circuit Court of Clay County sentenced him to terms of seven years imprisonment on each of the two counts, to be served concurrently to each other and to the Jackson County sentences. The sentencing court also ordered that Mr. Roy receive credit on his Clay County sentences for all the time he spent in custody after June 10, 1994.

After Mr. Roy was sentenced, the department of corrections initially calculated his term of imprisonment for the Clay County felonies to be from June 10, 1994, the date he was taken into custody in Jackson County, to June 9, 2001. In June of 1999, however, the department recalculated Mr. Roy's sentences. Pursuant to the recalculation, the department determined that Mr. Roy's term of imprisonment for the Clay County felonies began on September 21, 1995. As a result, Mr. Roy's release date for the Clay County felonies was changed to September 20, 2002.

In response to the department's recalculation, Mr. Roy filed a petition for declaratory judgment. In the petition, Mr. Roy sought a declaration that he is entitled to credit on the Clay County sentences for the time he served in the Jackson County jail from June 10, 1994 to December 6, 1994, because Clay County had filed a detainer against him in Jackson County. Mr. Roy also sought a declaration from the court that he is entitled to credit on the Clay County sentences for the time he served in the department of corrections from December 6, 1994 to September 21, 1995, after he was sentenced on the Jackson County felonies but prior to being sentenced on the Clay County felonies. Mr. Roy contended in his petition that the department's rescission of credit on the Clay County sentences for the time he spent in the Jackson County jail and in the department of corrections violated his rights to due process of law and equal protection of the law.

In August of 1999, the trial court dismissed Mr. Roy's petition for declaratory judgment on the ground that the petition failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, and, in the alternative, that the chances of Mr. Roy's success on the merits were minimal. Mr. Roy filed this appeal.

Standard of Review

In determining the sufficiency of a petition for declaratory judgment, this court not only deems the facts pleaded to be true, but it also construes the averments liberally, and draws all reasonable and fair inferences from the facts pleaded. Duvall, 998 S.W.2d at 823. "If the allegations in the petition invoke principles of substantive law which, if proved, entitles the pleader to a declaration of rights or status, the pleading is sufficient and must not be dismissed." Kennedy v. Missouri Atty. Gen., 922 S.W.2d 68, 70 (Mo. App. 1996). The petition must, however, contain facts to support its allegations, and not merely conclusions. Id. "If the facts demonstrate any justiciable controversy, the trial court should declare the rights of the parties." Jones v. Carnahan, 965 S.W.2d 209, 214 (Mo. App. 1998).

Declaratory Judgment Available to Determine Entitlement to Credit on Sentences

In his first point, Mr. Roy argues that the trial court clearly erred in dismissing his petition for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted because a declaratory judgment is available to prisoners seeking a determination that they are entitled to credit on their sentences. The State responds that Mr. Roy's petition sought much more than a determination of his entitlement to credit on his sentences. The State contends that Mr. Roy actually sought the calculation, recording, and crediting of time served. The State asserts that the only action available to provide Mr. Roy the relief he sought was a state habeas corpus proceeding.

Section 558.031 governs the calculation of terms of imprisonment and credit for time served while awaiting trial. This statute provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

1. A person convicted of a crime in this state shall receive as credit toward service of a sentence of imprisonment all time spent by him in prison or jail both while awaiting trial for such crime and while pending transfer...