ORDERS:
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
On July 5, 2000, the South Carolina Department of Corrections (Department) filed a motion to dismiss this matter. The Department
moved to dismiss the Appellant's claim under SCRCP 12(b)(1), ALJDTR 57, ALJDRP 33 (lack of jurisdiction over the claim); and Al-Shabazz v. State, 338 S.C. 354, 527 S.E.2d 742 (S.C. 2000). More specifically, the Department sets forth as its grounds for
dismissal that the Appellant did not timely serve the Department with his Notice of Appeal and that the Department has granted the
Appellant the relief he was seeking in this matter and is therefore no longer "aggrieved." However, this case is dismissed because the
Appellant did not timely file this matter with Circuit Court.
The Administrative Law Judge Division's (Division) jurisdiction to hear this matter is derived entirely from the decision of the South
Carolina Supreme Court in Al-Shabazz v. State, Op. No. 24995 (S.C. Sup. Ct. filed February 14, 2000) (Shearouse Adv. Sh. No. 6 at
21), 2000 WL 156547. In Al-Shabazz, the Supreme Court created a new avenue by which inmates could seek review of final
decisions of the Department in "non-collateral" matters, i.e., matters in which an inmate does not challenge the validity of a
conviction or sentence, by appealing those decisions to the Division and ultimately to circuit court pursuant to the Administrative
Procedures Act. However, this avenue of relief applies only to
all PCR [post-conviction relief] actions filed and all administrative matters in which Department [Department of Corrections] renders
a final decision after the date of this opinion [February 14, 2000]. It also shall apply to all cases currently pending in circuit court or
before this Court in which the inmate is similarly situated to petitioner, i.e., cases in which Department has decided a noncollateral or
administrative matter and the inmate has not had the opportunity to obtain APA review in the manner we have outlined.
Al-Shabazz at 45 (emphasis added).
In this case, the Department rendered its final decision on July 15, 1999, and the Appellant received that decision on August 3, 1999 -- well before the Al-Shabazz case was decided. Even though the Appellant established that he has a matter pending in Marlboro
County Non-Jury Common Pleas Court, that case is a separate and distinct action from an inmate grievance action filed as a post-conviction relief action prior to Al-Shabazz. Accordingly, this Division does not have jurisdiction to entertain the Appellant's appeal,
and this matter is hereby dismissed.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
_______________________________
Ralph King Anderson, III
Administrative Law Judge
September 13, 2000
Columbia, South Carolina
APPEAL RIGHTS
s You are entitled to appeal this final order of the Administrative Law Judge Division by filing a petition for judicial review in circuit
court within thirty (30) days after receipt of this order. S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-610 (Supp. 1999). The petition may be filed in any
circuit court as long as the chosen forum is neither arbitrary nor unreasonable, and provided that no statute controls venue in a
particular type of case. The review of the administrative law judge's order must be confined to the record. The reviewing tribunal
may affirm the decision or remand the case for further proceedings; or it may reverse or modify the decision if the substantive rights
of the petitioner have been prejudiced because the finding, conclusion, or decision is: (a) in violation of constitutional or statutory
provisions; (b) in excess of the statutory authority of the agency; (c) made upon unlawful procedure; (d) affected by other error of
law; (e) clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative and substantial evidence on the whole record; or (f) arbitrary or capricious
or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion. |
