South Carolina              
Administrative Law Court
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SC Administrative Law Court Decisions

CAPTION:
Adalid Rubio #260667 vs. SCDOC

AGENCY:
South Carolina Department of Corrections

PARTIES:
Appellant:
Adalid Rubio #260667

Respondent:
South Carolina Department of Corrections
 
DOCKET NUMBER:
00-ALJ-04-00344-AP

APPEARANCES:
n/a
 

ORDERS:

ORDER

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This matter is before the Administrative Law Judge Division ("Division") pursuant to the appeal of Adalid Rubio, an inmate incarcerated with the Department of Corrections ("Department") since August 26, 1999. In a minor disciplinary proceeding held on February 16, 2000, Inmate Rubio was found guilty of Refusing to Obey Orders arising from an incident on February 9, 2000. As a result of his conviction, Inmate Rubio received a reprimand. The reprimand resulted in the failure of Inmate Rubio to earn twenty days of "good time" credit for the month of February. Inmate Rubio filed a grievance on February 23, 2000, and the Department rendered a final decision on April 26, 2000. After receiving the Department's final decision on May 31, 2000, Innate Rubio filed this appeal with the Division on June 19, 2000.



II. BACKGROUND

On February 9, 2000, inmates housed in the Allendale Correctional Institution ("Facility") were instructed to turn in blankets for laundering via the institutional public address system. Inmate Rubio turned in his linens to be laundered, but did not turn in his blanket. That same day, Lieutenant Dobson completed a Disciplinary Offense Report charging twenty-one inmates, including Inmate Rubio, with Refusing to Obey Orders for failure to turn in linens. The Report was then forwarded to Officer McCants, who determined that a 'minor' hearing regarding the incident would be held. On February 14, 2000, Inmate Rubio signed for receipt of written notice of the charge. On February 16, 2000, a minor hearing was conducted by Lieutenant Singleton, the Minor Hearing Officer ("MHO"). At the hearing, Inmate Rubio made a statement, but was not permitted to present witnesses. Once the hearing was concluded, the MHO completed a Minor Disciplinary Report and Hearing Record ("Hearing Record"), indicating that Inmate Rubio was found guilty of Refusing to Obey Orders, for which he received a reprimand as a sanction. Consequently, Inmate Rubio failed to earn twenty days' "good time" credit for the month of February 2000. On February 23, 2000, Inmate Rubio filed a grievance stating he does not speak English well enough to understand the proceedings.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Division's jurisdiction to hear this matter is derived entirely from the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court in Al-Shabazz v. State, 338 S.C. 354, 527 S.E.2d 742 (2000). In Al- Shabazz, the Supreme Court created a new avenue by which inmates could seek review of final decisions of the Department of Corrections 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 the circuit court pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. 338 S.C. at 373, 376, 527 S.E.2d at 752, 754. In its appellate capacity, the Division is primarily concerned with ensuring that the appellants receive all procedural process they are due.

As in all cases subject to appellate review by the Division, the standard of review in these inmate grievance cases is limited to the record presented. An Administrative Law Judge may not substitute her judgment for that of an agency unless the agency's determination is affected by error of law or is clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence in the whole record. S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-380(A)(6) (Supp. 1999); Al-Shabazz, 338 S.C. at 380, 527 S.E.2d at 756; Lark v. Bi-Lo, Inc., 276 S.C. 130, 276 S.E.2d 304 (1981). Moreover, to afford "meaningful judicial review," the Administrative Law Judge must "adequately explain" the decision by "documenting the findings of fact" and basing the decision on "reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record." Al-Shabazz, 338 S.C. at 380, 527 S.E.2d at 756.



IV. DISCUSSION

The Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of procedural due process applies only to the deprivation of a life, liberty, or property interest. Board of Regents of State College v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 569, 92 S. Ct. 2701, 2705 (1972). The statutory right to sentence-related credits is a protected liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment. Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 94 S. Ct. 2963 (1974); Al-Shabazz v. State, 338 S.C. at 369-370, 527 S.E.2d at 750. An inmate facing the loss of sentence-related credits is entitled to minimal due process to ensure that the state-created right is not arbitrarily abrogated. Al-Shabazz v. State, 338 S.C. at 370, 527 S.E.2d at 750. While due process is "flexible and calls for such procedural protections as the particular situation demands", Stono River Envtl. Protection Ass'n v. S.C. Dept. Of Health and Envtl. Control, 305 S.C. 90, 94, 406 S.E.2d 30, 341 (1991), certain elements must be satisfied in order for procedural due process requirements to be met, including adequate advance notice of the charges, adequate opportunity for a hearing in which the inmate can present witnesses and documentary evidence, and an impartial hearing officer who prepares a written statement of all the evidence presented and the reasons for his decision. Al-Shabazz, 338 S.C. 371, 527 S.E.2d at 751, citing Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 563-72, 94 S. Ct. 2963, 2978-82 (1974).

However, an inmate has no liberty interest in sentence-related credits that have not yet been earned. See Luken v. Scott, 71 F.3d 192 (5th Cir. 1995) (mere opportunity to earn good-time credits does not constitute a constitutionally cognizable liberty interest sufficient to trigger the protection of the Due Process Clause), citing Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 115 S. Ct. 2293 (1995) (where state's action does not "inevitably affect the duration of [the inmate's] sentence," no constitutionally cognizable liberty interest exists). In the absence of such an interest, an inmate facing a "minor disciplinary proceeding," one in which he does not face the potential loss of sentence-related credits, is not entitled to an Al-Shabazz-type hearing. See Al-Shabazz, 338 S.C. at 372, 527 S.E.2d at 751, citing Wolff, 418 U.S. at 571 ("We do not suggest, however, that the procedures required by today's decision for the deprivation of good time credits would also be required for the imposition of lesser penalties.").

A parole-eligible inmate in the custody of the Department who has not been subjected to punishment for misbehavior and has otherwise followed the rules of the Department "is entitled to a deduction from the term of his sentence...computed at the rate of twenty days for each month served." S.C. Code Ann. § 24-13-210(A) (Supp. 1995). Such an inmate is not entitled to any deduction for good behavior until he has completed that month's service. See id.; 1978 S.C. Op. Atty. Gen. 172 ("the effect of the language of the statute...is to require that the deductions be made for the time spent in actual incarceration with good behavior"). Therefore, an inmate who violates a Department rule will fail to earn twenty days' "good time" credit for the month in which the rule violation occurred.

In the instant case, Inmate Rubio failed to follow an instruction to turn in his blanket for laundering, which is disobedience to an order, a violation of the Facility's rules. As a result of his infraction, Inmate Rubio failed to earn twenty days of credit toward his sentence for the month of February 2000.

I find that Inmate Rubio has no liberty interest in "good time" credit he failed to earn as a result of his rule violation in February 2000. As such, Inmate Rubio is not entitled to an Al-Shabazz-type hearing, in which he is represented by counsel substitute, if necessary, and in which he has the opportunity to present and cross-examine witnesses. Therefore, because Inmate Rubio was not entitled to any hearing regarding a Facility rules violation resulting in his inability to earn "good time" credit, the Minor Disciplinary Hearing provided by the Department was more than sufficient. That the Department routinely affords inmates charged with Facility rules violations and other minor infractions some process does not indicate that any process is required, much less the process described in Al-Shabazz when a life, liberty, or property interest is at stake.

While Inmate Rubio's claim to a language barrier might raise constitutional issues in certain circumstances, it does not in this case. The Record clearly indicates Inmate Rubio has sufficient knowledge of the English language. Inmate Rubio signed the inmate notification of a hearing stating the charge and participated in the hearing. The Hearing Record advises inmates to "contact your classification caseworker or counsel substitute if you do not understand this form." Inmate Rubio signed the Hearing Record to indicate receipt of the document. In addition, it appears that Inmate Rubio drafted his own grievance. (1) The Record contains no evidence that Inmate Rubio requested an interpreter or made any other indication that assistance was necessary during the disciplinary process. Even if Inmate Rubio did not understand the proceedings due to a language barrier, he has no liberty interest that triggers constitutional procedural protections, as discussed above. Inmate Rubio's inability to understand the proceedings would require the use of an interpreter only if a liberty interest was at stake. See Franklin v. District of Columbia, 163 F.3d 625, (D.C. Cir., 1998). Accordingly, the Department's final decision is affirmed.



ORDER

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the Appellant's appeal is denied, and the Final Decision of the Department is hereby AFFIRMED.

AND IT IS SO ORDERED.





______________________________

CAROLYN C. MATTHEWS

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE



P.O. Box 11667

Columbia, South Carolina 29211



November 21, 2000

Columbia, South Carolina

1. Inmate Rubio's grievance is not based on the argument that he did not understand the order given because of his limited understanding of the English language. Inmate Rubio contends that he did not hear the order given over the public address system.


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