ORDERS:
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Grievance No. PCI-0314-99
This matter is before the Administrative Law Judge Division (Division) pursuant to the appeal of Fonte Jones (Appellant)
from the final decision of the Respondent, South Carolina Department of Corrections (Department), in a disciplinary
proceeding against the Appellant, dated July 12, 1999. Appellant, who is incarcerated at Perry Correctional Institution in
Columbia, South Carolina, claims that the Department violated his due process in several ways. However, his request for an
appeal is not accompanied with evidence that he preserved his right to appeal by filing an appeal of this matter in circuit
court.
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, 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 . . . Department has decided a non-
collateral 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 12, 1999, and the Appellant received the decision on July 21,
1999 -- well before the Al-Shabazz case was decided. Moreover, there is no indication that Appellant appealed the
Department's final decision to Circuit Court. Accordingly, this Division does not have jurisdiction to entertain Appellant's
appeal, and this matter is hereby dismissed.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
_______________________________
Ralph King Anderson, III
Administrative Law Judge
July 19, 2000
Columbia, South Carolina
APPEAL RIGHTS
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. |