Anthony Padgett v. Keith Butts (Warden of New Castle Correctional Facility) (mem. dec.) ( 2020 )

MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D),
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
FILED
regarded as precedent or cited before any Jan 30 2020, 9:42 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEES
Anthony Padgett Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Monika Prekopa Talbot
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Anthony Padgett, January 30, 2020
Appellant-Petitioner, Court of Appeals Case No.
19A-MI-1092
v. Appeal from the Henry Circuit
Court
Keith Butts (Warden of The Honorable Kit C. Dean Crane,
New Castle Correctional Judge
Facility), et al., Trial Court Cause No.
Appellees-Respondents 33C02-1809-MI-159
Baker, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 19A-MI-1092 | January 30, 2020 Page 1 of 9
[1] On July 30, 2014, Anthony Padgett was released to parole for his conviction for
Class C felony child molesting. Following a February 9, 2017, revocation
hearing, the parole board found that Padgett had violated two conditions of his
parole and thereby revoked it. Padgett subsequently filed a petition for writ of
habeas corpus, which the trial court denied. Now, Padgett appeals the trial
court’s denial, arguing that (1) his due process rights were violated during the
parole revocation proceedings; (2) the trial court should have treated his
petition for writ of habeas corpus as a petition for post-conviction relief; and (3)
consequently, the trial court should have granted his petition for post-conviction
relief because the conditions of his parole violated his constitutional rights.
Finding that there was no due process violation but that the trial court should
have treated Padgett’s petition for writ of habeas corpus as a petition for post-
conviction relief, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Facts
[2] Padgett has a long and storied history with the criminal justice system. He was
convicted of Class C felony child molesting in March 1987 and again in August
1995. In October 2005, he was once again convicted of Class C felony child
molesting and was sentenced to an aggregate term of twenty years.
[3] On July 30, 2014, Padgett was released to parole and was required to sign a
conditional parole release agreement. Per the agreement’s stipulations, Padgett
was not allowed to have contact with any minors and was not allowed to
engage in an intimate relationship without prior approval. See generally
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Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 10-11. Additionally, Padgett agreed to allow his
“supervising officer or other authorized officials of the Department of
Correction to visit [his] residence and place of employment at any reasonable
time.” Id. at 9.
[4] On December 30, 2016, two parole officers and the Indiana State Police
conducted a search of Padgett’s home and discovered “a calendar with infants
on it, over a dozen condoms and 2 bottles of personal lubricant[.]” Id. at 91.
The officers then searched through Padgett’s phone and found numerous text
messages sent by Padgett to a woman, telling her to “bring themself [sic] and
their kids to his house.” Id. The officers called the woman, who told them that
she and her children had been at Padgett’s home a few times. They then
confiscated the phone and took Padgett into custody.
[5] On January 3, 2017, the State alleged that Padgett had violated two conditions
of his parole—namely, that Padgett had been in contact with minors and that
he had engaged in an intimate relationship without prior approval. That same
day, Padgett waived his right to a preliminary hearing and admitted to both
parole violations. Padgett then changed his mind. After allowing Padgett to
change his admission to a denial, the parole board conducted a final parole
revocation hearing on February 9, 2017, following which it made findings of
fact:
Rule #10(4): Contact with Minors
[Padgett’s] Phone was searched and it was discovered on
12/30/2016 that a female friend per her own admittance
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had brought her children around [Padgett], not knowing his
crime. Text messages on [Padgett’s] phone show [Padgett]
asking her to bring the kids over with her.
Rule #10(19): Unapproved Relationship
Per search of [Padgett’s] phone, [Padgett] had started a
relationship with a female co-worker, giving her money for
her kids Christmas and telling her that he loves her and
could not be happier than he is with her. [Padgett’s] co-
worker also has children under the age of 18 living with her.
All of the above occurred while [Padgett] was a parolee.
Id. at 17-18 (emphases omitted). On February 17, 2017, the parole board found
that Padgett had violated the conditions of his parole and ordered that he be
reincarcerated. His earliest possible release date is January 27, 2021.
[6] On September 18, 2018, Padgett filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus,
which the trial court denied on February 6, 2019. Then, on February 19, 2019,
Padgett filed a motion to correct error, which the trial court also denied on
April 3, 2019. Padgett now appeals.
Discussion and Decision
[7] Padgett raises three arguments on appeal: (1) his due process rights were
violated during the parole revocation proceedings; (2) the trial court should
have treated his petition for writ of habeas corpus as a petition for post-
conviction relief; and (3) consequently, the trial court should have granted his
petition for post-conviction relief because the conditions of his parole violated
his constitutional rights.
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Due Process
[8] First, Padgett argues that his due process rights were violated during the parole
revocation proceedings. Padgett only vaguely contends that “[h]e was not
afforded those [due process] rights when the Indiana Parole Board held his
revocation hearing.” Appellant’s Br. p. 10. “Whether the requirements of due
process have been satisfied is a question of law; therefore, we review the issue
de novo.” Art Hill, Inc. v. Review Bd. of the Ind. Dep’t of Workforce Dev., 898
N.E.2d 363, 367 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).
[9] “As a general rule, defendants facing potential parole revocation are entitled to
a number of procedural due process rights[.]” Komyatti v. State, 931 N.E.2d 411,
416 (Ind. Ct. App. 2010). Such rights include:
written notice of the parole violation charges; disclosure of the
evidence against the parolee; an opportunity to be heard in person
and to present evidence; the right to confront and cross-examine
adverse witnesses; a “neutral and detached” parole hearing board;
and a written statement by the board of the evidence relied upon
and the reasons for revoking parole. Parolees also are entitled to a
two-stage revocation procedure: (1) a preliminary hearing to
determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the
parolee has committed acts that would constitute a violation of
parole conditions; and (2) a final revocation hearing prior to the
final decision on revocation to consider whether the facts as
determined warrant revocation.
Id. (internal citations omitted); see also Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 489
(1972).
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[10] Here, Padgett waived his right to a preliminary hearing on January 3, 2017. See
Appellant’s App. Vol. II p. 40. While the parole board later allowed Padgett to
change his admission to a denial, there is no dispute—and Padgett does not
argue to the contrary—that Padgett waived his right to this hearing. On the
waiver form, Padgett even acknowledged that he “specifically preserve[d]” the
due process rights for the final revocation hearing that he was waiving for the
preliminary hearing. Id. Accordingly, there was no due process violation in this
respect.
[11] Then, with regards to the final revocation hearing, Padgett was given the
opportunity to speak on his own behalf, to confront and cross-examine adverse
witnesses, to present evidence, and to have his case heard before a neutral and
detached parole hearing board. In its findings of fact, the parole board noted
that Padgett had been provided notice of the alleged violations and of the date
of the final revocation hearing. See id. at 38-39. Further, the parole board cited
multiple documents upon which it relied as evidence to determine that Padgett
had, in fact, violated the conditions of his parole. Such evidence included the
parole release agreement, the parole violation report, the parole case notes, the
preliminary hearing waiver, the preliminary hearing minutes, alcohol test
results, drug test results, documents detailing Padgett’s pleas, and more. Id. at
38.
[12] In other words, at every step of the proceedings, the parole board safeguarded
Padgett’s due process rights. Though Padgett claims that he was entitled to
“more in this case,” appellant’s br. p. 10, we have difficulty identifying exactly
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what more the parole board could have done to ensure that his due process
rights would be protected. Accordingly, we find that there was no due process
violation.
Habeas Corpus v. Post-Conviction Relief
[13] Next, Padgett argues that the trial court should have treated his petition for writ
of habeas corpus as a petition for post-conviction relief.
[14] Pursuant to Indiana Code section 34-25.5-1-1, “[e]very person whose liberty is
restrained, under any pretense whatever, may prosecute a writ of habeas corpus
to inquire into the cause of the restraint, and shall be delivered from the
restraint if the restraint is illegal.” However, trial courts do not have jurisdiction
to entertain petitions for writ of habeas corpus if the petitioner is serving time
under a proper commitment, his sentence has not expired, he has not been
denied good time or credit time, and he does not seek a correction of the
beginning or end of his sentence. Hardley v. State, 893 N.E.2d 740, 742-43 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2008).
[15] Here, Padgett is serving time under a proper commitment (he does not
challenge the nature of his conviction or sentence), his current sentence has not
expired (and will not expire until, at the earliest, January 27, 2021), he has not
been denied good time or credit time, and he does not seek a correction of the
beginning or end of his sentence. Padgett “is challenging the revocation of his
parole and is not claiming that he is entitled to immediate release, which is a
requirement for habeas relief.” Grayson v. State, 58 N.E.3d 998, 1001 (Ind. Ct.
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Ohio App. 2016). The State even concedes that “the trial court did not have authority
to entertain the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.” Appellee’s Br. p. 8.
[16] In sum, we find that Padgett incorrectly filed a petition for writ of habeas
corpus, and subsequently, that the trial court did not have the authority to hear
his petition. The proper remedy is to “recognize substance over form” and treat
Padgett’s erroneous petition for writ of habeas corpus as a petition for post-
conviction relief. Hardley, 893 N.E.2d at 743; see also Ind. Post-Conviction Rule
1(1)(a)(5).
[17] Pursuant to Indiana Post-Conviction Rule 1(1)(c), the trial court hearing the
petition for writ of habeas corpus “shall transfer the cause to the court in which
the conviction took place, and the latter court shall treat it as a petition for relief
under this Rule.” Padgett is currently incarcerated in the New Castle
Correctional Facility in Henry County, so his case should be transferred to the
Sullivan County trial court to rule on the merits of Padgett’s petition for post-
conviction relief.
Constitutional Rights
[18] Finally, Padgett argues that the trial court should have granted his petition for
post-conviction relief because the conditions of his parole violated his
constitutional rights. Because we have already decided that the trial court
should have treated Padgett’s petition for writ of habeas corpus as a petition for
post-conviction relief and transferred it to the proper court, the issues that
Padgett raises are not yet ripe for review. It will be for the Sullivan County trial
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court to rule on Padgett’s petition. Any argument by the State that we should
proceed and dismiss the merits of Padgett’s constitutional claims as if they were
part of a petition for post-conviction relief is premature, at best.
[19] The judgment of the trial court is reversed and remanded for further
proceedings.
Riley, J., and Brown, J., concur.
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