Keaton Wilson v. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections ( 2023 )

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
STATE OF LOUISIANA
COURT OF APPEAL
FIRST CIRCUIT
2022 CA 0889
KEATON WILSON
VERSUS
LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS
Judgment Rendered: MAR 0 6 2073
On Appeal from the Nineteenth Judicial District Court
In and for the Parish of East Baton Rouge
State of Louisiana
Docket No. 705763
Honorable Trudy M. White, Judge Presiding
Keaton Wilson Plaintiff/ Appellant
In Proper Person Keaton Wilson
Angie, Louisiana
Debra A. Rutledge Counsel for Defendant/ Appellee
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Louisiana Department of Public Safety
and Corrections
BEFORE: McCLENDON, HOLDRIDGE, AND GREENE, 33.
McCLENDON, J.
The plaintiff appeals a judgment of the district court that dismissed his petition for
judicial review with prejudice. For the following reasons, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On September 24, 2020, Keaton Wilson, an inmate in the custody of the Louisiana
Department of Public Safety and Corrections ( the Department), was charged with having
violated disciplinary rules regarding defiance and aggravated disobedience following an
incident at Rayburn Correctional Center in Angie, Louisiana. Following a hearing, the
Disciplinary Board determined that Mr. Wilson was guilty of the rule violations and
sentenced him to the forfeiture of ninety days of good time. The Board also ordered Mr.
Wilson to pay restitution in the amount of $8. 00.
Mr. Wilson appealed the decision of the Disciplinary Board to the Warden, who
responded, in pertinent part:
A review of the video for this incident was reviewed with inconclusive
results. At the time of the incident that occurred on the breezeway, you
were directly behind a column that blocked the view of the camera. With
no video proof of your claims, credibility to the officer has to be considered.
Other officers who were present during this incident also filed an Unusual
Occurrence Report stating upon their arrival they witnessed you resisting
the officer.... Your appeal in this matter is denied.
Mr. Wilson sought further administrative review and appealed to the Secretary of
the Department in accordance with the Disciplinary Rules and Procedures for Adult
Inmates. The Secretary denied the appeal and affirmed the Warden' s decision, stating:
We have considered [ Mr. Wilson' s] argument and the decision rendered by
the Warden. After review, we find the disciplinary report to be clear,
concise, and to present convincing evidence of the violations as reported.
The officer's eyewitness account of the incident provides sufficient evidence
of the finding of guilt. Not only did the offender curse the reporting officer,
but he did it in an intimidating manner. The offender's claims on appeal
have no merit. The offender's actions of refusing to follow the direct verbal
orders given by the reporting officer obscured the officer from performing
his assigned duties. The offender' s actions constitute said rule violations.
The offender received allowable sanctions that follow the Department of
Correction' s guidelines for Adult [ Offenders]. The offender was provided
with a full hearing and was afforded due process in both the hearing and
the sentencing phases of the proceeding. For the foregoing reasons, we
agree with the decision of the Disciplinary Board and the Warden.
On March 16, 2021, Mr. Wilson filed a Petition for Judicial Review in the district
court, asserting that the defendant officers deviated from proper procedure during the
2
incident, used excessive force against him, and denied him prompt and proper medical
care.' Mr. Wilson sought restoration of the ninety days of good time.
In his petition, Mr. Wilson referenced Administrative Remedy Procedure ( ARP)
Numbers RCC -2020- 768 and RCC -2020- 319. As a result, the district court, through the
commissioner, issued a Multiple Claims Order requiring Mr. Wilson to notify the court
which single administrative record in his petition was sought to be reviewed and to
provide to the court a copy of the final agency decision issued in that record. In response,
Mr. Wilson filed the Disciplinary Board Appeal response of the Secretary of the
Department with regard to ARP Number RCC -2020 -320 -
On August 27, 2021, the Secretary of the Department answered the petition
generally denying the allegations of Mr. Wilson. Additionally, the Secretary specifically
denied Mr. Wilson' s allegation that excessive force was used by the officers of the
Department and stated that only the amount of force necessary to bring the situation
under control was used. However, when the Secretary filed its answer, he attached a
true copy of the administrative record in ARP Number RCC -2020- 768, rather than ARP
Number RCC -2020- 320, although both ARP numbers involved the September 24, 2020
incident. As a result, on September 20, 2021, the commissioner issued a Stay Order and
Remand, staying the appeal for thirty days and directing the Department to amend its
answer to include the administrative record for RCC -2020- 320. On November 5, 2021,
the Secretary of the Department filed a Motion and Order to Supplement the Record to
include a true copy of the Disciplinary Board Appeal numbered RCC -2020- 320, which was
granted on November 12, 2021.
On March 17, 2022, the commissioner issued her report. Therein, she referred to
the decisions of the Warden and the Disciplinary Board and found that, based on the
evidence in the record, Mr. Wilson failed to allege specific facts to show that his
disciplinary sentence was arbitrary, capricious, or in violation of his rights. The
commissioner also determined that the penalty that Mr. Wilson received was a valid
1 Pursuant to the screening requirements set forth in LSA- R. S. 15: 1178, the matter was submitted to a
commissioner for judicial screening prior to service on the named defendants. The commissioner found
that Mr. Wilson' s claim was subject to judicial appellate review and ordered service of the petition on the
Secretary of the Department.
3
authorized penalty for a Schedule B Rule violation under the Department's Rules and
Procedures. Therefore, the commissioner found that the Department' s decision was not
arbitrary, capricious or in violation of Mr. Wilson' s rights and recommended that the
district court should affirm the Department's decision and dismiss the appeal with
prejudice at Mr. Wilson' s costs. On May 10, 2022, the district court signed a judgment,
adopting, as reasons, the commissioner' s report, affirming the decision of the
Department, and dismissing with prejudice Mr. Wilson' s petition for judicial review of ARP
Number RCC -2020- 320 at his costs. Mr. Wilson appealed the district court's judgment.
DISCUSSION
An offender aggrieved by an adverse decision of the Department rendered
pursuant to any administrative remedy procedures may seek judicial review of the
decision in the 19th Judicial District Court. See LSA- R. S. 15: 1177( A). On review of the
Department's decision, the district court functions as an appellate court. Williams v.
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, 2018-0268 ( La. App. 1 Cir.
9/ 21/ 18), 257 So -3d 690, 692. The district court's review shall be confined to the record
and shall be limited to the issues presented in the petition for review and the ARP request
filed at the agency level. LSA- R. S. 15: 1177( A)( 5).
Further, on review of the district court's judgment in a suit for judicial review under
LSA- R. S. 15: 1177, an appellate court owes no deference to the district court' s factual
findings or legal conclusions. Williams, 257 So. 3d at 692- 93. A reviewing court may
reverse or modify the administrative decision only if substantial rights of the appellant
have been prejudiced because the administrative decisions or findings are: ( 1) in
violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; ( 2) in excess of the statutory authority
of the agency; ( 3) made upon unlawful procedure; ( 4) affected by other error of law; ( 5)
arbitrary, capricious, or characterized by an abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted
exercise of discretion; or ( 6) manifestly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and
substantial evidence on the whole record. LSA- R. S. 15: 1177( A)( 9); Williams, 257 So -3d
at 692.
As recognized by the commissioner in her report, the scope of the district court's
review was limited by LSA- R. S. 15: 1177( A)( 5) and ( 9). After a thorough review of the
51
record, we find that the district court did not err in concluding that the administrative
decisions and findings were not arbitrary, capricious, or characterized by an abuse of
discretion. Accordingly, because Mr. Wilson' s substantial rights were not prejudiced, we
find no error by the district court in upholding the decision of the Department and
dismissing with prejudice Mr. Wilson' s petition for judicial review of ARP Number RCC -
2020 -320.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. All costs
of this appeal are assessed to Keaton Wilson.
AFFIRMED.
5