Title: Watkins v. Dept. of Safety

State: maryland

Issuer: Maryland Supreme Court

Document:

Glenn Watkins, John Dillard, & Gerald Fuller v. Secretary, Department of Public Safety and
Correctional Services, No. 118, September Term, 2002.
[Constitutional Law: Whether the Division of Correction Directives that establish new
security classifications and limit which inmates are eligible for work-release and family leave
violate the Federal and State constitutional prohibitions against ex post facto laws?  Held:
The Division of Correction Directives at issue do not violate the constitutional ex post facto
prohibitions because they are not “laws” within the meaning of the ex post facto clauses of
the United States Constitution and Maryland Declaration of Rights].
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF
MARYLAND
No. 118
September Term, 2002
GLENN WATKINS, JOHN DILLARD,
& GERALD FULLER
 V.
 
SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC SAFETY AND
CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Bell, C.J.
Eldridge
Raker
Wilner
Cathell
Harrell
Battaglia,
JJ.
Opinion by Battaglia, J.
Filed:   September 9, 2003
The issue in this case is whether Division of Correction Directives (hereinafter
“DCDs”) 100-105, 100-508, and 100-543, governing the security classification of inmates
of the Division of Correction (hereinafter the “DOC”), are ex post facto laws and thus violate
Article I of the United States Constitution and Article 17 of the Maryland Declaration of
Rights.  We hold that DCD 100-105, DCD 100-508, and DCD 100-543 do not constitute
“laws” within the meaning of the ex post facto clauses of the United States Constitution and
Maryland Declaration of Rights because they were promulgated as guidelines for the exercise
of discretionary administrative authority.  Therefore, the DCDs in issue do not violate the
constitutional prohibitions against ex post facto laws.  
I. Background
A. The DCDs
As head of the DOC, the Commissioner of Correction (hereinafter the
“Commissioner”) has the responsibility for the division’s operation and conduct.  See
Maryland Code, § 3-203 of the Correctional Services Article (1999).  The Commissioner
establishes the formal written policies of the DOC through the promulgation of DCDs, which
are recorded and disseminated to ensure consistent and legally compliant agency operation.
See DCD 1-3 V.  As set forth under DCD 1-3, which governs the procedure for the
development and publication of the DCDs, the directors of the programs within the DOC
initiate the development of DCDs by drafting a new or revised DCD and submitting that
document to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner for review.  See DCD 1-3 VI.E.
If the Commissioner or his deputy approves the draft, the new DCD is then printed and
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distributed.  See id.  DCD 1-3 requires all new or revised DCDs to be signed by the
Commissioner or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Commissioner, and the DCDs “shall
remain in effect until rescinded by the Commissioner.”  See DCD 1-3 VI.A; DCD 1-3
VI.E.8.a.  All personnel who participate in this development and approval process fall under
the authority of the Commissioner. 
1. Security Classification
The DOC operates facilities for the confinement of prisoners at four different security
levels: maximum, medium, minimum, and pre-release.  DCD 110-12.IV.2.  Inmates
classified at a level other than minimum security are subject to reclassification every 12
months.  See DCD 100-005.II.N.3.a.  DCD 100-005.II.T makes clear, however, that inmate
reclassification occurs at the discretion of the Commissioner:
Notwithstanding the provisions of this or any other directive and
consistent with the law, the Commissioner and those authorized
by the Commissioner have the absolute discretion to modify,
suspend, or terminate the case management process for any
reason.  Similarly, the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s
designees retain the discretion to modify the classification
and/or assignment of any inmate at any time for any reason.
On January 2, 1974, DOC maintained a subjective inmate security classification
policy.  Transfers to minimum security and pre-release were based on a discretionary
assessment by the DOC classification team.  Although this policy changed over the next 14
years and certain inmates lost opportunities for pre-release, the general policy of the DOC
did not exclude all inmates serving life sentences from the pre-release system.  On January
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18, 1988, DOC adopted a “point system” for classifying inmates, under which each inmate
assigned a point value for certain objective factors.  Based on the inmate’s total score, he or
she then was recommended for a certain level of security.  Still, under this system, no
category of prisoner was precluded from progressing below medium security.  On December
1, 1994, however, the DOC’s formal policy declared that no inmates sentenced to life
imprisonment could be transferred below medium security.  On June 1, 1995, DOC issued
DCD 100-005, which stated in part that, “[i]nmates serving life sentences shall be initially
classified to no less than maximum security and shall not be reclassified below medium
security.” DCD 100-005.II.N.1.b.  This section provides that an inmate who is serving a term
of confinement for a rape or sex offense, “shall not be reduced below medium security unless
approved for a delayed parole release contingent upon a transfer to lesser security . . . or
unless within one year of a mandatory supervision release date or maximum expiration
release date.”  DCD 100-005 was revised on January 16, 1996, and December 7, 2001, but
the security classification limits on inmates serving life sentences and certain sex offenders
remained in place.
2. Work Release
The statutory authority for a work-release program has existed since 1963, with the
enactment of Chapter 285 of the Maryland Laws of 1963.  Initially, only inmates whose
sentences were 5 years or less could participate, but the General Assembly, in 1964, amended
the statute to remove the limits as to which inmates were eligible.  The current statutory
1
Before July 1, 1991, DCDs were called Division of Correction Regulations, or DCRs.
See Information Bulletin from Commissioner of Division of Correction, Richard A. Lanham
(July 1, 1991).
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provisions that govern the work-release program are located in Maryland Code, §§ 3-801 -
3-807 of the Correctional Services Article (1999 & 2002 Supp.).  Under those provisions, an
inmate seeking work-release may apply to the warden of the correctional facility in which
the inmate is confined, and the warden then may recommend the application to the
Commissioner of Correction.  Maryland Code, § 3-801(c) & (d)(1) of the Correctional
Services Article (1999).  The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee “may approve,
disapprove, or defer action” on the application.  Section 3-801(d)(4) states that, “[a]t any time
and for any reason, the Commissioner may revoke approval for an inmate to participate in
the work-release program.”
Prior to June 2, 1993, inmates serving life sentences had opportunities to obtain work-
release privileges.  See Division of Correction Regulation 155-2 (April 1, 1991) (allowing
inmates serving life sentences the opportunity for work release after the initial parole hearing
and with the Parole Commission’s recommendation). 1  On June 2, 1993, after a life-
sentenced inmate murdered his girlfriend and then committed suicide while on work-release,
the Commissioner suspended the work release privileges of all inmates serving life sentences.
On February 1, 1997, the DOC amended DCD 100-508, to render inmates serving life
sentences “ineligible for work release.”  DCD 100-508.II.D states that an inmate “who has
2
The Commissioner issued three changes to DCD 100-508 on January 1, 2000, but the
substance of those changes do not affect Appellants’ claims in this case.
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escaped during the current incarceration” “shall be ineligible for work release.”2
3. Family Leave
Section 3-811 of the Correctional Services Article grants authority to the
Commissioner to grant family leave.  That section provides in part:
(a) In general.  The Commissioner or Commissioner’s designee
may grant family leave to allow an inmate to visit the inmate’s
family for a reasonable time if the inmate:
(1) is confined in a correctional facility [of the DOC];
(2) is classified to be in prerelease status; and
(3) is recommended by the correctional facility’s case
management team and managing official.
Until June 2, 1993, when the Commissioner declared all life-sentenced inmates ineligible for
family leave, inmates serving life sentences who had met the conditions of Section 3-811 and
the other criteria of the DOC could receive family leave.  On April 15, 1997, DOC issued
DCD 100-543, which stated that “[i]nmates serving life sentences, including life with all but
a portion suspended, and inmates under a sentence of death are not eligible for family leave
consideration.”
B. The Inmates
This case originated in the Inmate Grievance Office (hereinafter the “Grievance
Office”), which dismissed the grievances of three inmates of the DOC:  Glenn Watkins, John
Dillard, and Gerald Fuller.  Although the central issue in this case – whether DCDs 100-105,
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100-508, and 100-543 are unconstitutional ex post facto laws – is common to all three
inmates, each inmate’s grievance differs based on his individual circumstances. 
1. Glenn Watkins
Glenn Watkins was convicted of first degree murder and, on May 5, 1972, began
serving a life sentence with a concurrent sentence of fifteen years imprisonment.  During his
period of incarceration until June 2, 1993, when inmates serving life sentences, including
Watkins, became ineligible for work-release and family leave, he successfully had completed
57 family leave furloughs and had participated in the work-release program.  On June 1,
2000, Watkins filed a grievance with the Inmate Grievance Office (hereinafter the
“Grievance Office”) and stated:
[My] complaint involves the promulgation of [DCDs] by former
Commissioner of Correction, Richard Lanham, which
permanently prohibit life sentenced inmates from progressing
below medium security (DCD 100-005), from participating in
work release programming (DCD 100-508), and from
participation in family leave programming (DCD 100-543). [I]
had actively achieved each of these security statuses before all
life sentenced inmates were, supposedly, temporarily removed
from the prerelease system on June 3, 1993.
He claimed that the DCDs “are in violation of the ex post facto clause[s] of the Maryland and
United States Constitutions” and requested that they be “rescinded as illegal.”  On December
11, 2000, the Executive Director of the Grievance Office dismissed Watkin’s grievance for
the following reasons:
[T]he Commissioner of Correction is responsible for the security
of prisoners committed to his custody.  As such, it is his
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responsibility to promulgate directives which establish the
manner in which inmates are classified.  The criteria for the
various levels of security are subject to change as warranted by
the Commissioner or his designees.  When you were committed
to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction, you became
subject to various security policies that were in place at that time
– and that were subject to change.  A revision of Classification
procedures is not the equivalent of an ex post facto law.
Watkins filed an action for judicial review in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel
County.  In affirming the decision of the Grievance Office, the court ruled that the General
Assembly has “accorded the DOC and the Commissioner authority to regulate within the
Division of Correction” and the DCDs “come within the discretion of the Commissioner,
constituting guidelines,” which are “not subject to ex post facto prohibitions . . . .”
2. John Dillard
On March 17, 1977, John Dillard was sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment for first
degree rape, first degree sexual offense, and robbery with a deadly weapon.  Sometime after
being committed to the custody of the DOC, he was transferred to the Patuxent Institution.
In April of 1983, Dillard was given a one-day leave from the institution but did not return as
required.  Authorities finally apprehended Dillard in Kansas on January 7, 1984, and he was
returned to Patuxent on January 22 of that same year.  Dillard was charged with escape, but
the Howard County State’s Attorney nolle prosequied the charge.  Dillard never received a
disciplinary sanction for the infraction.
In March of 1990, Dillard was transferred from Patuxent to the DOC.  From June
1991 until September 1998, he served his sentence in minimum security.  During this period
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in minimum security, Dillard’s classification status was reviewed 12 times, and on at least
9 of those occasions, the objective point system for evaluating security classifications
recommended reducing Dillard’s security level to pre-release status.  Despite the
recommendations, the case management team overrode the point assessment every time and
maintained Dillard in minimum security.
Dillard went before the Maryland Parole Commission for hearings in 1990, 1994,
1995, 1996, and 1997.  Following each of these hearings, the Parole Commission indicated
that Dillard needed to obtain work-release to test his suitability for parole release. 
In June of 1996, Dillard was assigned to work detail that operated outside of the
correctional institute.  That November, the case management staff considered Dillard for pre-
release status, but he was denied.  Dillard then was removed from the work detail at his
request.  In April 1998, the Parole Commission issued a decision, granting Dillard parole
release in April 1999 subject to the completion of six-months work release.  The case
management team at Central Laundry Facility approved a plan for Dillard, which provided
for six-months of work release prior to April 1999.  Nevertheless, when the plan was
presented to the Commissioner for final approval, his designee denied that plan, stating that
“[i]n accordance with DCD 100-508, an inmate who has escaped during the current
incarceration is never work-release eligible.”  The Commissioner’s designee offered, instead,
six-months of pre-release work detail.
On July 8, 1998, the Parole Commission suspended Dillard’s parole release date
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pending a hearing scheduled for September 1998.  At that hearing, on September 18, 1998,
the Parole Commission hearing officer recommended rescission of the release date and
complete refusal of parole.  The Parole Commission adopted the hearing officer’s
recommendation, and Dillard was transferred to a medium security prison on October 1,
1998.
Dillard brought a grievance before the Grievance Office on January 13, 1999, alleging
that DCDs 100-005 (security classification) and 100-508 (work release eligibility), which
both became effective after Dillard was sentenced, constitute ex post facto laws.  Dillard
contended that DCDs 100-005 and 100-508 operated to prevent him from serving his
sentence below medium security or obtaining work release.  He also complained that the
Commissioner’s decision to deny him work-release was “arbitrary and capricious.”  
On June 24, 1999, the Executive Director of the Grievance Office dismissed Dillard’s
grievance “as being on its face wholly lacking of merit . . . .”  The dismissal letter stated that
the various security policies governing Dillard’s confinement were subject to change as
warranted by the Commissioner of Correction or his designee and that “[a] revision of the
Classification procedures is not the equivalent of an ex post facto law.”
Dillard filed an action for judicial review in the Circuit Court for Allegany County,
which reversed the dismissal and remanded the case for a hearing to be conducted by the
Office of Administrative Hearings.  Following that hearing on July 13, 2000, the
Administrative Law Judge concluded that Dillard had “not shown that DCDs 100-005 and
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100-508 are ex post facto laws” because their application “did not increase the punishment
of the crimes for which [he] was convicted.” 
Dillard again filed an action for judicial review in the Circuit Court for Allegany
County, which heard the merits of his claim on October 12, 2001, and affirmed the decision
of the Administrative Law Judge.  The Circuit Court stated that Dillard’s “contentions
concern Directives for the administration of the prison . . . ‘which every prisoner can
anticipate are contemplated by his original sentence [and] are necessarily functions of prison
management that must be left to the broad discretion of prison administrators.’” (quoting
Gaston v. Taylor, 946 F.2d 340, 343 (4th Cir. 1991) (en banc)).
3. Gerald Fuller
Gerald Fuller was sentenced to life imprisonment and committed to the custody of the
DOC in October of 1979 after he pled guilty to first-degree murder, first-degree rape and
robbery with a deadly weapon.  On March 9, 2001, he filed a grievance in the Grievance
Office, asserting that DCD 100-105 applied to prevent him from obtaining security below
the level of medium security.  According to Fuller, at the time he was sentenced, the security
policies allowed him to progress to “minimum security . . . and pre-parole testing to
demonstrate parole suitability,” but DOC modified the security polices after his sentence to
prevent him “from qualifying for parole release.”  On September 6, 2001, the Executive
Director of the Grievance Office dismissed the grievance, reasoning that the DOC security
policies, represented by the DCDs, were subject to change “as warranted by the
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Commissioner [of Correction] or his designees.” As for Fuller’s claim that the DCDs
operated to deny him parole release, the Director characterized it as speculative and informed
Fuller that the Grievance Office “has no jurisdiction over matters related to parole.”  The
Director then suggested that Fuller contact the Parole Commission directly to discuss the
matter.
On May 17, 2002, the Circuit Court for Washington County affirmed the decision of
the Grievance Office.  The Circuit Court explained its reasons:
[Fuller’s] sentence has not been enlarged by the modification of
the DCDs. The [DCD’s amendments], although increasing the
level of security in which he must be maintained, did not affect
him in a punitive manner.  The changes were lawfully and
appropriately made in order to allow the department to deal with
perceived serious penological difficulties should lifers be
continued on minimum security, work release or other less
severe classification levels.  Consequently, the implementation
of DCD 100-005, viewed in isolation, does not violate the ex
post facto prohibition of the State or Federal Constitutions.
The Circuit Court further stated that, because the Grievance Office has jurisdiction over
complaints against officials or employees of the DOC or Patuxent Institution, it was not the
proper forum for pursuing claims against the Parole Commission.
C. The Present Appeal
Watkins, Dillard, and Fuller (hereinafter “Appellants”) each appealed from the
judgments of the circuit court that denied them relief.  By order of the Court of Special
Appeals on October 22, 2002, Appellants’ cases against the Secretary of the Department of
Public Safety and Correctional Services (hereinafter the “Secretary”) were consolidated for
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the purpose of the appeal.  Before any proceedings in the Court of Special Appeals, this
Court issued a writ of certiorari.  Watkins v. Dep’t of Corrections, 372 Md. 763, 816 A.2d
111 (2003).  In their brief, Appellants presented a single question, which we have rephrased
for clarity:
As applied to Appellants, do DCDs 100-005, 100-508, and 100-
543, which were promulgated by the Commissioner of
Correction and established new security classifications, violate
the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws?
We hold that the DCDs at issue in this case do not violate the prohibition against ex post
facto laws, because they are not “laws” within the meaning of United States Constitution or
Maryland Declaration of Rights.  Rather, the DCDs were guidelines promulgated as an
exercise of the discretion of the Commissioner of Correction who has authority to modify
them.  Therefore, we affirm the decisions of the Circuit Courts for Anne Arundel, Allegany,
and Washington Counties.
II. Standard of Review
The Administrative Procedure Act governs our review of decisions of the Grievance
Office, an entity within the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Maryland Code, §10-222 of the State Government Article (1984, 1999 Repl. Vol.); Maryland
Code, §10-202 of the Correctional Services Article (1999).  Because an appellate court
reviews the agency decision under the same statutory standards as the circuit court, we
reevaluate the decision of the agency, not the lower court.  Gigeous v. Eastern Correctional
Inst., 363 Md. 481, 495-96, 769 A.2d 912, 921 (2001) (citing Public Serv. Comm’n v.
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Baltimore Gas & Elec. Co., 273 Md. 357, 362, 329 A.2d 691, 694-95 (1974)).  Generally,
“judicial review of administrative agency action is narrow.” Id. at 496, 769 A.2d at 921
(quoting United Parcel Service Inc. v. People’s Counsel for Baltimore County, 336 Md. 569,
576-77, 650 A.2d 226 (1994)).  The reviewing court must not “substitute its judgment for the
expertise for those persons who constitute the administrative agency.”  Id. at 496, 769 A.2d
at 921 (quoting Bulluck v. Pelham Wood Apts., 283 Md. 505, 513, 390 A.2d 1119, 1124
(1978)).  We must respect the expertise of the agency and accord deference to its
interpretation of a statute that it administers.  See Board of Physician v. Banks, 354 Md. 59,
68-69, 729 A.2d 376, 381 (1999); however, we “may always determine whether the
administrative agency made an error of law.”  Baltimore Lutheran High School v.
Employment Sec. Admin., 302 Md. 649, 662, 490 A.2d 701, 708 (1985).  Typically, such a
determination requires considering “(1) the legality of the decision and (2) whether there was
substantial evidence from the record as a whole to support the decision.”  Id. at 662, 490
A.2d at 708.  Moreover, in cases that involve determining whether a constitutional right has
been infringed, we make an independent constitutional appraisal.  See Crosby v. State, 366
Md. 518, 526, 784 A.2d 1102, 1106 (2001) (citing Stokes v. State, 362 Md. 407, 414, 765
A.2d 612, 615 (2001); In re Tariq A-R-Y, 347 Md. 484, 489, 701 A.2d 691, 693 (1997);
Riddick v. State, 319 Md. 180, 183, 571 A.2d 1239, 1240 (1990)).
III. Discussion
Appellants argue that the DCDs at issue in this case amount to “laws” within the ambit
3
Appellants also contend that the DCDs in issue create an ex post facto violation when
they are applied in combination with the policies of the Maryland Parole Commission.  They
claim that the Parole Commission “has long standing policies requiring successful
completion of work release and other forms of outside testing prior to a recommendation of
parole to the Governor in a lifer case.”  Such a policy, according to Appellants, deprives them
of an opportunity to achieve parole, for the DCDs prevent them from obtaining work release,
family leave, or a status below medium security.
In this case, we need not address the merits of this contention. Appellants originally
brought their claims before the Grievance Office, which has jurisdiction to hear complaints
“against . . . official[s] or employee[s] of the [DOC] or the Patuxent Institution.”  Code, § 10-
206(a) of the Correctional Services Article.  In fact, if a complaint is filed in the Grievance
Office against an entity other than those named in Section 10-206(a), the Grievance Office
Executive Director must dismiss the action.  See COMAR 12.07.01.07 (2003). Charges that
the Parole Commission is acting to limit Appellants’ parole opportunities must arise in
proceedings conducted in a forum where such controversies can be resolved.   
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of the ex post facto clauses.  This is so, they claim, because they are “legislative rules” that
prevent the staff of the DOC from exercising any discretion over assigning a lesser security
classification, granting work release, or granting family leave.  According to Appellants,
these “laws” unconstitutionally “enhance the punishment for Appellants’ crime[s]” by
“[a]ltering parole eligibility rules after the date of the offense for which the prisoner was
committed.”3
In the Secretary’s view, the applicable DCDs do not constitute “laws” under the ex
post facto clauses of the United States Constitution and Maryland Declaration of Rights.  The
Secretary advances the position that the DCDs merely enunciate the manner in which the
Commissioner of Correction intends to exercise his discretion over establishing security
classifications.  According to the Secretary, the DCDs, therefore, are not laws but are
guidelines which do not limit the Commissioner’s exercise of discretion and may be changed
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“at any time for any reason.”  Nonetheless, even if the DCDs were “laws,” the Secretary
argues, “they do not violate the ex post facto prohibition because they do not lengthen any
inmate’s sentence or period of incarceration.”
The federal prohibition against ex post facto laws can be found in Article I, Section
10 of the Constitution of the United States, which states in relevant part: “No State shall . .
. pass any . . . ex post facto Law. . . .”  Ex post facto laws are also prohibited under Article
17 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, which states “[t]hat retrospective Laws, punishing
acts committed before the existence of such Laws, and by them only declared criminal, are
oppressive, unjust and incompatible with liberty; wherefore, no ex post facto Law ought to
be made; nor any retrospective oath or restriction be imposed, or required.”  Maryland’s ex
post facto clause has been viewed generally to have the “same meaning” as its federal
counterpart.  Gluckstern v. Sutton, 319 Md. 634, 665, 574 A.2d 898, 913 (1990) (quoting
Anderson v. Dep’t of Health & Mental Hyg., 310 M. 217, 223, 528 A.2d 904, 907 (1987)).
The plain language of the ex post facto clauses make clear that the prohibition applies
only to “laws.” We highlighted this important requirement in holding that the ex post facto
clause may be violated when the General Assembly enacts a statute that changes an inmate’s
eligibility for parole during his incarceration.  Gluckstern, 319 Md. at 672, 574 A.2d at 916.
In Gluckstern,  we interpreted the ex post facto clauses to prohibit the retroactive application
of a statute requiring the Governor to approve parole for inmates serving life sentences at the
Patuxent Institution.  Id. at 668, 574 A.2d at 914.  The inmate who brought the claim in
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Gluckstern began serving a life sentence there when the Institutional Board of Review of the
Patuxent Institution “retained exclusive control to parole a Patuxent inmate.”  Id. at 642, 574
A.2d at 901.  The General Assembly subsequently enacted a statute that required the
Governor to approve parole for all inmates serving life sentences.  Id. at 643, 574 A.2d at
902.  We concluded that the retroactive application of that statute, which modified the
inmate’s parole eligibility, “‘substantially alter[ed] the consequences attached to a crime
already completed and therefore change[d] the quantum of punishment.’” Id. at 668, 574
A.2d at 914.  
In analyzing the controversy in Gluckstern, however, we carefully distinguished that
case from numerous federal cases, in which courts held the ex post facto prohibition to be
“inapplicable to changes by the United States Parole Commission in the Commission’s own
discretionary guidelines for granting parole.”  Id. at 671, 574 A.2d at 916.  In so doing, we
stressed that those federal opinions dealt with guidelines that “do not have the force and
effect of law” but are merely “polic[ies] . . . that show how agency discretion is likely to be
exercised.”  Id. at 672, 574 A.2d at 916 (citations omitted).  We further noted that those
guidelines, as statements of discretionary administrative policy, “may not in fact augment [a
prisoner’s] punishment, either actually or potentially” because  “the Parole Commission may
choose not to follow the guidelines in [the prisoner’s] case.”  Id. (citations omitted). 
We again underscored the distinction between discretionary and non-discretionary
administrative policy directives in Lomax v. Warden, Md. Correctional Training Ctr., 356
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Md. 569, 741 A.2d 476 (1999).  There, we iterated that “the ex post facto prohibition applies
only to a ‘law’” within the meaning of the ex post facto clause.  Id. at 576, 741 A.2d at 480.
We recognized that, although in the context of the ex post facto clause, the “concept of a
‘law’ . . . is broader than a statute enacted by a legislative body, and may include some
administrative regulations,” it does not encompass “‘guidelines assisting [a government
agency] in the exercise of its discretion.’”  Id. (citations omitted) (quoting Portley v.
Grossman, 444 U.S. 1311, 1313, 100 S. Ct. 714, 715, 62 L. Ed. 2d 723, 725 (1980)).
Therefore, whether an administrative provision qualifies as a “law” for ex post facto purposes
depends in large part on the manner and extent that it limits an agency’s discretion.  If the
provision “do[es] not have the force and effect of law” but simply announces how an agency
is likely to exercise its discretion, the ex post facto clause does not apply.  Id. (quoting
Gluckstern, 319 Md. at 672, 574 A.2d at 916 (citations omitted)).  
In light of these principles, we considered in Lomax whether the Governor had
executed an ex post facto law by issuing a statement that he would not approve parole for
inmates serving life sentences unless they were very old or terminally ill.  Id. at 573, 741
A.2d at 478.  We concluded that:
The Governor’s statement . . . was simply an announcement of
guidelines as to how the Governor would exercise the discretion
which he has under the law.  The Governor’s announcement did
not bind him, and he can employ different guidelines whenever
he desires to do so.  Consequently, the Governor’s
announcement of “‘policies . . . that show how . . . discretion is
likely to be exercised’” does not constitute a “law” within the
meaning of the ex post facto prohibition. 
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Id. at 577, 741 A.2d at 481 (citation omitted).
We see no meaningful difference between the promulgation of the DCDs at issue in
the case at bar and the Governor’s statement of intent in Lomax.  Just as the Governor
possesses the authority to exercise discretion over parole decisions, the Commissioner has
been vested with authority to establish the policies that govern the confinement of inmates
in his or her custody.  Maryland Code, § 3-203(a) of the Correctional Services Article (2002)
provides that, “[s]ubject to the authority vested in the Secretary [of Public Safety an
Correctional Services] by law, the Commissioner is in charge of the [DOC] and its units.”
Through this grant of authority, the Commissioner may create and alter the security
classifications to ensure the effective execution of its supervision over the DOC.  DCD 100-
005, which precludes life-sentenced inmates and certain violent sex offenders from being
housed below medium security, declares the manner in which the Commissioner intends to
classify those committed to his custody.  The Commissioner, at his discretion, may modify
this directive at any time.  See Campbell v. Cushwa, 133 Md. App. 519, 545, 758 A.2d 616,
630 (2000) (stating that Commissioner’s authority to modify an inmate’s security
classification “for any reason” precluded a reasonable expectation that an inmate would
remain in a particular security classification).
The Commissioner maintains similar discretion over the administration of work-
release and family leave.  The legislature conferred upon the DOC the discretion to establish
a work-release program, Maryland Code, § 3-801(a) of the Correctional Services Article
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(2002), and the Commissioner, “[a]t any time and for any reason . . . may revoke approval
for an inmate to participate in the work-release program.” Code, § 3-801(d)(4) of the
Correctional Services Article.  Under Section 3-811(a) of the Correctional Services Article,
the Commissioner or his designee “may grant family leave” to inmates within his custody,
so long as the inmate is “classified to be in prerelease status” and has been recommended by
the applicable “case management team and managing official.”   Through DCDs 100-508 and
100-543, the Commissioner has pronounced his policy that inmates serving life sentences
should not be provided the privileges of work-release or family leave.  The Commissioner
may change this policy at any time.  Because the DCDs merely communicate the
Commissioner’s intended use of discretion, they do not have the “force and effect of law.”
See Gluckstern, 319 Md. at 672, 574 A.2d at 916.  Indeed, if the Commissioner elects to
change his intentions and discard or alter the DCDs, they “may not in fact augment [a
prisoner’s] punishment, either actually or potentially.”  See id.
Appellants, however, disagree that the DCDs represent discretionary guidelines and,
thus, are not “laws” under the ex post facto clause.  In support of their position, they cite
Knox v. Lanham, 895 F. Supp. 750 (D. Md. 1995), in which Judge J. Frederick Motz of the
United States District Court found a violation of the ex post facto clause in the combined
operation of a Division of Correction Directive and an “unwritten policy” of the Parole
Commission.  The DCD at issue in Knox provided that “[a]n inmate with a life sentence,
except an inmate sentenced to life with all but a portion suspended, shall not be reduced
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below medium security.”  Id. at 753.  The “unwritten policy” of the Parole Commission,
made evident by records of parole hearings, denied parole to all inmates who had not
participated in work-release.  Id. at 754.  The combined effect of the DCD and Parole
Commission policy rendered life-sentenced inmates completely ineligible for parole, even
though at the time of their incarceration, parole had been a possibility.  Id. at 758.  This,
Judge Motz decided, constituted a violation of the ex post facto clause.  Id.
Appellant takes comfort in the Knox court’s determination that the DCD in that case
constituted a “law” as contemplated by the ex post facto clause.  Judge Motz stated his
reasoning:
First, [the DCD] is a rule promulgated pursuant to legislatively
delegated authority.  The Commissioner of the Division of
Correction has been delegated the authority to “adopt and
promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for the operation
and maintenance of the several institutions and agencies in the
Division.”  Second, the rule is not merely a guide that leaves
discretion with classification teams, wardens, or the Parole
Commission, in the security classification of lifers.  The new
DCD 100-1 may not be “discarded where circumstances
require,” but is an inflexible rule that a lifer “shall not be
reduced below medium security.”  
Id. at 756.
We are not persuaded by Knox that the DCDs in issue are “laws” under the ex post
facto clause.  As we recognized in Lomax, certain administrative rules may be considered
“laws” for purposes of the ex post facto clause, 356 Md. at 576, 741 A.2d at 480, but if the
rules are “merely guides” that “may be discarded where circumstances require” they are not
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subject to the ex post facto prohibitions.  See Prater v. U.S. Parole Comm’n, 802 F.2d 948,
954 (7th Cir. 1986) (quoting Inglese v. U.S. Parole Comm’n, 768 F.2d 932, 936 (7th Cir.
1985)).  Although the DCDs, like the one at issue in Knox, afford no discretion to the
individuals carrying out the Commissioner’s policies, it is not their discretion to which ex
post facto analysis attaches.  
We consider, rather, the extent of the Commissioner’s discretion, as we did with the
Governor’s in Lomax.  The Commissioner has discretion to establish policy guidelines for
security classifications without legislative ratification.  See Code, § 9-103 (b) of the
Correctional Services Article (“[E]ach individual sentenced to the jurisdiction of the [DOC]
. . . shall be held by, confined in, assigned to, or transferred to a correctional facility in the
[DOC], as the [DOC] orders . . . .”); see Paoli v. Lally, 812 F.2d 1489, 1492 (4th Cir. 1987),
cert. denied, 484 U.S. 864, 108 S. Ct. 184, 98 L. Ed. 137 (1987) (stating that the purpose of
Code, Art. 27 § 690(b), the predecessor to Section 9-103, is “to authorize the [DOC] to hold,
assign and transfer prisoners among the State prison institutions as it deems necessary.”)
(quoting Mullins v. State, 12 Md. App. 222, 224, 278 A.2d 85 (1971)).  Similarly, the
Commissioner has discretion to establish policy regarding an inmate’s eligibility for work
release and family leave.  For the purpose of carrying out those policies, the Commissioner,
unilaterally, may adopt or discard whatever DCDs he or she deems appropriate.  Whether
DCDs 100-005, 100-508, and 100-543 bind the decisions of the Commissioner’s employees
does not affect the status of those DCDs as mere announcements of policy rather than ex post
4
As we indicated, the sole issue raised in this appeal is whether the DCDs at issue
constitute ex post facto laws and, for that reason, are invalid under Article I of the United
States Constitution and Article 17 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights.  No argument was
made that the DCDs constitute regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act, that they
were adopted without compliance with the requirements of that Act, and for that reason they
are unenforceable.  See Delmarva Power v. PSC, 370 Md. 1, 803 A.2d 460 (2002).  Nothing
in this Opinion is intended to address that issue.
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facto laws.  Accordingly, we hold that DCDs 100-005, 100-508, and 100-543 do not violate
Federal and State constitutional prohibitions against ex post facto laws.4
JUDGMENTS OF THE CIRCUIT COURTS
FOR ANNE ARUNDEL, ALLEGANY, AND
WASHINGTON COUNTIES AFFIRMED.
COSTS TO BE PAID BY APPELLANTS.