Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 1 of 3

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), 

this Memorandum Decision shall not be 

regarded as precedent or cited before any 

court except for the purpose of establishing 

the defense of res judicata, collateral 

estoppel, or the law of the case.

APPELLANT PRO SE

Lonnie K. Stephens

New Castle, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Curtis T. Hill, Jr.

Attorney General of Indiana

Frances Barrow

Deputy Attorney General

Indianapolis, Indiana

I N T H E

COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

Lonnie K. Stephens,

Appellant-Defendant,

v.

State of Indiana,

Appellee-Plaintiff

March 7, 2018

Court of Appeals Case No.

05A02-1708-CR-1974

Appeal from the Blackford Circuit 

Court

The Honorable Dean A. Young, 

Judge

The Honorable Jay L. Toney, 

Special Judge

Trial Court Cause No.

05C01-0312-FB-52

Altice, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 2 of 3

Case Summary

[1] Lonnie K. Stephens appeals pro se from the trial court’s denial of his petition to 

reinstate good time credit. On appeal, Stephens argues that the Department of 

Correction (DOC) has not awarded him the full amount of good time credit to 

which he is entitled. The State responds that the trial court properly dismissed 

Stephens’s petition because it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the 

DOC’s decisions regarding the deprivation of good time credit.

[2] We affirm.

Facts & Procedural History

[3] Stephens is currently serving a thirty-year sentence at the New Castle 

Correctional Facility. As a result of various disciplinary convictions during his 

incarceration, Stephens was deprived of a total of 540 days of good time credit. 

Stephens filed one or more administrative petitions with the DOC for 

restoration of good time credit, which he claims resulted in the restoration of 

406 days of good time credit. According to Stephens, however, the DOC has 

applied only 198 of those days toward his sentence. Stephens filed his petition 

for reinstatement of credit time with the trial court on July 18, 2017. The trial 

court denied the petition the same day without holding a hearing. Stephens 

now appeals.

Discussion & Decision
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 3 of 3

[4] Our Supreme Court has held that “DOC inmates have no common law, 

statutory, or federal constitutional right to review in state court [of] DOC 

disciplinary decisions.” Blanck v. Ind. Dep’t of Corr., 829 N.E.2d 505, 507 (Ind. 

2005). Offenders who have been deprived of good time credit time may appeal 

the decision to the DOC commissioner. Ind. Code § 35-50-6-5.5. The Indiana 

Administrative Orders and Procedures Act (AOPA) governs the orders and 

procedures of state administrative agencies, including the DOC. Blanck, 829 

N.E.2d at 510. The AOPA “establishes the exclusive means for judicial review 

of an agency action.” Ind. Code § 4-21.5-5-1. However, “the Legislature has 

specifically excluded from the AOPA’s application any ‘agency action related 

to an offender within the jurisdiction of the department of correction.’” Blanck, 

829 N.E.2d at 510 (quoting I.C. § 4-21.5-205(6)). Thus, our Supreme Court has 

held that prisoner disciplinary actions are not subject to judicial review in State 

court. Id. Because Stephens is not entitled to judicial review of the DOC’s 

decisions concerning the deprivation and restoration of good time credit, the 

trial court properly denied his petition to reinstate good time credit. 

[5] Judgment affirmed.

[6] May, J. and Vaidik, C.J., concur.