Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02

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### 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.
A PPELLANT PRO SE Lonnie K. Stephens New Castle, Indiana A TTORNEY S FOR A PPELLEE 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 Ca se No. 05A02

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- 1974 Ap peal from the Blackford Circuit Court The Honorable Dean A. Young, Judge The Honorable Jay L. Toney, Special Judge Trial Co urt Cause No. 05C01

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A ltice , Judge .Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02

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[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 hi m 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 F acility. As a result of various disciplinary convictions during his incarceration, Stephens was deprived of a total of 540 days of good time credit. Stephens f

iled one or more administrative petitions with the DOC for restorat ion 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 tri al court denied the petition the same day without holding a hearing. Stephens now appeals.
Discussion & DecisionCourt of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02

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[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

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- 5.5. The Indiana Administrative O rders 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

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- 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

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- 205(6)). Thus, our Sup reme 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 t rial court properly denied his petition to reinstate good time credit.

[5] Judgment affirmed.

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