Alabama Administrative Code › Title 640 - ALABAMA BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES › Chapter 640-X-9 - PAROLE VIOLATIONS AND REVOCATIONS › Section 640-X-9-.04 - Parole Court Hearing

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
The procedure for conducting Parole Court shall be as
				follows:
(a) Designated Parole Court
			 Hearing Officers hold Parole Court and determine the facts pertaining to
			 alleged parole violations. These Hearing Officers are authorized to determine
			 whether the parolee is guilty of alleged violations as well as to determine
			 whether there is probable cause to detain the parolee pending final resolution
			 of the charges.
(b) At the Parole
			 Court hearing, the Hearing Officer will decide whether parole violation charges
			 are proven, evidence in mitigation and/or aggravation will be heard, and the
			 Hearing Officer will determine whether it is appropriate to detain the parolee
			 pending the Board's decision. The Hearing Officer may also determine whether
			 probable cause exists to detain the parolee and continue the hearing until a
			 later date for determination of guilt. The evidence taken at the Parole Court
			 hearing may be considered in the determination of guilt. If there is no
			 reasonable cause to detain the parolee pending further hearing, the Board shall
			 be promptly notified in writing.
(c) The investigating or charging officer
			 shall provide the parolee with a copy of the Report or Notice containing the
			 charges of violation prior to or contemporaneously with notice of the date,
			 time, and place of Parole Court if the parolee is incarcerated. If the parolee
			 is not incarcerated, the officer may deliver those documents by U.S. Mail,
			 addressed to the parolee's address of record (as reflected in the parole
			 officer's supervision notes). The officer serving these papers shall return a
			 written certificate of service to the Revocation Unit.
(d) The Hearing Officer may accept a knowing,
			 intelligent guilty plea to parole violation charges. Before doing so, the
			 Hearing Officer shall read the specific charges to the parolee and explain the
			 rights he/she waives by entering a plea. The Hearing Officer shall not accept a
			 guilty plea unless the parolee does, in fact, acknowledge violation of the
			 conditions of parole. The Hearing Officer shall document the facts admitted to
			 by the parolee and have the parolee sign the acknowledgement of
			 guilt.
(e) The parolee is
			 responsible for notifying his or her legal counsel and witnesses of the date,
			 time, and place of the Parole Court hearing. He or she is also responsible for
			 forwarding a copy of the charges to legal counsel. Bureau staff may assist in
			 contacting counsel or witnesses as a courtesy to the parolee and may provide
			 copies of the charges or other documents pertaining to Parole Court to the
			 parolee's legal counsel. Documents will be served on the parolee, either by
			 personal service or U.S. Mail to provide reasonable notice of the charges and
			 proceedings.
(f) The Parole Court
			 Hearing Officer may exercise reasonable discretion if any party requests a
			 continuance of a hearing. The entire hearing may be rescheduled or the Parole
			 Court may hear such evidence as is available and continue the hearing for
			 further evidence, as may best serve the ends of justice. If the parolee
			 requests a continuance and the continuance is denied, the Parole Court should
			 enter into the record the request, the stated grounds for the request, and the
			 reasons for denying the request.
(g) The Hearing Officer shall preside over
			 the hearing and govern its conduct. The Hearing Officer shall ensure that the
			 record accurately reflects all necessary notices and compliance with all
			 procedural safeguards. Witnesses may appear and present testimony by video
			 conference.
(h) The charging
			 officer or his or her designee shall present the case of the alleged parole
			 violations and may question any witness. The officer may testify in narrative
			 format if he or she is a competent witness to any issue.
(i) The parolee shall be allowed to present
			 evidence in his or her own defense. The parolee's witnesses shall be subject to
			 cross-examination. The parolee shall be allowed to cross-examine accusing
			 witnesses, unless the Hearing Officer specifically finds good cause to believe
			 the witness would be endangered by confrontation. If confrontation is
			 disallowed, the Hearing Officer will make reasonable efforts to balance the
			 parolee's need for cross-examination.
(j) The Hearing Officer may question any
			 witnesses and should permit each side to ask follow-up questions.
(k) The Hearing Officer may exercise
			 reasonable discretion to disallow or limit any question that seeks to elicit
			 information not pertinent to the issues or tending towards abuse or harassment.
			 The Hearing Officer should include in the record any questions disallowed and
			 the reason(s) for the ruling.
(l)
			 For purposes of determining whether probable cause exists, the Hearing Officer
			 may consider any relevant information, including hearsay. For purposes of
			 determining guilt, the Hearing Officer shall consider any evidence that would
			 be admissible under either the Alabama Rules of Evidence or the Federal Rules
			 of Evidence. The Hearing Officer may also consider any other evidence,
			 including hearsay, that appears to be reliable and probative, but may not
			 determine guilt based solely upon hearsay evidence. Commonly accepted treatises
			 on evidence, including Gamble's, McElroy's, Wigmore's, and McCormick's should
			 be considered persuasive authority for determining the admissibility of
			 evidence. The Hearing Officer must state the evidence relied upon in making
			 his/her determination.
(m) The
			 Parole Court shall allow the parolee great leeway in presenting mitigating
			 information. For purposes of mitigation, the Hearing Officer shall consider any
			 information offered by the parolee. Any objections shall go to the weight of
			 the evidence and not to its admissibility.
(n) The Hearing Officer may take judicial
			 notice of conditions of parole imposed by the Board or by another state
			 pursuant to the Interstate Compact. The parolee may introduce evidence that he
			 or she was not aware of a condition. The Hearing Officer shall take judicial
			 notice of the laws of the State of Alabama. In the absence of proof to the
			 contrary, the Hearing Officer may rely on a copy of a municipal ordinance or of
			 a statute of another jurisdiction as evidence of the law in that jurisdiction.
			 The Hearing Officer may presume, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that
			 each municipality in Alabama has adopted an ordinance incorporating the penal
			 provisions of the Alabama Code into its municipal law. The Hearing Officer may
			 accept a certified copy of a judgment of conviction as conclusive evidence that
			 the parolee is guilty of violating a law, provided that, in the case of a
			 conviction in municipal court or district court, the time for appealing to
			 circuit court for trial de novo has run before the certification was
			 issued.
(o) The Hearing Officer may
			 determine that a parolee is guilty of violating a law, but that the offense was
			 less than that named in the delinquency report. The Hearing Officer may also
			 determine that a parolee is guilty of violating a law other than that named in
			 the delinquency report, if the report provided fair notice to the parolee of
			 the wrongful conduct at issue.
(p)
			 If the parolee has not been incarcerated pending the Parole Court hearing, the
			 Parole Court shall determine whether incarceration is appropriate pending the
			 Board's final decision.
Authors:
Meridith H. Barnes, Laura B. Mest, Greg
				  Locklier.
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala. 1975,
				  §§
										15-22-21,
				  32, 37.