Opinion ID: 1625212
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Parole Board and the Department of Corrections

Text: We consider first Grantham's claims against the Parole Board and the Department of Corrections as legal creatures and entities of the state of Mississippi. The Circuit Court dismissed these claims on sovereign immunity grounds. The judicially created doctrine of sovereign immunity was abolished by this Court in Pruett v. City of Rosedale, 421 So.2d 1046 (Miss. 1982). The Court set July 1, 1984, as the effective date for recognition of state tort liability. In 1984, the legislature enacted a statute waiving the sovereign immunity of the state and its political subdivisions. See Laws, 1984, ch. 495, §§ 1, et seq., pp. 640-66. However, the act also provided that it would: apply only to claims that accrue on or after July 1, 1985, as to the state, and on or after October 1, 1985, as to political subdivisions. Claims that accrue prior to July 1, 1985, as to the state or, prior to October 1, 1985, as to political subdivisions, shall not be affected by this act but shall continue to be governed by the case law governing sovereign immunity as it existed immediately prior to the decision in the case of Pruett v. City of Rosedale, 421 So.2d 1046, and by the statutory law governing sovereign immunity existing prior to July 1, 1985. Laws, 1984, ch. 495, § 4, p. 642. This act is codified at Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-1, et seq. [1] Jimpson was paroled January 9, 1985. The shooting, upon which the claims in this case are based, occurred on February 12, 1985. Therefore, the sovereign immunity assertions of the Parole Board and the Mississippi Department of Corrections are controlled by pre- Pruett case law and statutory law in effect prior to July 1, 1985. Pre- Pruett case law immunized the state and its subdivisions and agencies from suit unless otherwise directed by statute, and where such a statute exists it is the measure of the power to sue such board or agency. Jagnandan v. Mississippi State University, 373 So.2d 252, 253 (Miss. 1979); Horne v. State Building Comm'n., 233 Miss. 810, 103 So.2d 373, 380 (1958); Smith v. Doehler Metal Furniture, 195 Miss. 538, 15 So.2d 421 (1943); and Mississippi Centennial Exposition Co. v. Luderbach, 123 Miss. 828, 86 So. 517, 519 (1920). The Parole Board and the Department of Corrections are state agencies. They are creatures of law charged to perform state functions. As such, each is immune from suit for a January/February 1985 tort arising from performance of governmental functions such as those here charged, except as may be allowed by statute. The statutes creating and governing the Parole Board and probation and parole decisions are found at Miss. Code Ann. § 47-7-1, et seq. Provisions concerning immunity or waiver of that immunity are not, nor were they prior to July 1, 1985, contained anywhere in those statutes. The Parole Board is, therefore, immune from this suit. [2] The statutes creating and governing the Mississippi Department of Corrections are found at Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-1, et seq. Section 47-5-75 presently provides, and prior to July 1, 1985, did provide, that if the Board of Corrections, in its discretion, chooses to procure liability insurance, the Board, the Commissioner and regular employees of the correctional system may be sued up to the insurance limits. Grantham did not allege in her Amended Complaint or at any time raise the possibility that the Board had, in fact, acquired any such liability insurance. The Department of Corrections is under the policy direction of the Board of Corrections (Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-8(1) [Supp. 1987]). Quite arguably, the insurance provisions and concomitant partial waiver of immunity found in Section 47-5-75 apply to the Department of Corrections. All of this is irrelevant, however, unless the Department of Corrections had some duty to the public and to Grantham, concerning Jimpson's parole, which it failed to perform. Grantham's Amended Complaint alleges generally that in regard to Jimpson's parole and release, all defendants acted arbitrarily, negligently and with reckless disregard for the safety of society in general, and of Grantham in particular. Grantham charges that the Department of Corrections, specifically, negligently or intentionally failed to provide the Parole Board with information which, she says, the Parole Board should have considered before releasing Jimpson. Section 47-5-10 sets out the general powers and duties of the Department of Corrections. No duty to provide the Parole Board with information may be found. Furthermore, Section 47-7-5 vests in the Parole Board exclusive authority and responsibility for the granting of paroles and for revocation of the same. The Department of Corrections could have no duty in the premises because the Department has no control over parole decisions and is not statutorily required to provide information to the Board. The judgment of the Circuit Court dismissing the complaint against the Parole Board and the Department of Corrections is affirmed.