Opinion ID: 2265552
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Alleged Bias of the Parole Board

Text: The United States Supreme Court outlined the due process requirements applicable to parole revocation proceedings in Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 489, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 2604, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972). Those requirements include a neutral and detached hearing body such as a traditional parole board. Ingerson asserts that the following facts demonstrate that the Maine Parole Board was illegally prejudiced against him at the time of the 1982 parole revocation: 1) the Board had conducted a hearing in 1980 and revoked his parole; 2) the Board, after that first hearing, had placed in its files a memo stating that Ingerson was very dangerous and should spend many years in prison before being considered for parole; 3) the Board in August 1981 had refused to reconsider his parole revocation after his acquittal on the rape charge; 4) prior to the 1982 hearing, the Board had received information concerning the traumatic effect the proposed release might have on the alleged victim, communications from the District Attorney concerning Ingerson's violent nature, and an affidavit from an individual purportedly having knowledge that Ingerson's defense to the rape charge was untrue; 5) the Board received legal advice from an attorney who was also advising the Parole Department with regard to its presentation to the Board concerning Ingerson's request for a rehearing after the acquittal on the rape charge; and 6) the Board allowed members of the Parole Department to remain in the hearing room during its 1982 deliberations. Based on our careful review of the entire record, we affirm the Superior Court's rejection of Ingerson's allegation of bias on the part of the Parole Board. Ingerson's first four bases for alleging Parole Board bias relate to the practical reality that the Board must deal with the same prisoners over and over again, and to the fact that to be effective the Board must continually monitor parolees and seek information from others concerning their behavior. The United States Supreme Court's requirement of a neutral and detached hearing body clearly does not preclude a parole board from undertaking such activities. Indeed, Morrissey v. Brewer specifically states that a traditional parole board typifies an appropriately unbiased body. 408 U.S. at 489, 92 S.Ct. at 2604. Moreover, the cases in other jurisdictions that have found the neutral and detached requirement to have been violated have involved situations in which a member of the hearing body had initiated the revocation of parole. See, e.g., Shepard v. Taylor, 433 F.Supp. 984 (S.D.N.Y.) aff'd mem., 573 F.2d 1295 (2d Cir.1977); Newell v. State, 620 P.2d 680 (Alaska 1980); see generally State v. Turnbull, 114 Ariz. 289, 560 P.2d 807 (1977). Nothing of that nature occurred here. In addition, for guidance in determining whether the Parole Board was neutral and detached, we can look to the cases in which attempts have been made to disqualify judges for prejudice or bias. In that line of cases, [t]he alleged bias and prejudice to be disqualifying must stem from an extrajudicial source, and not from the conduct of court business. United States v. Grinnell Corp., 384 U.S. 563, 583, 86 S.Ct. 1698, 1710, 16 L.Ed.2d 778 (1966). The Board received the information in regard to the first four factors that Ingerson alleges demonstrate its bias, in the course of discharging its official responsibilities vis-a-vis Ingerson's parole. Moreover, this court has noted on several occasions that a trial judge will not be disqualified from rehearing a case on remand because of the possibility that he would be influenced by evidence he erroneously admitted at the first hearing. See Barber v. Town of Fairfield, 486 A.2d 150, 152 (Me.1985); Town of Eliot v. Burton, 392 A.2d 56, 58 n. 1 (Me.1978). Even though the members of the Parole Board are not subject to the high standards of professional training and conduct required of judges, we reject, as we do for judges, any per se assumption that the Board members will be improperly biased either by information they receive from monitoring a parolee's activities or by previously admitted evidence that the Law Court directs them to disregard on rehearing. Decision-makers are not automatically disqualified for bias by reason of having previously dealt with the same matter at an earlier hearing or in the course of other official duties. Our review of the record before the Superior Court reveals nothing that would justify a factual finding of disqualifying bias on the part of the members of the Parole Board. We also find no merit in parolee's arguments that the Board's contact with an attorney representing the Parole Department or other members of the department's staff unfairly prejudiced the decision of the Board. The attorney merely advised the Board to follow its established procedures in considering the request for a rehearing, and to explain adequately the reasons for its action. See 5 M.R.S.A. § 9055(2) (Supp.1984-1985). Similarly, the presence of the Parole Department staff during the Board's deliberations without participation in those deliberations, does not demonstrate any bias on the part of members of the Board. The Superior Court did not err in rejecting Ingerson's contention that the Parole Board was not a neutral and detached hearing body.