Opinion ID: 2639058
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: parole board discretion in delaying revocation hearings

Text: In its appeal to this court, the DOC seemingly interprets section 17-2-103(7) to denote that anytime a parolee is charged with a crime, there exists automatic good cause to delay the revocation hearing and hold the parolee pending resolution of the underlying criminal case. The DOC argues that the district court erred by releasing Madison because the parole board was required to continue Madison's revocation hearing and detain him until a resolution was reached in his underlying municipal court case. We do not agree. Various sections of the parole revocation statute afford the parole board discretion to determine whether good cause exists to continue a revocation hearing. Section 17-2-103.5 details the only instances in which the parole board is required to delay a revocation hearing. In section 17-2-103.5, the General Assembly lists specific offenses for which a parole officer must file a parole revocation complaint and the parole board must delay the revocation hearing as long as criminal charges are pending and no technical violations have been alleged. These specific offenses include possession of a deadly weapon, or being charged with: a felony, a crime of violence as defined in section 16-1-104(8.5), a misdemeanor assault involving a deadly weapon or resulting in bodily injury to the victim, or sexual assault in the third degree as defined in section 18-3-404. § 17-2-103.5(1)(a)(I)-(II). The parole board must delay a revocation hearing pending a disposition in the underlying criminal case only when a parolee has been arrested for committing one or more of these limited offenses and no technical violations have been alleged. See § 17-2-103.5(1)(c). However, if technical violations have indeed been alleged, the parole board need not continue the revocation hearing. Thus, the statute recognizes that there are circumstances in which the board should proceed with a hearing even when one of the serious charges listed in section 17-2-103.5 is pending. Only under limited conditions does the parole board lack any discretion and must continue a revocation hearing. In addition to section 17-2-103.5, subsections within section 17-2-103 also suggest that the parole board has discretion when determining whether good cause exists to delay a revocation hearing. Section 17-2-103(9)(a) indicates that when the violation of parole consists of a pending criminal charge, the parole board may hold the revocation hearing before the case has been resolved in criminal court. As section 17-2-103(9)(a) states, testimony given before the board in a parole revocation proceeding shall not be admissible in such criminal proceeding before a court. Hence, section 17-2-103(9)(a) implies that the parole board may proceed with a hearing even when criminal charges are pending. Section 17-2-103(12) offers the parole board additional discretion in determining whether to continue a revocation hearing. Subsection (12) states that when a parolee has been arrested by a law enforcement officer and is being detained in a county jail, a parole officer shall advise the parole board of the pending criminal action and shall request that the revocation hearing be deferred pending the disposition of the criminal charge. Only the parole officer has specific duties under section 17-2-103(12); the parole board maintains discretion in determining whether to continue the hearing or not. Because under section 17-2-103(12) the parole board is not required to delay the revocation hearing, the parole board may decide whether it is appropriate to continue a parolee's revocation hearing. Because Madison had not been arrested for committing one of the specific offenses listed in section 17-2-103.5(1)(a)(I)-(II), the parole board had discretion to decide whether good cause existed to continue Madison's revocation hearing and detain him beyond thirty days after his arrest. Thus, the DOC's broad interpretation of section 17-2-103(7)that anytime a parolee is charged with a crime, there exists automatic good cause to delay the revocation hearing and hold the parolee pending resolution of the underlying criminal caseis not convincing. Having explained our disagreement with the DOC's interpretation of section 17-2-103(7), we next discuss the district court's treatment of the statute in rendering its ruling on Madison's petition for writ of habeas corpus. B.