Court Opinion

ID: 9890072
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-12 13:11:22.835602+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:03:06.459407
License: Public Domain

PRESENT: Goodwyn, C.J., Kelsey, McCullough, Chafin, Russell, and Mann, JJ., and Mims,
S.J.

ANTOINE ANDERSON
                                                                OPINION BY
v. Record No. 230172                                   JUSTICE WESLEY G. RUSSELL, JR.
                                                              OCTOBER 12, 2023
HAROLD CLARKE, IN HIS OFFICIAL
CAPACITY AS DIRECTOR OF THE
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, ET AL.

                 FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY
                              Cheryl V. Higgins, Judge

       Antoine Anderson appeals the judgment of the circuit court denying his petition for a writ

of habeas corpus. In his petition, he claims that the Virginia Department of Corrections

(“VDOC”) failed to timely release him from prison because it undercalculated his earned

sentence credits (“ESCs”). Specifically, Anderson contends that he was entitled to “enhanced”

ESCs pursuant to amendments to Code § 53.1-202.3 adopted by the General Assembly in 2020.

He asserts that, in interpreting the 2020 amendments and the effect of language addressing those

amendments that was included in the General Assembly’s 2022 Appropriation Act, the circuit

court erred in concluding that he was not entitled to immediate release. For the reasons that

follow, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court.

                                          I. Background

       Anderson is currently incarcerated at the Coffeewood Correctional Center in Mitchells,

Virginia, serving 13 years for state offenses he committed while he was detained on federal drug

charges in 2004. His state sentences include one year for attempted escape, five years for

abduction, two years for assault on a law enforcement officer, and five years for a second assault

on a law enforcement officer.
       After serving his sentence for the federal drug conviction, Anderson was transferred to

VDOC custody on January 18, 2013, to begin serving his state sentences. Pursuant to Code

§ 53.1-202.2, he entered Virginia’s statutorily constructed ESC system, which is designed to

incentivize good behavior and rehabilitation among inmates by awarding ESCs to inmates who

demonstrate positive conduct. Each ESC an inmate accrues deducts “one day from a person’s

term of incarceration.” Code § 53.1-202.2(A).

       Under the ESC scheme that existed when Anderson was sentenced for his state

convictions, an inmate could earn up to 4.5 ESCs for every 30 days served, depending on his or

her “classification level” as designated by VDOC. To determine appropriate classification

levels, VDOC periodically evaluated each inmate, considering things like disciplinary infractions

incurred, employment, and participation in rehabilitative programs. For each 30 days served,

Level I inmates could earn the maximum available 4.5 ESCs, Level II inmates could earn 3

ESCs, Level III inmates could earn 1.5 ESCs, and Level IV inmates could earn 0 ESCs.

       In 2020, the General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed, House Bill 5148 (“HB

5148”), amending Code § 53.1-202.3. See 2020 Acts ch. 50 (Spec. Sess. I). The amendments

created statutory classification levels for inmates in the ESC program, increased the number of

credits available up to a maximum of 15 ESCs per 30 days served for Level I inmates, and

delineated certain offenses that would not be eligible for the enhanced credits under the new

system, but rather, would be subject to a maximum of 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served. Id.

       In addition to amending the existing provisions of Code § 53.1-202.3 to create the new

ESC system, HB 5148 contained multiple enactment clauses. The second enactment clause

directed that VDOC “convene a work group” to include “representatives of the Senate

Committee on Finance and Appropriations, the House Committee on Appropriations, the

                                                2
Virginia State Crime Commission, and any other stakeholders [VDOC] deems appropriate.” Id.

The work group was charged with studying the effects of the implementation of the new ESC

system and was directed to file reports with the General Assembly and the Governor with an

initial report being due on July 1, 2021, and another report being due on June 1, 2023. Id.

       In another enactment clause, the General Assembly evinced its intention that, once the

program began, the enhanced maximum ESCs that could be earned would apply retroactively

over an inmate’s entire period of incarceration and would not be limited to periods of

incarceration occurring after the effective date of the new system. Specifically, the enactment

clause provides

               [t]hat the provisions of § 53.1-202.3 of the Code of Virginia, as
               amended by this act, shall apply retroactively to the entire sentence
               of any person who is confined in a state correctional facility and
               participating in the earned sentence credit system on July 1, 2022.
               If it is determined that, upon retroactive application of the
               provisions of § 53.1-202.3 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by
               this act, the release date of any such person passed prior to the
               effective date of this act, the person shall be released upon
               approval of an appropriate release plan and within 60 days of such
               determination unless otherwise mandated by court order; however,
               no person shall have a claim for wrongful incarceration pursuant to
               § 8.01-195.11 of the Code of Virginia on the basis of such
               retroactive application. If a person is released prior to completion
               of any reentry programs deemed necessary by the Department of
               Corrections on the person’s most recent annual review or prior to
               completion of any programs mandated by court order, the person
               shall be required to complete such programs under probation,
               provided probation is mandated by the court and current
               community resources are sufficient to facilitate completion of the
               aforementioned programs.

Id.

       Absent additional action by the General Assembly, HB 5148 would have become

effective four months after the adjournment of the special session at which it was adopted. See

Code § 1-214(B) (“All laws enacted at a special session of the General Assembly . . . , excluding

                                                3
general appropriations acts, decennial reapportionment acts, and emergency acts, shall take effect

on the first day of the fourth month following the month of adjournment of the special session at

which they were enacted, unless a subsequent date is specified.”). In yet another enactment

clause, the General Assembly expressly adopted another effective date for most of the provisions

of HB 5148. Specifically, the bill’s third enactment clause provides “[t]hat the provisions of this

act, other than the provisions of the second enactment [the work group provisions detailed

above] of this act, shall become effective on July 1, 2022.” Thus, absent further legislative

action, no inmate would be credited with more than a maximum 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served

before July 1, 2022, but eligible inmates could, as of July 1, 2022, be credited with up to 15

ESCs per 30 days served for the entirety of their sentences whether the time was served before or

after July 1, 2022.

       In 2022, the General Assembly took additional action regarding the ESC system.

Specifically, in adopting the 2022 Appropriation Act (“budget”), which was signed by the

Governor on June 22, 2022, the General Assembly modified the ESC program by including

Budget Item 404(R)(2). 2022 Acts ch. 2 (Spec. Sess. I). Item 404(R)(2) provides that

“[n]otwithstanding the provisions of § 53.1-202.3, Code of Virginia, a maximum of 4.5 sentence

credits may be earned for each 30 days served on a sentence that is concurrent with or

consecutive to a sentence for a conviction of an offense enumerated in subsection A of

§ 53.1-202.3, Code of Virginia.” Id. The budget expressly provides that its provisions, to

include Item 404(R)(2), were to become “effective on July 1, 2022.” 1 Id. at § 4-14.00.

       1
         Code § 1-214(C) provides that “[a] general appropriation act shall take effect from its
passage, unless another effective date is specified in the act.” (Emphasis added.)

                                                 4
       Accordingly, the pertinent provisions of HB 5148 and the modification of those

provisions found in Item 404(R)(2) became effective simultaneously on July 1, 2022. Because at

least one of Anderson’s convictions was for a disqualifying offense listed in Code

§ 53.1-202.3(A),2 VDOC determined that Item 404(R)(2) capped his eligibility for ESCs at 4.5

ESCs per 30 days served.

       On August 15, 2022, Anderson filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the

Albemarle County Circuit Court, arguing that he was entitled to release under the new ESC

system. He contended that VDOC was misapplying Item 404(R)(2). He argued that, properly

interpreted, it limited him to a maximum of 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served only for the period

between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2024, and that, pursuant to HB 5148, he was entitled to

receive up to 15 ESCs per 30 days served for the portions of his sentences that he served before

July 1, 2022. Alternatively, he argued that VDOC’s interpretation resulted in Item 404(R)(2)

violating the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws and represented a deprivation of his

constitutionally guaranteed right to due process. Appellees filed a motion to dismiss Anderson’s

petition, maintaining that VDOC correctly applied the statutory ESC scheme as modified by Item

404(R)(2) and that neither Item 404(R)(2) nor VDOC’s interpretation of it violated any

constitutional right or guarantee.

       The circuit court heard arguments on November 18, 2022, and denied Anderson’s

petition from the bench. In its dismissal order memorializing the ruling, the circuit court found

that both HB 5148 and Item 404(R)(2) “amended and modified the earned sentence credit system

outlined in Va. Code § 53.1-202.3[,]” and neither provision “created a vested or substantive right

       2
         At oral argument in this Court, Anderson conceded that at least one of Anderson’s
pertinent convictions was for a disqualifying offense listed in Code § 53.1-202.3(A).

                                                 5
before their effective date of July 1, 2022.” As such, Anderson “did not have any vested right to

earn enhanced sentence credits before” that date.

        Anderson noted an appeal to this Court, asserting that the circuit court erred by

dismissing his petition and holding that Budget Item 404(R)(2) precludes him from earning

enhanced ESCs for time served prior to July 1, 2022. Alternatively, he argues that, if VDOC

applied the statutory scheme, including Item 404(R)(2) correctly, such application violates the ex

post facto and due process clauses of the United States and Virginia Constitutions.

                                             II. Analysis

                                        A. Standard of review

        Anderson’s appeal raises questions of statutory and constitutional interpretation. As

such, his arguments are subject to de novo review in this Court. See Virginia Dep’t of Tax’n v.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 300 Va. 446, 454 (2022) (statutory interpretation); Montgomery

Cnty. v. Virginia Dep’t of Rail & Pub. Transp., 282 Va. 422, 435 (2011) (constitutional

interpretation).

                             B. Statutory ESC system as of July 1, 2022

        It is undisputed that, prior to July 1, 2022, Anderson could earn no more than 4.5 ESCs

per 30 days served on any of his convictions because HB 5148 had no effect prior to its July 1,

2022 effective date.3 The dispute centers on the effect on the preexisting ESC program of

legislative modifications, HB 5148 and Item 404(R)(2), that simultaneously became effective on

July 1, 2022. Anderson contends that, under HB 5148, he was entitled to up to 15 ESCs per 30

days served prior to July 1, 2022, and that any limitation on his ability to earn enhanced ESCs

imposed by Item 404(R)(2) applies only to time served after July 1, 2022. Appellees respond

        3
            Anderson conceded this point both on brief and during oral argument in this Court.

                                                  6
that, given that they became effective on the same day, HB 5148 and Item 404(R)(2) must be

read together and that doing so establishes that Anderson is entitled to a maximum of 4.5 ESCs

per 30 days served for as long as Item 404(R)(2) remains in effect. For the following reasons,

we agree with Appellees.

       Reaching this conclusion requires that we engage in statutory interpretation. In

addressing questions of statutory interpretation, “our primary objective is ‘to ascertain and give

effect to legislative intent,’ as expressed by the language used in the statute.” Cuccinelli v.

Rector & Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 283 Va. 420, 425 (2012) (internal quotation marks omitted)

(quoting Commonwealth v. Amerson, 281 Va. 414, 418 (2011)). When, as here, multiple

legislative enactments share “a common purpose or [are part of] the same general plan[,]” we

“consider[ them] as in pari materia” and attempt to reconcile them. Morgan v. Commonwealth,

301 Va. 476, 481 (2022). In attempting to do so, we recognize that “the mere fact that statutes

relate to the same subject or are part of the same general plan does not mean that they cannot

also be in conflict.” Lucy v. Cnty. of Albemarle, 258 Va. 118, 129 (1999).

                        1. Conflict between HB 5148 and Item 404(R)(2)

       Here, although HB 5148 and Item 404(R)(2) not only address the same subject but

address the same statute, Code § 53.1-202.3, they are in conflict. As adopted in 2020, HB 5148

authorized inmates like Anderson to receive up to 15 ESCs per 30 days served for time served on

sentences related to “any offense other than those enumerated in subsection A[.]” Code

§ 53.1-202.3(B); 2020 Acts ch. 50 (Spec. Sess. I). Although Anderson was serving a sentence

for abduction, an offense listed in subsection A, see Code § 53.1-202.3(A)(5); 2020 Acts ch. 50

                                                  7
(Spec. Sess. I), he also was serving sentences for non-disqualifying offenses, rendering at least

some of his offenses eligible for HB 5148’s enhanced ESC program. 4

       Item 404(R)(2) expressly alters the equation by rendering anyone who is serving both a

sentence or sentences for eligible offenses along with a sentence or sentences for a disqualifying

offense ineligible to receive more than 4.5 ESCs for each 30 days served. Specifically, Item

404(R)(2) provides that “a maximum of 4.5 sentence credits may be earned for each 30 days

served on a sentence that is concurrent with or consecutive to a sentence for a conviction of an

offense enumerated in subsection A of § 53.1-202.3, Code of Virginia.” Accordingly, under the

express terms of Item 404(R)(2), the fact that Anderson is serving a sentence for abduction

renders all of his offenses ineligible for the enhanced ESC credits provided for in HB 5148.

       In cases where two legislative enactments conflict, we often utilize various canons of

construction to resolve the conflict. See, e.g., City of Danville v. Ragland, 175 Va. 27, 33-34

(1940) (explaining that when two legislative enactments “are in direct conflict and cannot be

reconciled, the former is deemed to have been repealed by implication and the more recent

expression of legislative intent must prevail”); Viking Enter., Inc. v. Cnty. of Chesterfield, 277

Va. 104, 110 (2009) (explaining that “when two statutes do conflict, and ‘one statute speaks to a

subject generally and another deals with an element of that subject specifically,’ the more

specific statute is controlling”) (quoting Commonwealth v. Brown, 259 Va. 697, 706 (2000)). In

deploying these canons, we do not use them to select which of the conflicting outcomes we

prefer, but rather, only seek to determine how the General Assembly intended (or would have

intended if it had considered the question) the conflict be resolved.

       4
         Appellees have never disputed that, absent Item 404(R)(2), at least some of Anderson’s
sentences would have been eligible for the enhanced ESC program and that, with those
additional ESCs, he would have sufficient credits to be released.

                                                  8
          In this case, however, we need not resort to canons of construction in our attempt to

determine which of the conflicting provisions controls because the General Assembly expressly

provided the answer. The General Assembly specified that Item 404(R)(2)’s limitation on the

maximum ESCs available for a person serving at least one sentence for a disqualifying offense

applies “[n]otwithstanding the provisions of § 53.1-202.3[.]” 2022 Acts ch. 2 (Spec. Sess. I). As

we recently recognized, when the General Assembly provides that an enactment will govern

“notwithstanding” other laws, it evinces the General Assembly’s intention that the enactment

shall be deemed operative if it conflicts with other laws. See Berry v. Bd. of Supervisors of

Fairfax Cnty., 302 Va. ___, ___, 884 S.E.2d 515, 525 (2023). Because the General Assembly

expressly provided that Item 404(R)(2) governs over any conflicting provision found in Code

§ 53.1-202.3, Anderson was not eligible for the enhanced sentence credit program created by HB

5148. 5

          5
         Even without the “notwithstanding” clause contained in Item 404(R)(2), it is clear that
the General Assembly intended for Item 404(R)(2) and any other provisions contained in the
budget to prevail over other laws with which they might conflict. The enacted budget includes
§ 4-13.00, entitled “CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAWS[,]” which provides that

                 [n]otwithstanding any other provision of law, and until June 30,
                 2024, the provisions of this act shall prevail over any conflicting
                 provision of any other law, without regard to whether such other
                 law is enacted before or after this act; however, a conflicting
                 provision of another law enacted after this act shall prevail over a
                 conflicting provision of this act if the General Assembly has
                 clearly evidenced its intent that the conflicting provision of such
                 other law shall prevail, which intent shall be evident only if such
                 other law (i) identifies the specific provision(s) of this act over
                 which the conflicting provision of such other law is intended to
                 prevail and (ii) specifically states that the terms of this section are
                 not applicable with respect to the conflict between the provision(s)
                 of this act and the provision of such other law.

                                                    9
                        2. Anderson’s retroactivity argument is mistaken

       Given the foregoing, Anderson asserts that, for the period of time he served prior to July

1, 2022, at least some of his sentences are eligible for enhanced ESCs under the program created

by HB 5148. He argues that, in an enactment clause, the General Assembly directed that the

program created by HB 5148 be applied retroactively and nothing in Item 404(R)(2)

demonstrates that it was to apply retroactively. From this, he reasons that Item 404(R)(2) should

“be given only prospective effect” and that he “should receive earned sentence credits under [the

program created by HB 5148] for his time served prior to July 1, 2022.” Although much of what

Anderson states regarding retroactive application of statutes being disfavored is true, his

argument suffers from a fatal flaw: the conclusion that he is ineligible for enhanced ESCs for

time served prior to July 1, 2022, does not involve a retroactive application of Item 404(R)(2).

       A legislative enactment is retroactive when it “‘attaches new legal consequences to

events completed before its enactment.’” Appalachian Power Co. v. State Corp. Comm’n, 301

Va. 257, 295 (2022) (quoting Martin v. Hadix, 527 U.S. 343, 357-58 (1999)). See also Black’s

Law Dictionary 1575 (11th ed. 2019) (defining “retroactive law” as “[a] legislative act that looks

backward or contemplates the past, affecting acts or facts that existed before the act came into

effect”) (emphasis added). Here, although Anderson did serve portions of his multiple sentences

before July 1, 2022, nothing about Item 404(R)(2) attached “new legal consequences” to his

service of those sentences or altered any right he had to earn ESCs “that existed before [Item

404(R)(2)] came into effect.”

2022 Acts ch. 2 (Spec. Sess. I). It is hard to imagine a more definitive statement of the General
Assembly’s intention that the provisions of the budget enacted in 2022 should be given effect
over any other conflicting law, including the changes to Code § 53.1-202.3 included in HB 5148.

                                                10
        As Anderson concedes, “[b]efore July 1, 2022,” he was entitled to “a maximum of 4.5

ESCs for every 30 days served” on a sentence. As a result of Item 404(R)(2), Anderson

remained entitled to “a maximum of 4.5 ESCs for every 30 days served” after July 1, 2022. In

short, nothing about Anderson’s prior time served or entitlement to ESCs changed when Item

404(R)(2) went into effect. The status quo was unchanged, and thus, no “new legal

consequences” were imposed upon Anderson as a result of Item 404(R)(2).

        That a different status quo might have existed, and, if HB 5148 had become effective

before July 1, 2022, would have existed, does not change the analysis. No matter how

vigorously Anderson argues that he would have been entitled to enhanced ESCs if HB 5148 had

not been adopted with a delayed effective date of July 1, 2022, or if it had gone into effect on

that date without Item 404(R)(2)’s modification, HB 5148 did not go into effect prior to July 1,

2022, and has never been in effect without the modification.6 As a result, neither Anderson nor

others similarly situated have ever been eligible to receive enhanced ESCs under HB 5148.

Accordingly, our interpretation of the effect of Item 404(R)(2) does not alter any legal right or

entitlement that existed before its effective date, and thus, it does not constitute retroactive

legislation. 7

        6
         We previously have recognized that, as a general matter, one does not have a right to
rely on the indefinite continuation of an existing statutory scheme. See, e.g., McCabe v.
Commonwealth, 274 Va. 558, 566 (2007). Anderson’s claim here does not even reach that
threshold because it is not based on an existing statutory scheme, but rather, on a statutory
scheme that, as of yet, has not come into effect.
        7
         Item 404(R)(2) addresses whether an inmate is eligible to receive enhanced sentencing
credits under HB 5148. In other words, it deals with who may receive the benefit of the
enhanced ESC program that went into effect on July 1, 2022. It does not affect how ESCs are to
be earned by those who were eligible to receive them when the program became effective on
July 1, 2022. Thus, those eligible for the enhanced ESC program as of July 1, 2022 are,
consistent with HB 5148’s retroactivity clause, potentially entitled to enhanced ESCs for time
served both before and after July 1, 2022.

                                                  11
                                 C. Item 404(R)(2) is constitutional

       Anderson asserts that, if Item 404(R)(2) renders him ineligible for the enhanced ESC

program created by HB 5148, it is unconstitutional. Specifically, he argues that it violates the ex

post facto and due process clauses of the United States and Virginia Constitutions.8 We

disagree.

                                           1. Ex post facto

       Article I, § 10 of the United States Constitution provides that “[n]o state shall . . . pass

any . . . ex post facto law[.]” A statute violates the ex post facto clause of Article I, § 10 when it

“punishes as a crime an act previously committed, which was innocent when done; . . . makes

more burdensome the punishment for a crime, after its commission, or . . . deprives one charged

with crime of any defense available according to law at the time when the act was committed[.]”

Collins v. Youngblood, 497 U.S. 37, 42 (1990) (quoting Beazell v. Ohio, 269 U.S. 167, 169-70

(1925)). As a result, “[i]t is axiomatic that for a law to be ex post facto it must be more onerous

than the prior law.” Dobbert v. Florida, 432 U.S. 282, 294 (1977).

       The clause has been applied to state statutes that seek to change sentence credit programs

such as Virginia’s ESC program. In Lynce v. Mathis, the United States Supreme Court

concluded that a Florida statute that “retroactively canceled” sentence credits an inmate

       8
          In his briefs, Anderson does not quote the ex post facto or due process clauses of the
Virginia Constitution, does not reference or cite any Virginia cases or other authorities
interpreting those clauses, and does not offer any comment or argument regarding their adoption.
Instead, he cites only to federal cases interpreting the relevant clauses of the United States
Constitution. In resolving this appeal, we assume, but do not decide that, in this context, the
protections afforded by the respective ex post facto and due process clauses are coterminous. But
see, Martin v. Commonwealth, 64 Va. App. 666, 674-75 (2015) (declining to reach claim based
upon the ex post facto clause of the Virginia Constitution because appellant exclusively relied
upon federal authority and made no argument based on the specific text or history of the Virginia
clause).

                                                  12
previously had earned and had used to effectuate his release violated the clause because it

“disadvantaged” the inmate and “resulted in his rearrest and prolonged his imprisonment.” 519

U.S. 433, 446-47 (1997). The decision in Lynce relied upon Weaver v. Graham, which held that

a Florida law, which reduced the availability of so-called good conduct credits from the levels

that were available when the inmate had committed his offense, ran “afoul of the prohibition

against ex post facto laws” because “the new provision constricts the inmate’s opportunity to

earn early release, and thereby makes more onerous the punishment for crimes committed before

its enactment.” 450 U.S. 24, 35-36 (1981).

       Against this backdrop, it is clear that Item 404(R)(2) does not violate the prohibition on

ex post facto laws. It neither creates a new crime nor deprives Anderson of a previously existing

defense. It does not increase his possible punishment above what was available when he

committed his offenses. It does not reduce the availability of ESCs from the levels that were

available when Anderson committed his offenses. In fact, because Anderson was eligible to

receive 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served both before and after the effective date of Item 404(R)(2),

Item 404(R)(2) effectuated no change at all in his ability to earn ESCs. 9 Accordingly, it does not

violate the constitutional prohibition on ex post facto laws.

                                          2. Due process

       Anderson next asserts that interpreting Item 404(R)(2) to preclude him from receiving

enhanced ESCs for time that he served before July 1, 2022, violates his due process rights.

       9
         Despite these undisputed facts, Anderson asserts he actually “earned” more than 4.5
ESCs per 30 days served because “the enactment of HB 5148 in 2020 created an expectation that
[enhanced] credits would be awarded [to Anderson] in accordance with” HB 5148. Regardless
of his expectations, Anderson could not and did not earn enhanced sentence credits under HB
5148 before July 1, 2022, because HB 5148 did not go into effect prior to July 1, 2022, and has
never been in effect without the modification that precludes inmates in Anderson’s situation
from earning more than 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served.

                                                 13
Although it is true that an inmate may have a cognizable due process interest in a state’s earned

sentence credit program, see Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539 (1974), our interpretation of Item

404(R)(2) does not offend any due process interest that Anderson might possess.

       In Wolff, the United States Supreme Court recognized that, although “the Constitution

itself does not guarantee good-time credit for satisfactory behavior while in prison[,]” when a

state has

               created the right to good time and . . . recogniz[es] that its
               deprivation is a sanction authorized for major misconduct, the
               prisoner’s interest has real substance and is sufficiently embraced
               within Fourteenth Amendment ‘liberty’ to entitle him to those
               minimum procedures appropriate under the circumstances and
               required by the Due Process Clause to insure that the state-created
               right is not arbitrarily abrogated.

Id. at 557. In recognizing such an interest, the Supreme Court in Wolff analogized the interest to

a property interest, noting that it “parallels the accepted due process analysis as to property” and

that it had “consistently held that some kind of hearing is required at some time before a person

is finally deprived of his property interests.” Id. at 557-58.

       The analogy to property interests demonstrates the flaw in Anderson’s argument. Before

a person may be deprived of an interest, whether in property or in an ESC program, in violation

of the due process clause, the person must actually possess such an interest. As the United States

Supreme Court has explained, “[t]o have a [protected] property interest in a benefit, a person

clearly must have more than an abstract need or desire for it. He must have more than a

unilateral expectation of it. He must, instead, have a legitimate claim of entitlement to it.” Bd.

of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 577 (1972). See also Wilkinson v. Austin,

545 U.S. 209, 221 (2005) (“The Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause protects persons

against deprivations of life, liberty, or property; and those who seek to invoke its procedural

                                                 14
protection must establish that one of these interests is at stake.”); Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S.

238, 250 (1983) (“Process is not an end in itself. Its constitutional purpose is to protect a

substantive interest to which the individual has a legitimate claim of entitlement.”). Anderson

has never had a legitimate interest in an ESC program in which he could receive more than 4.5

ESCs per 30 days served because no such program has ever been in effect. Accordingly,

Anderson has never had a cognizable interest in such a program, and thus, Item 404(R)(2) does

not offend Anderson’s due process rights.

                                          III. Conclusion

       All of Anderson’s arguments suffer from a faulty premise—that, for at least some period

of time, HB 5148 entitled him to receive more than 4.5 ESCs per 30 days served. However,

given HB 5148’s delayed effective date and its modification by Item 404(R)(2), Anderson has

never been eligible to receive enhanced ESCs under HB 5148. Accordingly, he is not entitled to

a writ of habeas corpus, and the judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.

                                                                                           Affirmed.

                                                 15