Court Opinion

ID: 9352241
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-05 18:00:46.773573+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:59:33.881759
License: Public Domain

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

                  UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

                                 ___________

                                No. 22-1541
                                ___________

                              KAI D. INGRAM,
                                         Appellant

                                      v.

SCI SMITHFIELD; C. GORMAN; SCI SMITHFIELD SUPERINTENDENT; SCI
SMITHFIELD DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT; SCI SMITHFIELD COUNSELOR
 AMY HINES; SCI SMITHFIELD UNIT MANAGER RUNK; SCI SMITHFIELD
PAROLE AGENT CASNER; SCI SMITHFIELD PAROLE AGENT KEBHEART;
  PENNSYLVANIA STATE PAROLE BOARD; PENNSYLVANIA PAROLE
  PRELIMINARY HEARING OFFICER; PAROLE SUPERVISOR SHANE C.
STROHECKER; PAROLE AGENT CLINT CAPRIO; DISTRICT DIRECTOR OF
 PAROLE KIRK C. LOOSI; GREENE SCI SUPERINTENDENT; GREENE SCI
   GRIEVANCE COORDINATOR; SCI SMITHFIELD LT. VAUGHN; SCI
                   SMITHFIELD L. HOLLIBAUGH
               ____________________________________

               On Appeal from the United States District Court
                  for the Western District of Pennsylvania
                 (W.D. Pa. Civil Action No. 2-21-cv-00359)
                District Judge: Honorable Marilyn J. Horan
                ____________________________________

   Submitted for Possible Dismissal Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) or
     Summary Action Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
                               October 6, 2022
      Before: MCKEE, GREENAWAY, Jr., and MATEY, Circuit Judges

                        (Opinion filed January 5, 2023)
                                  _________
                                        OPINION*
                                        _________

PER CURIAM

       Kai Ingram, a Pennsylvania state prisoner proceeding pro se, appeals an order of

the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissing his

civil rights action. For the reasons discussed below, we will affirm the judgment of the

District Court.

       Ingram filed a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against SCI-Smithfield, the

Pennsylvania Parole Board, and numerous individual defendants. Ingram alleged that on

February 3, 2021, he surrendered himself to a parole office due to a failure to report. He

was detained for several hours and then transferred to SCI-Smithfield. On February 10,

2021, a parole agent gave Ingram written notice of a parole violation. He had an initial

hearing on February 22, 2021, where he expressed his concerns as to the legality of his

detention.

       On March 11, 2021, Ingram prepared his complaint, which claimed that his arrest

and detention were illegal because the seven-day delay in receiving notice of a parole

violation violated the Fourth Amendment and his right to due process. Ingram sought

money damages and an injunction releasing him on an approved parole plan. The

defendants moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief. Ingram

*
 This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
                                              2
later filed a motion for a preliminary injunction stating that he also sought a transfer to a

halfway house.1

       The District Court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s reports and recommendations to

deny preliminary injunctive relief and grant the defendants’ motion to dismiss Ingram’s

complaint. The District Court ruled that: (1) Ingram’s claims against SCI Smithfield, the

Parole Board, and the individual defendants in their official capacities were barred by

Eleventh Amendment immunity or Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994); (2) his

claims against the defendants in their individual capacities failed to allege their personal

involvement; (3) his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims were barred by Heck; and

(4) his Fourteenth Amendment claim failed because he could not show prejudice from the

alleged due process violation. The District Court also noted in its order that Ingram’s

allegations did not establish a Fourth Amendment violation. It denied leave to amend the

complaint because amendment would be futile. This appeal followed.

       We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise de novo review

over the District Court’s dismissal of the complaint. Doe v. Princeton Univ., 30 F.4th

335, 341 (3d Cir. 2022).

       As recognized by the District Court, Fourth Amendment claims for false arrest and

1
  The defendants attached to their motion a Parole Board decision dated March 25, 2021,
finding that Ingram was a technical parole violator and recommitting him to a community
correction center. According to Ingram, he was transferred to SCI-Greene before his
revocation hearing, transferred to a community correction center thereafter, and then
returned to SCI-Greene, where he is now confined, due to misconduct.
                                             3
false imprisonment require that an arrest was made without probable cause. Groman v.

Twp. of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 634-36 (3d Cir. 1995). Such claims concern only the

period before the issuance of legal process. Montgomery v. De Simone, 159 F.3d 120,

126 (3d Cir. 1998). Probable cause exists where the facts and circumstances “‘were

sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that [the person] had committed . . . an

offense.’” Wright v. City of Philadelphia, 409 F.3d 595, 602 (3d Cir. 2005) (citation

omitted).

       In Pennsylvania, a parole agent has authority to arrest a parolee, without a warrant

or process, for failing to report as required. See 61 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6181 (2021)

(replacing former § 6152). Ingram pleaded that he was arrested after he surrendered

himself to a parole office because he had failed to report. His allegation supports an

inference that there was probable cause for his arrest, not that probable cause was

lacking. Ingram thus fails to state a Fourth Amendment claim. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (requiring, in order to survive a motion to dismiss, factual

content that allows a court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable).2

Ingram relies on County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44, 56 (1991), which held

that judicial probable cause determinations made within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest

satisfy the Fourth Amendment. McLaughlin, however, involved criminal prosecutions,

2
 We need not decide whether probable cause or a lesser standard applies to the arrest of a
parolee because there was probable cause here.
                                           4
not parole violations, and is inapplicable. See Atkins v. City of Chicago, 631 F.3d 823,

833-34 (7th Cir. 2011) (Hamilton, J., concurring).

       Ingram also fails to state a Fourteenth Amendment due process claim. Due

process in the context of parole revocation requires a preliminary hearing to determine

whether there is probable cause or a reasonable ground to believe that the parolee has

violated the conditions of parole. Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 485 (1972). This

inquiry must be conducted “as promptly as convenient after arrest while information is

fresh and sources are available.” Id. The parolee should be given notice of the hearing

and the alleged violations. Id. at 486. A revocation hearing must be held within a

reasonable time after the parolee is taken into custody; a lapse of two months is not

unreasonable. Id. at 488.

       Ingram has not cited, nor have we found, authority supporting the conclusion that

due process requirements were not met based on the timing of the notice and hearings

here. And, in any event, as the District Court ruled, the lack of alleged prejudice is

dispositive of Ingram’s claim. See, e.g., Sample v. Diecks, 885 F.2d 1099, 1113 (3d Cir.

1989) (providing that an injury is an element of a due process claim). To the extent

Ingram claims a due process violation based on his initial confinement at SCI-Smithfield,

as opposed to in a community corrections center, he fails to state a claim for relief. See

Asquith v. Dep’t of Corr., 186 F.3d 407, 411 (3d Cir. 1999) (stating the Due Process

Clause does not protect an interest in confinement in a particular facility).

                                              5
       Ingram contends that he should have been granted leave to amend his complaint,

but he has not called into question the conclusion that amendment would be futile.

Accordingly, because this appeal does not raise a substantial question, we will affirm the

judgment of the District Court. See 3rd Cir. LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6.3

3
 Because we conclude that Ingram fails to state a claim under the Fourth or Fourteenth
Amendments, it is unnecessary to address the District Court’s additional rulings.
                                           6