Court Opinion

ID: 9910351
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-15 15:07:38.982209+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:52:21.042020
License: Public Domain

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
                               APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
        This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
     internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

                                                        SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
                                                        APPELLATE DIVISION
                                                        DOCKET NO. A-2744-21

JULIO GRACIANO,

          Appellant,

v.

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS,

     Respondent.
__________________________

                   Submitted November 28, 2023 – Decided December 15, 2023

                   Before Judges Smith and Perez Friscia.

                   On appeal from the New Jersey Department of
                   Corrections.

                   Julio Graciano, appellant pro se.

                   Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney General, attorney for
                   respondent (Sara M. Gregory, Assistant Attorney
                   General, of counsel; Christopher C. Josephson, on the
                   brief).

                   Appellant filed a pro se supplemental brief.

PER CURIAM
      Julio Graciano, currently incarcerated at New Jersey State Prison (NJSP),

appeals from a February 3, 2022 final agency decision by the New Jersey

Department of Corrections (DOC), which upheld the finding of guilt and

imposition of sanctions for prohibited act *.202, possession or introduction of a

weapon, N.J.A.C. 10A:4-4.1(a)(1)(xvii). We affirm.

                                           I.

      On December 21, 2021, at 11:00 a.m., Corrections Officer E Parks

conducted a search of Graciano's cell at NJSP. While searching the cell, Parks

discovered a sharpened three-inch piece of metal inside a peanut butter jar.

Parks determined the metal object was a weapon, confiscated it, and charged

Graciano with prohibited act *.202, possession or introduction of a weapon,

N.J.A.C. 10A:4-4.1(a)(1)(xvii). Two days later, an officer served Graciano with

the charge and referred the charge to a disciplinary hearing. An investigation

occurred and Graciano denied the peanut butter jar and metal weapon belonged

to him. An inmate housed in an adjacent cell stated the weapon in the peanut

butter jar was his and he had mistakenly given the jar to Graciano. Graciano

maintained the inmate's statement was false. Graciano pleaded "no plea."

      On December 30, Disciplinary Hearing Officer Simmons presided over

the hearing. Graciano had requested, and was granted, counsel substitute. At

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the hearing, counsel substitute argued the weapon did not belong to Graciano.

Further, Graciano was adamant the inmate's statement admitting ownership of

the weapon in the jar, which was given to Graciano by mistake, was untruthful.

Counsel substitute argued Graciano's cellmate had equal access to the weapon,

but he was not charged. Graciano declined to testify or call any witnesses.

Simmons considered the officers' reports and photographs of the metal object

which were submitted into evidence.

        Simmons found substantial credible evidence to sustain a violation under

*.202, possession of a weapon. The finding was based on the submitted reports

and a review of the evidence. Simmons, in her written adjudication, found the

object was: made of "sharpened metal" three inches in length; "concealed in a

peanut butter jar"; and "found in [Graciano's] personal property." Additionally,

Simmons noted that "possession of [a] weapon pose[s a] serious safety risk."

Graciano was sanctioned to a two-hundred-and-fifty-day detainment in the

restorative housing unit (RHU), two-hundred-and-fifty-day loss of contact

visits, thirty-day loss of recreation privileges, and thirty-day loss of commissary

time.    In imposing the penalties, Simmons noted an "extensive" discipline

history.

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        Graciano appealed from Simmons's adjudication with the DOC.        He

argued it was not proven that he possessed the weapon as others had access to

his cell and belongings, insufficient evidence existed, his veracity was not

credited, and Simmons failed to make sufficient findings to explain why or how

she determined the officer's statement was credible. Graciano requested the

"guilty finding be vacated, and the entire matter expunged." The Assistant

Superintendent upheld the decision and sanctions after a review of the

arguments presented and the hearing record.

        The following arguments are raised on appeal:

              POINT I

              THE   DISCIPLINARY    HEARING    OFFICER
              VIOLATED    APPELLANT'S   DUE  PROCESS
              RIGHTS, AS SET FORTH IN AVANT V[.]
              CLIFFORD,1 WHEN THE HEARING OFFICER
              MADE FINDINGS NOT BASED ON SUFFICIENT
              CREDIBLE EVIDENCE IN THE RECORD.

              POINT II

              THE HEARING OFFICER DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY
              SHE FOUND THE STAFF MEMBER'S REPORT TO
              CONSTITUTE    "SUBSTANTIAL     CREDIBLE
              EVIDENCE."

              POINT III

1
    67 N.J. 496 (1975).
                                                                        A-2744-21
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               THE HEARING OFFICER DID NOT EXPLAIN WHY
               OR HOW SHE FOUND THE OFFICER'S WRITTEN
               REPORT TO BE MORE CREDIBLE THAN THE
               INMATE'S STATEMENT.

               POINT IV

               THE    [RHU]   SANCTION,      AS   IMPOSED,
               VIOLATE[D] THE STANDARDS OF THE
               ISOLATED CONFINEMENT RESTRICTION ACT
               ([ICRA])2 AS IT RELATE[S] TO ISOLATED
               CONFINEMENT. [(Not raised below)].

                                       II.

        Our scope of review of an agency decision is limited. In re Stallworth,

208 N.J. 182, 194 (2011). As we have long recognized, "Prisons are dangerous

places, and the courts must afford appropriate deference and flexibility to

administrators trying to manage this volatile environment." Russo v. N.J. Dep't

of Corr., 324 N.J. Super. 576, 584 (App. Div. 1999). "We [therefore] defer to

an agency decision and do not reverse unless it is arbitrary, capricious[,] or

unreasonable or not supported by substantial credible evidence in the record."

Jenkins v. N.J. Dep't of Corr., 412 N.J. Super. 243, 259 (App. Div. 2010).

2
    N.J.S.A. 30:4-82.5 to -82.11.

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        "A reviewing court 'may not substitute its own judgment for the agency's,

even though the court might have reached a different result.'" Stallworth, 208

N.J. at 194 (quoting In re Carter, 191 N.J. 474, 483 (2007)). "This is particularly

true when the issue under review is directed to the agency's special 'expertise

and superior knowledge of a particular field.'"       Id. at 195 (quoting In re

Herrmann, 192 N.J. 19, 28 (2007)). But our review is not "perfunctory," nor is

"our function . . . merely [to] rubberstamp an agency's decision." Figueroa v.

N.J. Dep't of Corr., 414 N.J. Super. 186, 191 (App. Div. 2010) (first quoting

Blackwell v. Dep't of Corr., 348 N.J. Super. 117, 123 (App. Div. 2002); and then

citing Williams v. Dep't of Corr., 330 N.J. Super. 197, 204 (App. Div. 2000)).

Instead, "our function is to 'engage in "a careful and principled consideration of

the agency record and findings."'" Ibid. (quoting Williams, 330 N.J. Super. at

204).

        A hearing officer's findings must be "sufficiently specific under the

circumstances of the particular case to enable the reviewing court to intelligently

review an administrative decision and ascertain if the facts upon which the order

is based afford a reasonable basis for such order." Blackwell, 348 N.J. Super.

at 122 (quoting N.J. Bell Tel. Co. v. Commc'ns Workers of Am., 5 N.J. 354, 377

(1950)). We review a decision of the DOC in a prisoner disciplinary proceeding

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to determine whether the record contains substantial evidence the inmate has

committed the prohibited act, and whether in making its decision the DOC

followed the regulations adopted to afford inmates procedural due process. See

McDonald v. Pinchak, 139 N.J. 188, 194-95 (1995).

      To find an inmate guilty of a prohibited act under N.J.A.C. 10A:4-4.1, a

hearing officer must find substantial evidence of the inmate's guilt. N.J.A.C.

10A:4-9.15(a). "'Substantial evidence' means 'such evidence as a reasonable

mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.'" Figueroa, 414 N.J.

Super. at 192 (quoting In re Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co., 35 N.J. 358, 376

(1961)). The substantial evidence standard permits an agency to apply its

expertise where the evidence supports more than one conclusion. See Murray

v. State Health Benefits Comm'n, 337 N.J. Super. 435, 442 (App. Div. 2001).

      Graciano contends the substantial credible evidence in the record does not

support the finding that he possessed a weapon, and Simmons did not

sufficiently explain her credibility findings. Parks's report indicated that he

seized the sharpened metal object concealed in a peanut butter jar from

Graciano's belongings in his cell. The weapon was then photographed for

evidence.   As the fact finder, Simmons was permitted to consider Parks's

statement regarding the search of Graciano's belongings yielding the weapon,

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and to rely on the examination of photographic evidence of the object. See

N.J.A.C. 1:1-15.1(b).   The report and photos admitted into evidence were

unrefuted.

      After reviewing the reports, hearing Graciano's argument, and examining

the evidence, Simmons found substantial credible evidence supported the

"sharpened piece of metal" was a weapon possessed by Graciano and that it

posed "serious safety risks."     Simmons's findings relied on the "weapon

conceal[ment]" in the jar and that there was no peanut butter "found on the

weapon." She also noted Graciano had a history of weapons-related infractions.

The evidence Simmons relied on in finding Graciano possessed the weapon in

violation of *.202, as delineated in the written adjudication, was permissible.

See N.J.A.C. 10A:4-9.24(a) (requiring the written statement of facts "include

evidence relied upon, the decision[,] and the reason for the disciplinary action

taken"). Graciano's argument that Simmons was required to provide greater

explanation on "why or how" she found Parks's statements more credible than

his is not supported by law. It is recognized, "in prison disciplinary matters[,]

we have not traditionally required elaborate written decisions." Blackwell, 348

N.J. Super. at 123. Accordingly, we discern the substantial evidence in the

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record supports the DOC's determination upholding the hearing officer's

findings.

      We find no merit in Graciano's arguments that the "officer's written

statement" was not credible. Graciano avers "issues" existed as to Parks's

credibility, premised on the assertions that officers make mistakes, fabricate

charges, act "in a biased manner," and that Parks "has a history of writing

disciplinary reports that are later proven to be false." No support for these

assertions exists in the record. Simmons had offered Graciano the opportunity

to confront witnesses and to address the reports, but he declined.

      In his self-represented merits brief, Graciano avers his request to confront

the inmate who made the self-incriminating statement was denied, although he

maintains the adjacent inmate's ownership claim was false. We note Simmons's

written adjudication of discipline states that Graciano was asked and declined to

call any witnesses, and the form was signed by counsel substitute, affirming the

statements in the report were accurate. After a review of the record, we are

satisfied Graciano's adjudication of guilt was premised on substantial evidence

in the record, and he was afforded due process.

      Finally, for the first time on appeal, Graciano challenges the imposed

sanction of two hundred and fifty days in the RHU. Graciano argues the sanction

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violated: ICRA as against DOC standards; the "stated goals of incarceration";

permissive sanctions on a "vulnerable" and "special needs" prisoner; and "due

process." The DOC opposes the newly raised issue for our consideration and

posits the argument is without merit because, after the enactment of ICRA, the

DOC "abolished the Administrative Segregation Unit and replaced it with the

[RHU], which falls outside of ICRA."        Further, the DOC argues Graciano

provided no support that he has special needs, and Simmons noted in her

findings that he was not suffering from any mental illness. Generally, "we do

not consider issues not raised below at an administrative hearing." In re Stream

Encroachment Permit, 402 N.J. Super. 587, 602 (App. Div. 2008); see also

Zaman v. Fellon, 219 N.J. 199, 226-27 (2014). We therefore decline to consider

Graciano's argument as it was not presented to the DOC.

      To the extent not addressed, Graciano's remaining arguments lack

sufficient merit to warrant discussion in our written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(1)(E).

      Affirmed.

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