Rhines v. Pa. Parole Bd.

258 A.3d 1160 (Table)

Gary RHINES, Petitioner

v.PENNSYLVANIA PAROLE BOARD, Respondent

No. 361 C.D. 2020

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted: April 30, 2021

Filed: June 9, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY JUDGE COVEY

Gary Rhines (Rhines) petitions this Court for review of the Pennsylvania Parole Board's (Board) March 16, 2020 order denying his request for administrative relief. There are three issues before this Court: (1) whether Rhines’ instant appeal is moot because he completed his sentence on October 22, 2020; (2) whether Rhines’ brief was untimely filed; and (3) whether the Board miscalculated Rhines’ maximum sentence release date.

Rhines has an incarceration, parole, and recommitment history dating back to 1994. See Rhines’ Amended Br. at 5. Relevant to this appeal, on February 18, 1997, Rhines was sentenced to 2 years and 2 months to 4 years and 4 months of imprisonment in a state correctional institution (SCI) on drug charges (Original Sentence). See Certified Record (C.R.) at 1. At that time, Rhines’ maximum sentence release date was October 4, 2002. See C.R. at 1, 17, 19, 112. The Board paroled Rhines from his Original Sentence on April 29, 2001 to an approved residence in Reading and then, subsequently, to Philadelphia. See C.R. at 3-7, 16. At that time, Rhines had 523 days (i.e., 1 year, 5 months and 5 days) remaining to be served on his Original Sentence. See C.R. at 112. As a condition of his parole, Rhines signed, and therefore agreed to, Conditions of Parole/Reparole (Parole Conditions). Rhines did not object to the following Parole Conditions:

If you violate a condition of your parole/reparole and, after the appropriate hearing(s), the Board decides that you are in violation of a condition of your parole/reparole you may be recommitted to prison for such time as may be specified by the Board.

If you are convicted of a crime committed while on parole/reparole, the Board has the authority, after an appropriate hearing, to recommit you to serve the balance of the sentence or sentences which you were serving when paroled/reparoled, with no credit for time at liberty on parole.

C.R. at 8. Rhines also agreed to abstain from unlawfully possessing and/or using controlled substances and to submit to random, mandatory urinalysis. See C.R. at 8-9.

On August 21, 2001, Rhines’ urine tested positive for marijuana. See C.R. at 16. On August 23, 2001, the Williamsport Bureau of Police arrested Rhines based on new drug violations and flight to avoid apprehension (New State Charges), and placed him in Lycoming County Prison. See C.R. at 11-16. On that same day, the Board issued a 48-hour detainer for violating his Parole Conditions. See C.R. at 9. On August 24, 2001, the Board issued a warrant to commit and detain Rhines pending the disposition of his New State Charges. See C.R. at 10, 21. Rhines did not post bail on his New State Charges. See C.R. at 18.

On September 11, 2001, the Board issued a Notice of Charges and scheduled a hearing relative to Rhines’ technical and convicted parole violations. See C.R. at 16-21. On September 27, 2001, a federal grand jury indicted Rhines relative to his August 23, 2001 arrest (New Federal Charges). See C.R. at 22-26. There is no record evidence that Rhines posted bail on the New Federal Charges. On September 28, 2001, federal authorities served a warrant and arrested Rhines at the Lycoming County Prison, where he was being detained as a technical parole violator (TPV) and on the New State Charges. See C.R. at 37, 52, 57. On October 17, 2001, the Board voted to detain Rhines pending disposition of his New Federal Charges. See C.R. at 29. On November 16, 2001, the Board referred to its October 17, 2001 action and recommitted Rhines to serve 12 months of backtime as a TPV, when he became available. See C.R. at 30-35.

On December 18, 2001, the Lycoming County Common Pleas Court nolle prossed Rhines’ New State Charges. See C.R. at 36. On January 4, 2002, the Board received official verification of Rhines’ New Federal Charges. See C.R. at 37. On January 11, 2002, the Board received official notification that Rhines’ New State Charges had been nolle prossed . See C.R. at 18, 37.

On April 22, 2002, a jury convicted Rhines of the New Federal Charges.¹ See C.R. at 38-40. On May 14, 2002, the Board issued a Notice of Charges and scheduled a revocation hearing. See C.R. at 41-45. Following the revocation hearing, by decision recorded June 25, 2002 (mailed June 27, 2002), the Board referred to its November 16, 2001 decision recommitting Rhines for 12 months as a TPV when available, and further recommitted him to serve 18 months, concurrently, as a convicted parole violator (CPV) " FOR A TOTAL OF 18 MONTHS OR [HIS] UNEXPIRED TERM, WHICHEVER IS LESS ." C.R. at 62; see also C.R. at 46-63.

By May 23, 2003 letter, Rhines asked the Board whether he completed his Original Sentence, since his maximum sentence date was October 4, 2002, and whether he had any outstanding detainers or fines. See C.R. at 64. On September 4, 2003, the Board responded that the phrase "when available" used in the Board's June 25, 2002 decision indicated that he was serving his Federal Sentence and, when he is released therefrom, he will be available to the Board to begin serving the unexpired portion of his Original Sentence. See C.R. at 65. By October 27, 2003 letter to the Board, Rhines’ counsel also referenced Rhines’ October 4, 2002 maximum sentence date and asked whether Rhines had satisfied whatever time he owed on his Original Sentence. See C.R. at 66.

On November 19, 2003, the Board responded, explaining:

[D]ue to [his] [f]ederal arrest and conviction, which occurred prior to the expiration of [Rhines’] [O]riginal [Sentence] maximum [release] date on 10-4-[20]02, he has not satisfied his [Original Sentence]. He has been recommitted as a CPV/TPV to serve 18 months or [his] unexpired term when available. [The Board's] detainer will remain on him until he is paroled on his federal sentence and made available to [the Board]. He will then return to a[n] [SCI,] at which time his new [Original Sentence] maximum [release] date will be calculated.

C.R. at 67.

On July 1, 2004, Rhines was sentenced to life in prison (Federal Sentence). See C.R. at 42, 68-74. Despite his life sentence, on September 9, 2004, the Board agreed to continue Rhines’ recommit when available status and, on September 13, 2004, issued a warrant for Rhines’ arrest. See C.R. at 75-79.

By December 29, 2008 letter, Rhines requested that the Board grant him parole as of 18 months after the Board's June 25, 2002 action and render his Original Sentence complete. See C.R. at 80-81. On March 12, 2009, the Board explained that he must be paroled from his Federal Sentence before he would be available to serve his 18 months of backtime on his Original Sentence. See C.R. at 82.

On July 24, 2019, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania modified Rhines’ Federal Sentence to time served, plus 8 years of supervised release, and returned him to the Board's custody. See C.R. at 83-89, 111-112, 180. According to Rhines’ Federal Bureau of Prisons Summary Reentry Plan, Rhines was credited with the 1,043 days he spent in pre-sentence confinement from August 23, 2001 to July 1, 2004. See C.R. at 180.

By decision recorded July 29, 2019 (delivered to Rhines on July 30, 2019), the Board referred to its June 25, 2002 recommitment decision and recommitted Rhines as a TPV/CPV to serve the 523 days remaining to be served on his Original Sentence. See C.R. at 112-114. The Board recalculated Rhines’ maximum release date to December 28, 2020. See C.R. at 114.

By decision recorded and delivered to Rhines on July 30, 2019, the Board modified its July 29, 2019 action based on information that his unexpired Original Sentence, at that point, was only 456 days (taking into consideration his 67 days of pre-sentence confinement from August 23, 2001 to October 29, 2001), and the Board recalculated Rhines’ Original Sentence maximum release date to October 22, 2020. See C.R. at 115-118.

On August 9, 2019, the Board received Rhines’ request for administrative relief, wherein he claimed the Board miscalculated his time served and, thus, illegally held him past his maximum release date. See C.R. at 154-157; see also Rhines’ Amended Br. at 4, 8. Rhines made subsequent requests to the Board on August 15, September 9 (Administrative Remedies Form challenging the Board's June 25, 2002 decision), and November 6, 2019, and February 26, 2020. See C.R. at 158-198.

On March 16, 2020, the Board denied Rhines’ August 9, 2019 request for administrative relief,² explaining:

The Board paroled [Rhines] from a[n] [SCI] on April 29, 2001[,] with a max[imum] date of October 4, 2002[,] leaving [him] with 423 [sic] days remaining on [his] [Original S]entence the day [he was] released. The Board's decision to recommit [him] as a [CPV] authorized the recalculation of [his] max[imum] date to reflect that [he] received no credit for the time spent at liberty on parole. [See Section 6138(a)(2) of the Prisons and Parole Code (Parole Code),] 61 Pa. C.S. § 6138(a)(2). [Rhines was] denied credit for the time spent at liberty on parole in this case, thus, [he] owed 523 days as a [CPV].

The record shows that[,] on August 23, 2001, [Rhines was] arrested on a [B]oard detainer for technical [parole] violations. On October 29, 2001, [he was] arraigned by federal authorities for new criminal charges and there is no indication that [he] postded [sic] bail, nor do[es] [he] make any claims to that effect. On November 16, 2001, the Board recorded a decision to recommit [him] as a [TPV] to serve 12 months, when available; [he] remained [in] federal custody. On April 22, 2002, [Rhines was] convicted in a United States District Court and a revocation hearing followed on June 3, 2002. The Board voted to recommit [him] as a [CPV] by decision mailed July 27, 2002 (recorded 06/25/2002). On July 1, 2004, [he was] sentenced

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