NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE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-1853-14T4
AL-KASEEM LITTLE,
Appellant,
v.
NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS,
Respondent.
______________________________________
Submitted February 9, 2017 – Decided May 17, 2017
Before Judges Lihotz and O'Connor.
On appeal from the New Jersey Department of
Corrections.
Al-Kaseem Little, appellant pro se.
Christopher S. Porrino, Attorney General,
attorney for respondent (Lisa A. Puglisi,
Assistant Attorney General, of counsel;
Gregory R. Bueno, Deputy Attorney General,
on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Appellant Al-Kaseem Little, an inmate incarcerated in New
Jersey State Prison in Trenton, appeals from a Deputy
Commissioner's decision denying appellant's request for a
consensual interstate transfer to a correctional facility in
Oregon. Following our review, we remand this matter for further
proceedings.
Appellant is serving a twenty-year sentence, with a
seventeen-year period of parole ineligibility, for manslaughter
and robbery. He commenced serving his sentence in 2008. In
2014, appellant was placed in protective custody. Believing his
life would continue to be in danger if he remained in a New
Jersey prison, appellant requested he be transferred to a
correctional facility in Oregon.
In accordance with N.J.A.C. 10A:10-3.7(a), appellant
submitted his request for a consensual interstate transfer to
the Institutional Classification Committee. Based upon his
placement in protective custody, the Committee determined
appellant was eligible for interstate transfer, and transferred
the matter to the Administrator for review. See N.J.A.C.
10A:10-3.7(c). The Administrator approved the transfer to an
out-of-state facility.
The Administrator then transferred the matter to the Deputy
Commissioner for review, see N.J.A.C. 10A:10-3.7(d), who denied
appellant's request. The Deputy Commissioner did not articulate
the basis for his findings, other than to state they were "based
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on supporting documentation." Although the final decision to
approve or deny a request to be transferred to an out-of-state
facility must be made by the Commissioner, see N.J.A.C. 10A:10-
3.7(e), he did not make a decision in this matter. We are
unable to discern from the record the reason for this omission.
On appeal, appellant seeks reversal of the Deputy
Commissioner's decision, claiming the documents upon which he
relied failed to support his decision to deny appellant's
request to be transferred to the Oregon facility. Appellant
also contends he was not afforded a "proper" hearing or provided
"an alternative to lessen the restrictive conditions" under
which he is being housed. We need not address any of
appellant's challenges. The Commissioner has not yet made a
final decision in this matter, as required by N.J.A.C. 10A:10-
3.7(e). Accordingly, we remand this matter for the Commissioner
to render a decision within sixty days.
Remanded for further proceedings consistent with this
opinion. We do not retain jurisdiction.
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