MEMORANDUM DECISION
Pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 65(D), FILED
this Memorandum Decision shall not be
regarded as precedent or cited before any Mar 07 2018, 7:16 am
court except for the purpose of establishing CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
the defense of res judicata, collateral Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
estoppel, or the law of the case.
APPELLANT PRO SE ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Lonnie K. Stephens Curtis T. Hill, Jr.
New Castle, Indiana Attorney General of Indiana
Frances Barrow
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Lonnie K. Stephens, March 7, 2018
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
05A02-1708-CR-1974
v. Appeal from the Blackford Circuit
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Dean A. Young,
Appellee-Plaintiff Judge
The Honorable Jay L. Toney,
Special Judge
Trial Court Cause No.
05C01-0312-FB-52
Altice, Judge.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 1 of 3
Case Summary
[1] Lonnie K. Stephens appeals pro se from the trial court’s denial of his petition to
reinstate good time credit. On appeal, Stephens argues that the Department of
Correction (DOC) has not awarded him the full amount of good time credit to
which he is entitled. The State responds that the trial court properly dismissed
Stephens’s petition because it lacks subject matter jurisdiction to review the
DOC’s decisions regarding the deprivation of good time credit.
[2] We affirm.
Facts & Procedural History
[3] Stephens is currently serving a thirty-year sentence at the New Castle
Correctional Facility. As a result of various disciplinary convictions during his
incarceration, Stephens was deprived of a total of 540 days of good time credit.
Stephens filed one or more administrative petitions with the DOC for
restoration of good time credit, which he claims resulted in the restoration of
406 days of good time credit. According to Stephens, however, the DOC has
applied only 198 of those days toward his sentence. Stephens filed his petition
for reinstatement of credit time with the trial court on July 18, 2017. The trial
court denied the petition the same day without holding a hearing. Stephens
now appeals.
Discussion & Decision
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 2 of 3
[4] Our Supreme Court has held that “DOC inmates have no common law,
statutory, or federal constitutional right to review in state court [of] DOC
disciplinary decisions.” Blanck v. Ind. Dep’t of Corr., 829 N.E.2d 505, 507 (Ind.
2005). Offenders who have been deprived of good time credit time may appeal
the decision to the DOC commissioner. Ind. Code § 35-50-6-5.5. The Indiana
Administrative Orders and Procedures Act (AOPA) governs the orders and
procedures of state administrative agencies, including the DOC. Blanck, 829
N.E.2d at 510. The AOPA “establishes the exclusive means for judicial review
of an agency action.” Ind. Code § 4-21.5-5-1. However, “the Legislature has
specifically excluded from the AOPA’s application any ‘agency action related
to an offender within the jurisdiction of the department of correction.’” Blanck,
829 N.E.2d at 510 (quoting I.C. § 4-21.5-205(6)). Thus, our Supreme Court has
held that prisoner disciplinary actions are not subject to judicial review in State
court. Id. Because Stephens is not entitled to judicial review of the DOC’s
decisions concerning the deprivation and restoration of good time credit, the
trial court properly denied his petition to reinstate good time credit.
[5] Judgment affirmed.
[6] May, J. and Vaidik, C.J., concur.
Court of Appeals of Indiana | Memorandum Decision 05A02-1708-CR-1974 | March 7, 2018 Page 3 of 3