Opinion
DOCKET NO. A-5787-12T4
04-07-2015
CHARLES JOHNSON, Appellant, v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Respondent.
Charles Johnson, appellant pro se. John J. Hoffman, Acting Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Lisa A. Puglisi, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Christopher C. Josephson, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief).
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION Before Judges Hoffman and Whipple. On appeal from the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Charles Johnson, appellant pro se. John J. Hoffman, Acting Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Lisa A. Puglisi, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Christopher C. Josephson, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief). PER CURIAM
Charles Johnson, an inmate at New Jersey State Prison (the "prison"), appeals from a final agency decision of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (the "Department") denying him work and commutation credits to reduce a future eligibility term ("FET"). We affirm.
We discern the following facts from the record. Johnson was sentenced to an aggregate eight-year term with a mandatory eighty-five percent term of parole ineligibility pursuant to the No Early Release Act ("NERA"), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(a), for second-degree robbery, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1. Johnson also was sentenced to a three-year period of mandatory parole supervision, as provided by NERA. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(c). After his release from custody, Johnson violated the terms of mandatory parole supervision.
The State Parole Board (the "Board") revoked Johnson's mandatory supervision and established a twelve-month FET. Johnson sought to have his commutation and work credits applied to the twelve-month FET. The Classification Department of the Mid-State Correctional Facility denied Johnson's request stating "[p]er the NERA Law, when the person's release status is revoked, [the person is] returned to custody for the remainder of the term. Therefore, you will not receive any time off the remainder of your term. As for commutation credit, this does not apply to Mandatory Supervision Violation credits."
Johnson filed an administrative appeal of the denial, arguing that he was no longer serving a NERA term and was not barred from receiving the credits. The Administrator responded that because Johnson had violated NERA supervision, his remaining time would "mirror the NERA Law. There is no different application of [the] term."
On appeal, Johnson contends that his supervised release was revoked and a new custodial term imposed, and that he is entitled to work and commutation credit because there is no statutory bar. We disagree.
The scope of our review in an appeal from a final agency decision is limited. Decisions of administrative agencies will not be reversed unless shown to be "arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable or . . . not supported by substantial credible evidence in the record as a whole." Henry v. Rahway State Prison, 81 N.J. 571, 579-80 (1980). "[A] court imposing a minimum period of parole ineligibility . . . pursuant to [NERA] shall also impose . . . a three-year term of parole supervision if the defendant is being sentenced for a crime of the second degree" and "[t]he term of parole supervision shall commence upon the completion of the sentence of incarceration imposed by the court[.]" N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(c). N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.51b(a) provides, in relevant part:
A person who has been sentenced to a term of parole supervision and is on release status in the community . . . shall, during the term of parole supervision, remain on release status in the community, in the legal custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and shall be supervised by the Division of Parole of the
State Parole Board as if on parole, and shall be subject to the provisions and conditions set by the appropriate board panel. The appropriate board panel shall have the authority . . . to revoke the person's release status and return the person to custody . . . until it is determined, in accordance with regulations adopted by the board, that the person is again eligible for release . . . .N.J.A.C. 10A:71-3.54(i) provides that after revocation of mandatory parole supervision, a Board panel determines whether an offender serves the remainder of a NERA term or an FET. N.J.A.C. 10A:71-3.54(k) explains that "[a] term established pursuant to (i) above shall not be reduced by commutation credit for good behavior or credits for diligent application of work and other institutional assignments." Therefore, the Department's denial of Johnson's application for a reduction in his FET is consistent with the applicable statutes and regulations, and neither arbitrary, capricious nor unreasonable.
Affirmed. I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in my office.
CLERK OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION