Opinion
OP 22-0075
05-24-2022
BOBBY FRANCIS LOWRY V, Petitioner, v. CAPTAIN BRADLEY BRAGG, Respondent.
ORDER
Self-represented Petitioner Bobby Francis Lowry V has filed a Petition for Writ of Mandate concerning the payment of his medical costs while he is detained in the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center and on a "DOC" hold. Lowry seeks to hold the DOC accountable for the costs of his medical care. At the Court's request, the Department of Corrections (DOC or the Department) has responded; it urges denial of the petition. In the meantime, Lowry filed an additional Motion for Emergency Injunction, requesting an immediate response or that the Department refund his monies for his treatments.
Lowry maintains that he was arrested in Lewis and Clark County on March 28, 2021, for the offense of theft and that he was denied bail because he was being held by the DOC. He provides that he is on anti-seizure medication which he stopped taking, as a form of protest, in November 2021, and then went back on his meds in December because "it was a risk to facility safety .... Lowry states that the costs of his medication were covered until January 25, 2022, when he realized that he had medical charges on his inmate trust account. Lowry contends that the DOC refuses to pay for his medical care and that he has not had any hearing concerning his DOC hold.
The Department responds that Lowry is not entitled to a writ of mandate to require the DOC to pay $157.77 for lab work and prescription drugs charged to his detainee account earlier this year. The Department explains that Lowry was a parolee under the Helena Probation and Parole supervision when in February 2021, the Lewis and Clark County Justice Court issued a bench warrant for his arrest, following a filed complaint charging theft and deceptive practices. The court set bond at $25,000. The Department adds that Lowry was arrested in Missoula on March 30, 2021, and that Helena Probation and Parole issued a parole hold. The next day, Lowry was transported to Helena to be placed in the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center. Even though the Justice Court released Lowry on his own recognizance, the Department agrees that, at that time, Lowry was still being held by "the DOC non-bailable parole hold as the operative instrument keeping [] Lowry in detention."
The Department puts forth that in November 2021, Lowry assaulted another detainee, resulting in a felony aggravated assault charge. Bond was set at $20,000. The Department points out that this bond has not been modified, and Lowry has not been released. The Department reiterates that, at all times pertinent to the petition, Lowry was being held on the $20,000 bond in Lewis and Clark County for his November 2021 offense.
The Department concludes that Lowry has not met the elements for a writ to issue. The Department argues that it has no mandatory duty to pay for Lowry's medical care in January and February 2022. Allied Waste Servs. of N. Am., LLC v. Mont. Dep't of Pub. Serv. Regulation, 2019 MT 199, 119, 397 Mont. 85, 447 P.3d 463. The Department further contends that Lowry has a plain, speedy, and adequate legal remedy through an action for damages. Lastly, the Department addresses Lowry's claim about a timely on-site hearing after his arrest and points out that Lowry was not entitled to such a hearing as a parolee because of his new offenses. Section 46-23-1024(1)(b), MCA.
We find the Department's arguments persuasive and conclude that Lowry has not demonstrated that the Department owes a clear legal duty to pay his medical costs or to give him an on-site hearing.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Lowry's Petition for Writ of Mandate is DENIED and DISMISSED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Lowry's Motion for Emergency Injunction is DENIED, as moot.
The Clerk of the Supreme Court is directed to provide a copy to counsel of record and to Bobby Francis Lowry V personally.