Green v. Commissioner of Correction
184 Conn. App. 76
| Conn. App. Ct. | 2018Background
- Petitioner Courtney Green, serving a 20-year sentence after guilty pleas to first‑degree assault, filed a pro se habeas petition seeking enforcement of five days/month Risk Reduction Earned Credit (RREC) he claimed to have an agreement for.
- RREC program is authorized by Conn. Gen. Stat. § 18‑98e and grants the Commissioner of Correction broad discretion to award up to five days/month.
- Petitioner alleged he signed an agreement with DOC staff entitling him to five days/month and that a 2016 administrative directive changed awards by risk classification, so he should be "grandfathered" to five days.
- The habeas court, acting under Practice Book § 23‑24, sua sponte declined to issue the writ for lack of subject‑matter jurisdiction and did not hold a hearing.
- The habeas court later granted certification to appeal; Green argued on appeal that (1) the court erred by dismissing without a hearing and (2) he has a contractual liberty interest (so jurisdiction existed).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Practice Book § 23‑24 required a hearing before declining to issue the writ | Green: Boyd requires fair notice and a hearing before sua sponte dismissal | Commissioner: § 23‑24 permits preliminary review and notice after decision; no hearing mandated | Court: No hearing required under § 23‑24; rule authorizes preliminary sua sponte review to weed out meritless/jurisdictional claims |
| Whether petitioner has a constitutionally protected liberty interest in RREC (via contract/OAP) sufficient to invoke habeas jurisdiction | Green: He signed an agreement (argued on appeal it was his OAP) creating a contractual right to five days/month, affecting sentence duration | Commissioner: § 18‑98e vests discretion in commissioner; petitioner alleged only legal conclusions and did not attach/plead a binding contract; even a contract would create only contractual, not constitutional, interest | Court: No liberty interest; statute is discretionary, petitioner failed to plead or produce a binding contract, and contract could not override statutory discretion — court lacked jurisdiction |
Key Cases Cited
- Boyd v. Commissioner of Correction, 157 Conn. App. 122 (Conn. App. 2015) (sua sponte dismissal under different practice rule requires caution)
- Petaway v. Commissioner of Correction, 160 Conn. App. 727 (Conn. App. 2015) (no liberty interest where statutory discretion governs parole eligibility)
- Perez v. Commissioner of Correction, 326 Conn. 357 (Conn. 2017) (no constitutionally protected liberty interest in parole eligibility or RREC when statute grants broad discretion)
- Abed v. Commissioner of Correction, 43 Conn. App. 176 (Conn. App. 1996) (discretionary statutory good time cannot create a habeas liberty interest)
- Beasley v. Commissioner of Correction, 50 Conn. App. 421 (Conn. App. 1998) (discretionary nature of statutory credits precludes treating directive as creating vested right)
- Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257 (U.S. 1971) (prosecutorial obligation to honor plea agreements; distinguished as inapposite here)