Richard D. Shepard v. State of Indiana

Summary

The Indiana Supreme Court held that a community corrections program director lacked authority to deprive Richard Shepard of earned good time credit for violations of work-release conditions. Under Indiana Code section 35-38-2.6-6(d), such deprivation could be imposed only pursuant to Department of Correction rules, and no rule delegated that authority to the program director. The court reversed the trial court’s credit-time determination and remanded for recalculation to include the 190 days earned in the work-release program.

Holdings

1. A community-corrections program director lacks authority to deprive an offender directly placed in a community-corrections program of earned good-time credit unless the Department of Correction has promulgated a rule delegating that authority.
2. Shepard was entitled to 190 days of earned good-time credit for the 190 actual days he served in the work-release program, because the program director's unauthorized deductions could not eliminate that credit.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a community-corrections program director had statutory or regulatory authority to deprive a directly placed offender of earned good-time credit.
2. Whether Shepard was entitled to credit for the 190 actual days he served in the community-corrections work-release program.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded