Raymont Bailey v. Pennsylvania Parole Board

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania grants Raymont Bailey’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The court holds that the Pennsylvania Parole Board violated the Ex Post Facto Clause by applying a 2021 statutory amendment to forfeit 569 days of street-time credit previously awarded to Bailey as a technical parole violator. The court vacates the Board’s decision in part and directs it to recalculate Bailey’s maximum parole violation sentence date by reinstating the credit.

Holdings

1. The Parole Board violated the Ex Post Facto Clause by applying the 2021 amendment to 61 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6138(c)(2) to Bailey's pre-amendment conduct and previously awarded street-time credit, thereby adding 569 days to his parole-violation maximum date.
2. The court declined to raise nonexhaustion sua sponte and considered the merits because the respondent forfeited the exhaustion defense and the record was well developed while the merits strongly supported relief.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Pennsylvania Parole Board violated the Ex Post Facto Clause by applying the 2021 amendment to 61 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6138(c)(2) to forfeit 569 days of street-time credit that Bailey had been awarded in 2017 before the amendment.
2. Whether the federal court should deny habeas relief for failure to exhaust the federal constitutional claim in state court when the respondent did not assert exhaustion as a defense.

Disposition

vacated