Justices will hear parole credit case

By RONNIE ELLIS
CNHI News Service

FRANKFORT May 18, 2009 11:28 am

— The Kentucky Supreme Court will hear arguments about the legality of allowing parole credits to count toward sentence completion of state felons and continued a stay of a Pulaski Circuit Judge ruling the program is unconstitutional.
The court will hear arguments in the case on Aug. 19 in the court chambers in the state capitol.
Lawmakers inserted language in the budget passed in 2008 which allows the state to credit state inmates for time they previously served on parole before committing parole violations and being returned to prison or jail. The idea was to save money and space during tight state budgets and in the face of exploding corrections costs and inmate populations.
But Pulaski Commonwealth Attorney Eddy Montgomery filed suit in Pulaski Circuit Court contending the release program violated the state constitution because the Department of Corrections applied its provision retroactively. Judge David Tapp ruled in favor of Montgomery’s motion, but initially applied his ruling only to the 28th Circuit covering Pulaski, Rockcastle and Lincoln counties.
Subsequently, state Attorney General Jack Conway filed a similar suit in Franklin Circuit Court seeking to ban the program statewide but Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled in favor of the state. Then last month, Tapp ruled that his ban applied statewide.
DOC Commissioner Ladonna Thompson appealed and a Court of Appeals Judge stayed Tapp’s ruling until the Supreme Court decided whether to take up the appeal.
On Wednesday afternoon Chief Justice John Minton signed an order transferring the matter to the Supreme Court and continuing the stay of Tapp’s ruling.
Justice Cabinet Secretary J. Michael Brown told CNHI News Service on April 21 the state had released about 1,350 prisoners from incarceration or parole supervision under the program at a savings of approximately $15 million.”
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com.