43. Sentence.

U.S. Appeals Court

DELAY

Bonebrake v. Norris, 417 F.3d 938 (8th Cir. 2005). An offender appealed her state conviction of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver. The federal court granted her habeas corpus petition. The state appealed and the appeals court reversed. The court held that the state's four-year delay in incarcerating the offender did not amount to a waiver of incarceration under the Due Process Clause. Neither the district attorney's office nor law enforcement personnel took any steps to take the offender into custody after the state appellate court affirmed her conviction and sentence, and the prisoner was not in hiding. (Yell County Jail, Arkansas)

U.S. Appeals Court

PROBATION-REVOCATION PAROLE

Dawson v. Newman, 419 F.3d 656 (7th Cir. 2005). A former probationer brought a state court [section] 1983 action against a county superior court judge, county clerk of court, state corrections department and parole officials, alleging that his incarceration was wrongfully continued and he that he was wrongfully placed on parole supervision after his probation revocation was overturned on appeal. The district court dismissed the action and the probationer appealed. The appeals court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The court held that the district court could not dismiss claims against the clerk, who had not moved for dismissal. The court found that a county superior court judge's failure to transmit a release order to the state department of corrections for the probationer whose probation was improperly revoked, was a judicial act and was not administrative or ministerial in nature, entitling the judge to absolute judicial immunity. The court held that parole officials were not entitled to absolute judicial immunity because their acts did not involve acts analogous to those performed by judges, but involved performance of their day-to-day duties in supervising parolees. The court noted that absolute judicial immunity is not limited to government officials with the title of judge. (Indiana Department of Corrections, Madison County Superior Court)

U.S. Appeals Court

PARDON

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