JESSE JAMES EDMOND JR V DEPT OF CORRECTIONS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
JESSE JAMES EDMOND, JR.,
FOR PUBLICATION
November 22, 2002
9:00 a.m.
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 232034
Marquette Circuit Court
LC No. 00-037911-AH
ON REMAND
Updated Copy
February 14, 2003
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Hood, P.J., and Bandstra and O'Connell, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
In a previous order, we denied plaintiff 's request for a writ of habeas corpus. Edmond v
Dep't of Corrections, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered May 11, 2001 (Docket
No. 232034). In lieu of granting leave to appeal that decision, the Supreme Court remanded this
case to us for consideration of plaintiff 's claim that the deputy director of the Department of
Corrections' Bureau of Correctional Facilities no longer has the authority to overrule a warden's
award of special good time credit under MCL 800.33, as amended by 1986 PA 322. Edmond v
Dep't of Corrections, 465 Mich 944 (2002). We conclude that the deputy director does have this
authority and confirm our previous decision denying a writ of habeas corpus.
Plaintiff was convicted in 1980 and sentenced to a minimum of thirty years and a
maximum of fifty years in prison. At issue here is an award of special good time credit against
his sentences. A prison warden awarded plaintiff a number of days of special good time credit
that were later rescinded by the deputy director of the Department of Corrections' Bureau of
Correctional Facilities.
At issue here is the relative authority granted to wardens and the various deputy directors
within the statutory scheme creating and regulating the Department of Corrections. See MCL
791.201 et seq. Our analysis begins with the statute that specifically relates to the award of
special good time credit, MCL 800.33. Until the 1986 amendment, that statute authorized a
warden to award special good time credit "with the consent and approval of the director of the
department of corrections . . . ." 1982 PA 442. 1986 PA 322 removed the reference to the
director, providing only that a warden may grant special good time allowances. MCL
800.33(12). In contrast, the prior written approval of a deputy director is explicitly required by
the statute with respect to a warden's decision to restore good time or disciplinary credits
forfeited because of major misconduct. MCL 800.33(10).
-1-
While MCL 800.33, considered alone, might thus support plaintiff 's argument, under the
rule of in pari material this statute must be read together with other statutes relating to the same
subject or with the same purpose, i.e., those relating to the powers of the various deputy
directors. People v Webb, 458 Mich 265, 274; 580 NW2d 884 (1998). MCL 16.379 names the
director the "principal executive officer" of the Department of Corrections. MCL 791.203 gives
the director "full power and authority to supervise and control the affairs of the department . . . ."
MCL 791.205 authorizes the director to appoint assistant directors to "exercise and perform the
respective powers and duties prescribed and conferred by this act . . . ."1
The question before us is whether MCL 800.33(12) is an exception to the general grant of
power and authority provided the director and assistant directors under MCL 791.203 and MCL
791.205. We do not find that to be the case. The statutory language granting power to the
department director and assistant directors is broad—they "have full power and authority to
supervise and control the affairs of the department . . . ." MCL 791.203. That "full power and
authority" would naturally include decisions regarding what is arguably among the most
important "affairs of the department," discretionary decisions regarding the length of time that
prisoners must serve. In the absence of statutory language that explicitly limits the full power
and authority granted by MCL 791.203, we will not read a limitation into the statute.
To state this another way, full power and authority having been granted by MCL 791.203
as a general matter, the failure of MCL 800.33(12) to grant that authority specifically with
respect to good time credits is nonconsequential. Thus, to the extent that MCL 800.33(10) is
read as granting the deputy director authority with respect to decisions regarding the restoration
of credits lost because of major misconduct, that section would unnecessarily reiterate a power
and authority already granted the director and his immediate subordinates by MCL 791.203 and
MCL 791.205. However, properly understood, MCL 800.33(10) does more than simply reiterate
the power and authority these individuals already have to supervise and control the affairs of the
department, including decisions regarding such restoration of credits. Instead, it provides the
procedure by which that supervision and control is to be exercised in this context, specifically
requiring that a warden must secure a deputy director's written approval before forfeited good
time credits can be restored.
Accordingly, we confirm our previous order denying plaintiff 's request for a writ of
habeas corpus.
/s/ Harold Hood
/s/ Richard A. Bandstra
/s/ Peter D. O'Connell
1
Because the Department of Corrections act, MCL 791.201 et seq., uses the terms "assistant
director" and "deputy director" interchangeably, we do so here as well.
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