ERICA DAIR v. NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
                     APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
    This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court."
     Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the
       parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.




                                      SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
                                      APPELLATE DIVISION
                                      DOCKET NO. A-5466-15T1

ERIC ADAIR,

             Appellant,

       v.

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS,

          Respondent.
______________________________________

             Submitted March 6, 2018 – Decided March 22, 2018

             Before Judges Fisher and Fasciale.

             On appeal from the New Jersey Department of
             Corrections.1

             Eric Adair, appellant pro se.

             Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney
             for respondent (Melissa H. Raksa, Assistant
             Attorney General, of counsel; Christopher C.
             Josephson, Deputy Attorney General, on the
             brief).

PER CURIAM


1
  The record does not reveal whether the order in question
constituted a final agency decision. Although we think it was not,
we have proceeded to consider the appeal as if finality was
achieved at the agency level.
     Appellant Eric Adair is currently serving a fifteen-year

prison term. In this appeal, he argues his request for a reduced

custody   status   from   "gang   minimum"   to   "full   minimum"2   was

arbitrarily rejected. An administrator denied the request because

of appellant's extensive criminal history and because of the

circumstances of the offense for which he was convicted, which

involved multiple shooting victims. With that, appellant filed

this appeal. The Department of Corrections moved to dismiss because

appellant failed to exhaust his administrative remedies; we denied

that motion.

     We now dismiss the appeal for a different reason. The order

in question clearly states that the decision of which appellant

complains "will remain for 1 year" and that appellant could seek

"yearly review" of his classification. Because that order was

entered on May 17, 2016, over one year ago, the order – by its own

terms – could be revisited without the need for our intervention.

In short, the passage of one year has mooted the issue presented

in this appeal.

     Appeal dismissed.


2
  "Gang minimum" permits the inmate to move outside the security
perimeter of the facility but under continuous supervision.
N.J.A.C. 10A:9-4.3(d). "Full minimum" permits the inmate to engage
in work details, jobs, or programs, outside the main correctional
facility with minimal supervision. N.J.A.C. 10A:9-4.3(e).

                                   2                             A-5466-15T1