Appeal of Decision of Hearing Panel

(1) An inmate may appeal a decision of a parole hearing panel to deny, rescind or revoke parole. An inmate may also appeal the grant of parole when such release is granted on a date other than the initial parole eligibility date, and/or the imposition of special conditions of parole. Any appeal must be made in writing and within 30 days of the subject’s receipt of written notice of the decision. (a) Where the hearing panel was made up entirely of Parole Board members, these same members shall vote on the appeal unless the members are unavailable or disqualified. As needed, additional Parole Board members will be asked to vote until at least two Parole Board members agree on the appeal decision. (b) Where the hearing panel was composed of one or more hearing examiners and reviewed by a single Parole Board member, the hearing examiner(s) and the Parole Board member shall vote on the appeal. If there is unanimity on the vote, that vote shall be the final decision of the appeal hearing panel. If there is no unanimity, then other Parole Board members shall be asked to vote in succession on the appeal. When two Parole Board members agree, their vote shall determine the decision on the appeal. (c) The appeals panel may render its decision without conducting a hearing on the appeal. (2) If an appeal is denied by the hearing panel, the inmate may further appeal to the full Parole Board within 30 days of receiving notice of the appeal decision. The further appeal is precluded if the full Parole Board made the initial decision to deny the appeal. (a) The Parole Board may vote to: deny the appeal; overturn the decision of the parole hearing panel and render another decision; or overturn the decision of the parole hearing panel and schedule the inmate for another parole hearing. (b) A decision of the full Parole Board is final. An inmate may not file a petition for reconsideration upon grounds previously reviewed as an appeal. (3) Appeals under 120 CMR 304.02 are based on grounds including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: (a) That the decision was not supported by the reasons or facts as stated. (b) That the decision was based on erroneous information and the actual facts justify a different decision. (MA REG. # 1330, Dated 1-13-17) 120 CMR: PAROLE BOARD 304.02: continued (c) That the hearing panel did not follow correct procedure in deciding the case, and a different decision would have resulted if the error had not occurred. (d) There was significant relevant information in existence but not known to the parole hearing panel at the time of the hearing. (e) Under the circumstances, the special conditions of parole no longer further the interests of justice and should be amended by the Parole Board members. (4) The inmate must submit any appeal to the Institutional Parole Officer in writing and must specifically cite one or more reasons noted in 120 CMR 304.02(3), as a basis for the appeal. Any appeal not meeting the requirements of 120 CMR 304.02(3) will be returned to the inmate with an explanation as to why the appeal was not processed. The inmate may correct any noncompliance with 120 CMR 304.02(3) and resubmit the appeal within 30 days after receiving notice that the appeal did not meet with the requirements of that subsection. (5) The institutional parole staff notifies the inmate in writing of any appeal decision.