L. Pratt v. PA Board of Probation and Parole (Majority Opinion)

State: Pennsylvania

Court: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court

Docket No: 2214 C.D. 2008

Case Date: 08/20/2009

Plaintiff: L. Pratt

Defendant: PA Board of Probation and Parole (Majority Opinion)

Preview:IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Lazarus Pratt, Petitioner v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Respondent BEFORE: : : : : No. 2214 C.D. 2008 : Submitted: July 2, 2009 : : :

HONORABLE DAN PELLEGRINI, Judge HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Judge HONORABLE JIM FLAHERTY, Senior Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED MEMORANDUM OPINION BY JUDGE LEAVITT FILED: August 20, 2009

Lazarus Pratt petitions for review of an adjudication of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole (Board), which recommitted him for a violation of three conditions of his parole. Pratt raises several arguments, namely, that his revocation hearing was untimely, that his attorney provided ineffective assistance, that the Board relied upon inadmissible hearsay and that the Board incorrectly recalculated his maximum date. We find no merit to Pratt's arguments and affirm the Board's decision in all respects except for its recalculation of Pratt's maximum date, which the Board acknowledges is off by one day. The facts of this case are as follows. On December 12, 1995, Pratt was sentenced to an 11-year term of imprisonment after he was convicted of escape and reckless endangerment. He was paroled from his sentence in 1998 and 2001; both times he was recommitted after he absconded. On February 8, 2006,

Pratt was again granted reparole by the Board. At the time of his reparole, his maximum sentence date was April 24, 2008. The relevant conditions of Pratt's reparole were as follows: 2. 3. Your approved residence . . . may not be changed without the written permission of the parole supervision staff. Maintain regular contact with the parole supervision staff by: a. reporting regularly as instructed and following any written instructions of the Board or the parole supervision staff. *** 5. You shall: a. abstain from the unlawful possession or sale of narcotics and dangerous drugs and abstain from the use of controlled substances within the meaning of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device, and Cosmetic Act (35 P.S.

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