Marcus Rodgers, who has been unlawfully incarcerated for more than 18 months, will shortly be released from custody after the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, together with Pepper Hamilton LLP, successfully obtained an order granting his writ of habeas corpus.
Mr. Rodgers, having served more than 20 years for a crime he committed as a young man, was granted parole and was released to a halfway house. At a prior parole hearing, the victim of his crime’s mother had told the U.S. Parole Commission that she objected to his release and the reasons for her objection. Despite being told of the subsequent hearing and her right to appear, the victim’s mother chose not to attend. Our client was granted parole and transferred to a halfway house where he obtained a job and complied with all of the conditions of his release. In the meantime, the victim’s mother wrote to the Parole Commission, expressing her objection to his release. Based on that letter, the Parole Commission reopened Mr. Rodgers’ grant of parole, arrested him at the halfway house, and returned him to federal prison. Because the letter from the victim’s mother did not contain new and significant adverse information, which is required by the Parole Commission’s own regulations to reopen a parole grant, the Parole Commission’s actions violated the Due Process Clause of the US Constitution.
In July 2019, the Committee, in partnership with Pepper Hamilton LLP, filed a habeas petition on Mr. Rodgers behalf, seeking his immediate release. We also secured him pro bono counsel for his next parole hearing. At the hearing, thanks to the efforts of his counsel and to the continued threat of litigation, our client was granted parole with a release date in several months.
On March 19, 2020, we received an order granting Mr. Rodgers habeas corpus relief. The Court found that the Parole Commission’s actions violated the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, as well as the Administrative Procedures Act. He will be released from confinement shortly. His release is especially important now that continued detention is a public health risk. In addition to release for Mr. Rodgers, this decision also provides significant guidance on the due process rights of prisoners seeking parole and is an important prisoners’ rights decision.