Chapter 5 – Adult Custody and Security Operations

54100.9 Appeal Procedure Abuse and Restriction

• Excessive and fraudulent filings overload the appeals system, disrupt the orderly and timely processing of appeals and thereby deprive the Department of its ability to exercise due diligence. Therefore, misuse or abuse of the appeals process may lead to appeal restriction as described in this section. The appeals coordinator shall have the discretion to take specific action when it is deemed that:

  • An inmate or parolee submits more than one appeal for initial review within a fourteen (14) calendar day period, unless the inmate or parolee is submitting an emergency appeal or the appeal has been accepted due to exceptional circumstances as determined by the appeals coordinator or the third level Appeals Chief. The 14 day period shall commence on the day following the appeals office’s date stamp of the appellant’s last accepted appeal.

  • Appeals previously cancelled pursuant 15 CCRCalifornia Code of Regulations §3084.6(c)/DOMDepartment Operations Manual §54100.11 are repeatedly submitted by the same complainant(s).

  • The appeal submission contains information the appellant knows to be false or consists of a deliberate attempt at distorting the facts.

  • Appeals containing threatening, grossly derogatory, slanderous, or obscene statements and/or organic contamination is included in or makes up any part of the appeal package.

  • The description of the problem and/or requested action exceeds the space provided on the Inmate/Parolee Appeals form series.

  • The appeal is repeatedly filed contrary to clear and explicit previous instructions. A resubmitted rejected appeal that does not comply with appeals coordinator instructions for correction shall, in addition to not being processed, be subject to confiscation.

• When an inmate or parolee submits appeals described above:

  • The first appeal received shall be screened for routine processing.

  • All subsequent non-emergency appeals submitted by that individual shall be screened and the appeals coordinator shall document any abuse as evidenced by the screening results.

• Warning Letter

  • If an inmate or parolee continues to submit excessive, demonstrably false, noncompliant or abusive appeals, he or she shall receive a warning letter from the appeals coordinator documenting the history and nature of appeal system abuse.

  • If the abuse of process continues after the issuance of a warning letter, the appeals coordinator shall meet with the inmate or parolee in a timely manner before imposition of any restriction to provide instruction in the appropriate use of the appeals process and to rule out any unintended basis for non-compliance. If a face-to-face meeting with the appeals coordinator is not possible, an agent acting on behalf of the appeals coordinator shall conduct the meeting.

  • Excessive, demonstrably false, noncomplaint or abusive appeals submitted by an inmate or parolee after the issuance of a warning letter shall be subjected to screening by the appeals coordinator to ensure they do not contain qualifying urgent or emergency issues.

    • An appeal found to contain emergency issues, as described in Section 51100.20, shall be processed as an emergency appeal.

    • If no such issue is determined to be present, the appeal shall be retained by the appeals coordinator pending placement of the appellant on appeal restriction by the third level Appeals Chief.

    • The appellant shall be informed in writing why the appeal constitutes abuse of process and informed that the appeal processing has been suspended pending determination of appeal restriction status.

• Appeal Restriction

  • If the appeal abuse continues after the issuance of a warning letter and a face-to-face meeting, the inmate or parolee is subject to appeal restriction.

    • The appeals coordinator shall notify the third level Appeals Chief describing the individual’s abuse of the process and requesting placement of the inmate or parolee on appeal restriction.

    • The appeals coordinator shall advise the third level Appeals Chief in writing of the extent and frequency of the abuse and the corrective steps which have been taken, including issuance of a warning letter and date of face-to-face meeting(s).

    • Any appeal submitted by the inmate or parolee after abuse has been identified but prior to a decision being rendered by the third level Appeals Chief shall be processed in accordance with the “Not Processed” protocol above, including screening to ensure bona fide emergency issues are appropriately identified for processing.

  • Upon determination of continued abuse and verification that a face-to-face interview and warning letter have occurred, the third level Appeals Chief shall have the discretion to authorize preparation of a notice by the Appeals Coordinator restricting the inmate or parolee to one non-emergency appeal every 30 calendar days for a period of one year effective the date of the notice.

    • At the time a determination is made regarding imposition or non-application of appeal restriction, any prior appeal retained by the appeals coordinator in accordance with the provisions set forth above shall be returned to the appellant stamped “Not Processed.”

    • An imposed appeal restriction shall remain in effect for the period specified when the appellant is returned from parole or transfers to another facility. Parolees are subject to continuing restriction initiated by the institution, subject to review and ratification by the third level Appeals Chief.

    • Any subsequent violation of the appeal restriction shall result in an extension of the restriction for an additional one-year period upon approval by the third level Appeals Chief.

  • Upon the decision of the third level Appeals Chief to impose an appeal restriction, any appeal returned to the appellant marked “not processed” may only be later resubmitted by the inmate or parolee in accordance with the terms of his or her appeal restriction and in conformance with the timeframes and practices set forth in this article (The original submittal date of the appeal may serve, under exceptional circumstances, to satisfy filing time requirement).

  • Upon a decision by the third level Appeals Chief to not place the inmate or parolee on appeal restriction, any retained appeal returned to the appellant and marked “not processed” may be resubmitted by the appellant in accordance with the standard submittal requirements set forth in this article except that the appellant’s original submittal date of the appeal may serve to satisfy filing time requirements.