Cook, 011519 ALAGO, AGO 2019-13

• Case Date: January 15, 2019
• Court: Alabama

Honorable Eddie Cook, Jr. AGO 2019-13 No. 2019-013 Alabama Attorney General Opinion State of Alabama Office of the Attorney General January 15, 2019          Honorable Eddie Cook, Jr.          Executive Director          Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles          Post Office Box 302405          Montgomery, Alabama 36130          Pardons and Paroles Board - Parole Revocation - Rules and Regulations          If the Board of Pardons and Paroles ("Board") determines that a parole was granted in violation of a rule of the Board, the parole is null and void.          Dear Mr. Cook:          This opinion of the Attorney General is issued in response to your request on behalf of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.          QUESTION          May the Board of Pardons and Paroles rescind an order granting parole that complies with section 15-22-36 of the Code of Alabama, and after a certificate of relief has taken effect, if the Board mistakenly set the parole hearing in violation of its operating rules?          FACTS AND ANALYSIS          Your request states that, pursuant to section 15-22-36 of the Code of Alabama, "the Board 'shall have the authority and power, after conviction and not otherwise, to grant pardons and paroles and to remit fines and forfeitures,' subject to certain limitations and provided that the Board fulfills the notice requirements of section 15-22-36." Ala. Code § 15-22-36 (Supp. 2017).          This Office has twice addressed the Board's authority when parole has been illegally granted. Opinions to Mr. David H. Williams, Executive Director, Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, dated March 29, 1982, A.G. No. 82-00265; Mr. David H. Williams, Executive Director, Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles, dated April 17, 1981, A.G. No. 81-00336. Those opinions concerned a prisoner who was granted parole and released to the custody of the State of Georgia to serve a pending sentence there. The first Williams opinion stated that the Board may revoke parole granted without compliance with parole...