Find Legal Information

JUSTICE McCULLOUGH delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendants Jerry D. Gilmore, chief administrative officer at Pontiac Correctional Center, and adjustment committee members Tamela Quinley and Jacqueline McCoy appeal from the order of the circuit court of Livingston County issuing a writ of mandamus on behalf of plaintiff Jeffrey Allen Durbin. Although plaintiff is pro se in this appeal, the public defender was appointed and represented plaintiff in the trial court. In this action, plaintiff, a person committed to the Department of Corrections (DOC), claimed to have been denied his rights to due process because defendants violated DOC rules in a disciplinary proceeding against him by failing to (1) have him interviewed by a reviewing officer; (2) ensure that a hearing officer properly investigated the major disciplinary report; (3) provide an impartial adjustment committee to conduct the disciplinary hearing; (4) inform plaintiff prior to the disciplinary hearing of exculpatory evidence; and (5) provide an adequate summary of factual findings in support of the adjustment committee's decision. Plaintiff requested the trial court (1) revoke and expunge all disciplinary actions taken as a result of the January 7, 1998, disciplinary report; (2) rectify constitutional violations and nonperformance of ministerial duties; (3) accord him a hearing before an impartial adjustment committee; and (4) issue a writ requiring defendant to comply within 5 to 30 days after receiving notice. After defendants filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to section 2-619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (Code) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(9) (West 1998)), arguments of counsel were considered and the trial court found (1) a duty imposed on defendant to interview the committed person; (2) that obligation was mandatory rather than directory; and (3) the failure to interview was not justified. As a result, the disciplinary action against plaintiff resulting from the January 7, 1998, disciplinary report was vacated, and defendants were directed to expunge this disciplinary action from plaintiff's master file. The issues on appeal are whether (1) the trial court misinterpreted the applicable DOC rules, (2) the remedy granted was not connected to the rule relied on, and (3) the failure to provide an interview did not violate plaintiff's right to due process. We reverse and remand.

The issuance of a writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, discretionary in nature, and it is appropriate only when there is a clear right to the requested relief, a clear duty of the defendants to act, and clear authority in the defendants to comply with the writ. People v. Latona, 184 Ill. 2d 260, 277, 703 N.E.2d 901, 909-10 (1998). The standard of review for issuance of a writ of mandamus is whether the trial court's findings of fact are against the manifest weight of the evidence (see Taylor v. Wentz, 15 Ill. 2d 83, 89-91, 153 N.E.2d 812, 816-17 (1958)) or the issuance of the writ amounted to an abuse of discretion (see Baldacchino v. Thompson, 289 Ill. App. 3d 104, 113, 682 N.E.2d 182, 188 (1997)). Reversal is justified in the event of a clear abuse of discretion or when an impermissible legal criterion has been applied. The reviewing court looks to the criteria on which the trial court should rely in determining if the trial court abused its discretion. Boatmen's National Bank v. Martin, 155 Ill. 2d 305, 314, 614 N.E.2d 1194, 1198-99 (1993).

On the record before us, it is difficult to comprehend how the case got to the point where judgment was entered for plaintiff. The only pleadings filed were the petition and the motion to dismiss. Even though mandamus is an extraordinary remedy, mandamus proceedings are governed by the same pleading rules that apply to other actions at law. Noyola v. Board of Education, 179 Ill. 2d 121, 133, 688 N.E.2d 81, 86 (1997). Defendants' filing an answer is contemplated by the Code (735 ILCS 5/14-103 (West 1996)). In this case, defendants were not defaulted, and judgment was entered. The record does not show defendants' motion to dismiss being denied, nor did plaintiff file a motion for judgment on the pleadings (735 ILCS 5/2-615(e) (West 1996)). The record does suggest, however, that defendants acquiesced in the procedure in the trial court. Defendants have not raised an issue on appeal concerning the propriety of the procedures in the trial court, and it is waived. 177 Ill. 2d R. 341(e)(7).

The record in this case also does not contain the investigation report, the disciplinary report, or the adjustment committee summary. Attached to defendants' motion to dismiss were the affidavits of Steven Ruiz, Quinley, and McCoy.

Ruiz, a correctional captain in the internal investigations division at Western Illinois Correctional Center (WICC), wrote the investigative report against plaintiff on January 6, 1998. The investigative report placed plaintiff on investigative status for an alleged plot to assault a lieutenant at WICC. On January 7, 1998, Ruiz wrote a disciplinary report charging plaintiff with "#205 (gang activity), #601 (aiding, abetting, attempt, solicitation or conspiracy) and #102 (assault)." According to Ruiz' affidavit, when the disciplinary report was written, plaintiff was released from investigative status and no longer had a right to be interviewed pursuant to section 504.50(c) of the DOC rules (20 Ill. Adm. Code