Gerald Williams v. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE #031

FROM: CLERK OF SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

The Opinions handed down on the 27th day of June, 2025 are as follows:

BY Cole, J.:

2024-C-00957 GERALD WILLIAMS VS. LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC
SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS (Parish of East Baton Rouge)

AFFIRMED. SEE OPINION.

Weimer, C.J., concurs in the result and assigns reasons.
Hughes, J., dissents for the reasons assigned by Justice Griffin.
Griffin, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
Guidry, J., dissents for the reasons assigned by Justice Griffin.

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

No. 2024-C-00957

GERALD WILLIAMS

VS.

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS

On Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit,
Parish of East Baton Rouge

COLE, J.

Gerald Williams, an inmate in the custody of the Louisiana Department of

Public Safety and Corrections, filed suit in district court for judicial review of a

decision of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole (“Parole Board”) that revoked

his parole. Based upon the recommendation of a Commissioner, the district court

dismissed Williams’ suit with prejudice for failure to state a claim for which relief

could be granted and also because it was perempted under La. R.S. 15:574.11(D).

The court of appeal affirmed. For the following reasons, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In 1985, Williams was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 99 years

imprisonment without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence. See

generally State v. Williams, 482 So. 2d 1090 (La. App. 3d Cir. 1986). In affirming

Williams’ conviction and sentence, the Third Circuit observed:

The trial court makes mention that defendant’s criminal conduct
threatened serious harm; the defendant has a prior history of criminal
activity and such conduct was likely to recur; [and that] the defendant
was not likely to respond to probation . . . .

Neither is the sentence excessive in relation to the offender and
the offense . . . .

This was the defendant’s third felony conviction. The defendant
was convicted of aggravated assault in 1979 and two counts of simple
burglary in 1980. While on probation, he absconded to California where
he committed an armed robbery in 1982. After serving approximately
three years in prison in California, he was paroled and returned to Red

River Parish, Louisiana, where only a few days later he committed the
instant armed robbery.

During the course of this crime, the defendant was armed with a
loaded pistol and stated to his victim, “I wish you would scream so I
could shoot you”.

Id. at 1092-92.

In 2013, after serving 28 years in prison, Williams was released on parole with

conditions that included “refrain[ing] from engaging in criminal conduct.” See La.

R.S. 15:574.4.2(A)(1). Under the terms of his parole, any violation resulting in

revocation would require Williams to “serve the remainder of the sentence as of the

date of release on parole.” La. R.S. 15:574.4.2(A)(6).

On March 25, 2021, Williams was arrested and charged with aggravated

assault, a felony. At his arraignment the following day, the court read Williams his

legal rights, including his right to counsel. He waived those rights and pleaded guilty

to one count of simple assault, a misdemeanor.1 The committee on parole then

detained Williams for violating his parole conditions and informed him of those

charges in writing.

On April 30, 2021, Williams acknowledged committing aggravated assault on

March 25, 2021. In that same document—initialed, signed, and dated by Williams—

he waived both his preliminary hearing and final parole revocation hearing and

acknowledged:

I admit that I am in violation of the conditions of my parole in the
manner outlined by my Parole Officer in the Notice of Preliminary
Hearing. In signing this waiver, I fully understand that I waive my rights
and privileges to a final parole violation hearing before the Board of
Parole, and that the Board, in all probability, will REVOKE my parole
pursuant to La. R.S. 15:574.9(A).

On May 5, 2021, the Parole Board notified Williams in writing that it was in

receipt of his waiver of the final revocation hearing, it accepted his admission to

1
The minute entry for the arraignment provides: “The defendant appeared in proper person. The
Court advised [him] of [his] legal rights including the right to counsel and court appointed attorney.
The defendant waived those rights…[and] entered a plea of guilty…”
2

violating the conditions of his parole, and his parole was revoked, effective April 30,

2021.

In September 2022, Williams, acting pro se, filed a petition for judicial review

challenging the revocation of his parole. In his petition, Williams asserted that his

waivers were not knowing and voluntary. He believed pleading guilty to simple

assault, a misdemeanor, as opposed to the crime for which he was arrested and

charged, aggravated assault, should have constituted a “technical violation” of parole

warranting only a 90-day sentence under La. R.S. 15:574.9(H).

The Parole Board moved to dismiss, asserting the petition failed to state a

valid claim for which relief could be granted. The Parole Board noted the revocation

record demonstrated that Williams expressly waived his right, in writing, to a

preliminary and final revocation hearing, and that he pleaded guilty to violating

parole. The Parole Board further argued that the claim was perempted under the 90-

day peremptive period set forth in La. R.S. 15:574.11(D).

The matter was referred to a commissioner for review.2 The commissioner

issued a recommendation that Williams’ petition for review be dismissed, with

prejudice, for failure to state a claim for which relief could be granted and for being

perempted under La. R.S. 15:574.11(D). Williams, again acting pro se, opposed the

commissioner’s recommendation. Adopting the commissioner’s recommendation,

the district court granted the Parole Board’s motion and dismissed Williams’ petition

with prejudice. The First Circuit affirmed. Williams v. La. Department of Public

Safety & Corrections, 23-1235 (La. App. 1 Cir. 6/27/24), 2024 WL 3198974

(unpublished). This Court thereafter granted Williams’ writ application. 2024-0957

(La. 2/5/25), 400 So. 3d 103.

2
The offices of commissioner of the Nineteenth Judicial District Court were created to hear and
recommend disposition of criminal and civil proceedings arising out of the incarceration of state
prisoners. La. R.S. 13:711, 13:713(A). The district judge “may accept, reject, or modify in whole
or in part the findings or recommendations made by the commissioner and also may receive further
evidence or recommit the matter to the commissioner with instructions.” La. R.S. 13:713(C)(5).
3

DISCUSSION

We first address the threshold issue of whether Williams’ petition for judicial

review is perempted. Next, we examine Williams’ claim that his procedural due

process rights were violated when the Parole Board revoked his parole without

holding a revocation hearing, despite his express waiver. Finally, we address whether

Williams’ parole violation could have been classified as a “technical violation” even

if timely filed.

Peremption

Parole is an administrative device for the rehabilitation of prisoners under

supervised freedom from actual restraint, and the granting, conditions, or revocation

of parole rest in the discretion of the committee on parole. La. R.S. 15:574.11(A).

The statute sets forth the procedure by which a parolee may seek review of the

revocation of his parole and provides, in pertinent part:

A. . . . . No prisoner or parolee shall have a right to appeal from a
decision of the committee regarding release or deferment of release
on parole, the imposition or modification of authorized conditions of
parole, the termination or restoration of parole supervision or discharge
from parole before the end of the parole period, or the revocation or
reconsideration of revocation of parole, except for the denial of a
revocation hearing under R.S. 15:574.9 . . . .

....

D. Petitions for review that allege a denial of a revocation hearing under
the provisions of R.S. 15:574.9 shall be subject to a peremptive
period of ninety days after the date of revocation by the committee on
parole . . . . Petitions for review filed after this peremptive period shall
be dismissed with prejudice . . . .

La. R.S. 15:574.11(A), (D) (emphasis added).

Louisiana Revised Statute 15:574.11 grants appellate jurisdiction to the

Nineteenth Judicial District Court to review decisions of the Parole Board where a

denial of a revocation hearing under La. R.S. 15:574.9 is alleged or the procedural

due process protections for such a hearing were violated. There is no other basis for

an appeal. La. R.S. 15:574.11(A).

4

In the limited circumstances where an appeal is allowed, the appeal must be

taken within 90 days. La. R.S. 15:574.11(D). The plain language of La. R.S.

15:574.11(D) provides that the time period is peremptive. Peremption is a period of

time fixed by law for the existence of a right and unless timely exercised, the right

is extinguished upon the expiration of the peremptive period. La. C.C. art. 3458.

Peremption may not be renounced, interrupted, or suspended. La. C.C. art. 3461. A

peremptive period statute extinguishes the previously existing right with the result

that, upon expiration of the peremptive period, a cause of action or substantive right

no longer exists to be enforced. Bunge Corp. v. GATX Corp., 89-1645 (La. 3/12/90),

557 So.2d 1376.

Williams did not file his petition for judicial review until September 24, 2022,

507 days after the Parole Board rendered its decision to revoke his parole on May 5,

2021—well after the 90 days within which he was allowed by law to seek judicial

review. Thus, any right Williams had to appeal was extinguished by his failure to file

a petition within the 90 days allotted in La. R.S. 15:574.11(D).

Procedural Due Process and Waiver

Even if Williams had petitioned for review within the 90-day peremptive

period, his procedural due process claim would fail. The State and parolees each

have significant interests in parole and revocation thereof. “In many cases, the

parolee faces lengthy incarceration if his parole is revoked…[and thus] the liberty is

valuable and must be seen as within the protection of the Fourteenth Amendment.”

Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 482 (1972). The State’s interests are several:

The State has found the parolee guilty of a crime against the people.
That finding justifies imposing extensive restrictions on the individual’s
liberty. Release of the parolee before the end of his prison sentence is
made with the recognition that with many prisoners there is a risk that
they will not be able to live in society without committing additional
antisocial acts. Given the previous conviction and the proper imposition
of conditions, the State has an overwhelming interest in being able to
return the individual to imprisonment without the burden of a new

5

adversary criminal trial if in fact he has failed to abide by the conditions
of his parole.

Id. at 483.

Balancing the competing interests of parolees and the State, the Supreme

Court in Morrissey held that for most parole revocation cases, due process requires

a two-tiered hearing scheme, comprising a preliminary revocation hearing and a final

revocation hearing. Id. at 484-85. The preliminary hearing is designed “to determine

whether there is probable cause or reasonable ground to believe that the arrested

parolee has committed acts that would constitute a violation of parole conditions.”

Id. at 485. The final hearing provides the alleged violator an “opportunity to be heard

and to show, if he can that he did not violate the [parole] conditions” and, assuming

a violation is found, a determination of whether “circumstances in mitigation suggest

that the violation does not warrant revocation.” Id. at 488.

Importantly, Morrissey provides that a parolee can waive his revocation

hearing. Id. at 487; See also La. R.S. 15:574.9(A) (“…[T]he committee shall hold a

hearing to determine whether his parole should be revoked, unless said hearing is

expressly waived in writing by the parolee. A waiver shall constitute an admission

of the findings…and result in immediate revocation.”). To avoid the consequences

of his express waiver, Williams contends that his waiver was not “knowing,

intelligent, and voluntary” because waiving his hearings meant serving the

remainder of his original sentence. We disagree.

The record demonstrates Williams’ waiver was valid. As detailed above,

Williams expressly waived both hearings in a written document he signed, dated,

and initialed. In that same document, Williams confirmed that he understood the

charges against him and that he was not being treated for mental illness. Williams

pleaded guilty in the criminal proceedings, and he admitted to committing the parole

6

violation in the administrative proceedings.3 At no point did Williams claim he had

not committed the offense, contest the underlying charges, or request counsel despite

numerous offers. The record reflects Williams was fully informed of the rights

available and voluntarily decided to waive them in a clear and unambiguous writing.

See, e.g., State v. Smith, 418 So. 2d 515 (La. 1982).4 As discussed below, there were

also two express statutory bars to the relief sought by Williams.

“Technical Violation”

Finally, Williams argues the Parole Board should have considered his crime a

“technical violation” of parole under La. R.S. 15:574.9(H), and that he was entitled

to serve only the first-time technical violator sentence before being released back on

parole. This argument fails under a plain reading of the statute.

As of the May 5, 2021 revocation decision,5 La. R.S. 15:574.9(H) provided

that technical violation provisions “shall not apply” to “[a]ny offender released on

parole for the conviction of a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B).” La. R.S.

15:574.9(H)(1)(d)(i). Williams was convicted in 1985 for armed robbery, defined as

“…the taking of anything of value belonging to another from the person of another

or that is in the immediate control of another, by use of force or intimidation, while

3
Parole is an administrative process; a revocation hearing is not a trial on a new criminal charge,
but an extension of the sentencing procedure from the underlying conviction. Law of Probation &
Parole § 26:1.

4Notably, even if Williams had not waived his hearings, or if his waiver were deemed invalid, his
claim would still fail. Procedural due process did not require a preliminary revocation hearing here.
See Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78, n.7 (1976) (“[W]here petitioner has already been convicted of
and incarcerated on a subsequent offense, there is no need for the preliminary hearing which
Morrissey requires.”). Neither would revoking Williams’ parole without a final revocation hearing
have violated due process. Morrissey, 408 U.S. at 490; See also Moody, 429 U.S. at 89 (“[I]n cases
such as this, in which the parolee admits or has been convicted of an offense plainly constituting
a parole violation, the only remaining inquiry is [mitigation].”).
5
La. R.S. 15:574.9(H) was amended by Acts 2024, No. 8, § 2, effective April 29, 2024, narrowing
which parole violations could be considered “technical violations” and increasing the sentence for
first-time technical violators from 15 to 90 days. Although this amendment does not affect the
outcome of this case, we nevertheless apply the law in effect at the time Williams’ cause of action
arose—i.e. the date Williams’ parole was revoked. La. C.C. art. 6 and R.S. 1:2. See also Cheron v.
LCS Corr. Servs., Inc., 2004-0703 (La. 1/19/05), 891 So. 2d 1250 (statutory amendments requiring
inmate to exhaust administrative remedies prior to bringing personal injury action could not be
applied retroactively to deprive inmate of vested rights).
7

armed with a dangerous weapon.” La. R.S. 14:64(A). Armed robbery is an

enumerated “crime of violence.” La. R.S. 14:2(B)(21). For this reason alone,

Williams could never have qualified as a technical violator of his parole.

Although Williams ultimately pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of simple

assault, defined as “an assault without a dangerous weapon”, La. R.S. 14:38(A),

rather than the aggravated assault for which he was arrested, simple assault is still

“an intentional misdemeanor directly affecting the person.” Therefore, Williams

pleaded guilty to an offense that is also excluded from being considered a “technical

violation” because it is “an intentional misdemeanor directly affecting the person.”

La. R.S. 15:574.9(H)(2)(b). For this reason, too, Williams was ineligible for

technical violation sentencing.

CONCLUSION

For the reasons set forth above, the judgment of the appellate court, which

affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Williams’ petition for judicial review with

prejudice, is affirmed.

AFFIRMED

8

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

No. 2024-C-00957

GERALD WILLIAMS

VS.

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS

On Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit,
Parish of East Baton Rouge

WEIMER, C.J., concurring in the result.

The regulations addressing a defendant’s right to counsel during parole

revocation proceedings appear somewhat contradictory. According to La. R.S.

15:179, “[t]he Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall provide legal

representation for each indigent parolee who is charged with violating the conditions

of his parole with respect to which he has the right to a parole revocation or

prerevocation hearing, if the indigent parolee is entitled by law to representation by

counsel and if the parolee requests such representation.” While qualified and

somewhat cryptic, this provision suggests that defendants are entitled to counsel from

the moment they are charged with a parole violation.

In apparent contradiction, La. R.S. 15:574.9 provides that a defendant facing

parole revocation “shall be permitted to consult with and be advised and represented

by his own legal counsel or legal counsel appointed under the provisions of R.S.

15:179” only if the defendant does not waive a revocation hearing. This qualification

appears problematic for defendants, since presumably whether to waive a revocation

hearing is one of the primary reasons a person facing parole revocation would need

an attorney’s advice.

1

Defendant, unrepresented, entered a plea of guilty to a single count–simple

assault, a misdemeanor. The Commissioner adopted the Department of Correction’s

assertion that defendant had waived “his final parole revocation hearing and entered

a guilty plea to violating the conditions of his parole” by committing “the

misdemeanor offense of simple assault with a weapon.” Under the law, there is no

such crime. “Simple assault is an assault committed without a dangerous weapon.”

La. R.S. 14:38.

Defendant’s case illustrates the difficulty of navigating the intricate and

involved labyrinthine network of contradictory regulations1 governing parole

revocation and making an informed decision regarding hearing waiver without the

assistance of counsel.2 The regulations governing when a defendant is entitled to an

1
See Marquis v. F.D.I.C., 965 F.2d 1148, 1151 (1st Cir. 1992) (indicating that the Financial
Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989’s “text comprises an almost
impenetrable thicket, overgrown with sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, clauses, and
subclauses—a veritable jungle of linguistic fronds and brambles. In light of its prolixity and lack
of coherence, confusion over its proper interpretation is not only unsurprising—it is inevitable.”).
2
This is particularly true here, in that the parole officers presented defendant with numerous forms
that misleadingly appear to refer to his technical violation, suggesting he would be eligible for parole
reinstatement after 90 days.

For example, an “Activity Report” issued by defendant’s parole officer and her supervisor
noted that defendant had waived his preliminary hearing, pled guilty to violating “parole condition
4” and “parole condition 10,” and waived his final revocation hearing. The form recommends
revoking defendant “because of Technical Violation(s). DF-6 and 6C attached.”

According to the attached form, “formerly DF-6C,” defendant’s parole condition 4 prohibited
defendant from engaging in criminal activity. The form notes that “[o]n 03/25/2021, you committed
the offense of Aggravated Assault.” Parole condition 10 required defendant to pay supervision fees.
The form notes that defendant “failed to pay supervision fees in a timely manner and are currently
in arrears $1495.00.” The report recommended revocation of defendant’s parole, with the
justification that defendant had committed a simple assault while on parole for a violent offense.
The report added that defendant pled guilty to a misdemeanor, “but he used a weapon during the
altercation.”

Defendant attaches a printout of his Department of Corrections master record, which is also
potentially misleading. A notation on the record reads “REV-PAR-WAIV TECHNICAL ON
04/30/21.” While inscrutable, the notation appears to suggest a waiver and a technical parole
revocation. Another page of the printout states that defendant’s violation is type “318—REV OF
SUPV/WAIV TECH/RECOMM—P.”

2

attorney are impossibly complicated for a defendant, as well as an astute attorney, to

understand. The system needs to be fair, just, rational, and logical. If not, society

loses faith in the law. Clearly, the law governing a criminal defendant’s right to an

attorney is in need of clarification by the legislature.

Nonetheless, based on the facts of this case, the result reached is justified.

However, in other cases, such a result may not be justified.

3

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

No. 2024-C-00957

GERALD WILLIAMS

VS.

LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS

On Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Appeal, First Circuit, Parish of
East Baton Rouge

GRIFFIN, J., dissents and assigns reasons.

Gerald Williams’ parole has been revoked. He faces seventy years in prison.

He pled guilty and waived all rights to parole revocation hearings – both without

counsel. The forms he was given reflect he faced only technical violations, which

would not require full revocation. There remains a discrepancy as to whether he

committed aggravated assault or simple assault. The statutes involved in this matter

are contradictory on their face.1 The Due Process Clause, La. Const. art. I §2,

protects fundamental fairness and prohibits government conduct that is irrational or

that shocks the conscience. State v. Karey, 16-0377, p. 4 (La. 6/29/17), 232 So. 3d

1186, 1189, State v. Bazile, 12-2243, pp. 12-13 (La. 5/7/13), 144 So. 3d 719, 730,

Cf. State v. Perry, 610 So. 2d 746, 757 (La. 1992), Lee Hargrave, The Declaration

of Rights of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, 35 LA. L. REV. 1, 4-5 (1974), and

Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 482 (1972) (recognizing liberty interest in

parole). I would therefore find it fundamentally unfair, conscience shocking, and

irrational to revoke Mr. Williams’ parole. Holding hair cutting shears during a verbal

dispute has condemned a man to die in prison at great expense to the citizens of this

state. I respectfully dissent.

1
Under La. R.S. 15:574.9, a defendant is not entitled to counsel prior to waiver of parole revocation
rights and incorporates La. R.S. 15:179. Yet, La. R.S. 15:179 provides a right to counsel at all
stages.
1