MAHER v. JUSTICES, 67 Mass. App. Ct. 612 (2006)

No. 05-P-1785.Appeals Court of Massachusetts.
September 14, 2006. October 27, 2006.

Present: DOERFER, KAFKER, MILLS, JJ.

Public Employment, Retirement benefits, Forfeiture of pension. Municipal Corporations, Retirement board, Pensions. Pension. Administrative Law, Exhaustion of remedies. Jurisdiction, Constitutional question. Constitutional Law, Excessive fines clause.

A city’s retirement board properly required the plaintiff to forfeit his retirement allowance pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), where there were multiple, direct links between the criminal offenses of which the plaintiff was convicted and his office or position, and where there was substantial evidence to support the board’s findings. [616-617]

There was no merit to the argument that a member of a city’s retirement board was required to recuse himself from a hearing on the forfeiture of the plaintiffs retirement allowance on the ground of avoiding at least the appearance of bias, where the alleged bias was speculative, and the prospect of any such bias influencing the decision-making of the other board members was implausible. [617]

This court remanded for further proceedings a claim that forfeiture of the plaintiff’s retirement allowance pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), constituted an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, where the plaintiff’s failure to raise the issue at a hearing before a city’s retirement board could not result in the closure of the record and the waiver of the constitutional claim, in that the resolution of the claim was ultimately and undeniably a core judicial function outside the jurisdiction and special expertise of the board and separate and apart from the issues the board needed to resolve. [617-621]

CIVIL ACTION commenced in the Superior Court Department on August 27, 2004.

The case was heard by Barbara A. Dortch-Okara, J., on a motion for judgment on the pleadings.

Frank J. McGee for the plaintiff.

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Michael Sacco for retirement board of Quincy.

Jonathan C. Green Monica E. Conyngham, for city of Quincy, amicus curiae, submitted a brief.

KAFKER, J.

The first question we must decide is whether the retirement board of Quincy (board) properly required the plaintiff, Ralph Maher, to forfeit his retirement allowance pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), which provides that no member of a public employee retirement system shall be entitled to a retirement allowance after conviction of a criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position. If the board correctly interpreted G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), the second question we must decide is whether the plaintiff waived his challenge based on the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, that the forfeiture constituted an excessive fine, by failing to raise this constitutional claim before the board.

Background. On December 15, 2001, while the plaintiff was employed as the chief plumbing and gas inspector for the city of Quincy (city), he and another city employee broke into and entered the personnel office at city hall. There, the plaintiff reviewed his personnel file and stole a document or documents from the file. A few weeks later, a new mayor took office. On January 16, 2002, the plaintiff took superannuation retirement. On July 24, 2003, the plaintiff entered pleas of guilty on indictments charging him with violations of G. L. c. 266, § 18 (breaking and entering in the daytime with intent to commit a felony); G. L. c. 266, § 127 (wanton destruction of property, a door to the personnel office); and G. L. c. 266, § 20 (stealing personnel records and various documents). The plaintiff was sentenced to concurrent terms of six months unsupervised probation on each conviction and was ordered to make restitution of $393 and to pay a fine of $500.

After the plaintiff had pleaded guilty to the offenses related to the break-in at city hall, the city initiated proceedings against the plaintiff pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 15(2) and (4), to determine whether the plaintiffs convictions “involv[ed] violation of the laws applicable to his office or position” and would therefore require forfeiture of his retirement allowance. The board held a hearing, at which the evidence presented included the defendant’s guilty pleas and the change of plea colloquy

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from the Superior Court. During the colloquy, the plaintiff had admitted that he “stole personnel records and documents, the property of the City of Quincy, from the Office of the Personnel Director.”[2] The former personnel director also had testified that after conducting “a thorough search of his office, the only missing property was one of two personnel folders kept on [the plaintiff].”

At the hearing before the board, the plaintiff’s counsel argued that unless the board could prove what was taken from the plaintiff’s personnel file, it could not find that the criminal offenses were a violation of the laws applicable to the plaintiff’s office or position. Although it rejected this contention, the board placed the plaintiff under oath and asked him to clarify for the board what was taken from his file. He refused, and the board found it reasonable to infer from his refusal to testify that his testimony would have been against his interest.[3] Based on all the evidence, the board further determined that “[g]iven that Mayor Sheets had recently been defeated in the City of Quincy mayoral election, and [the plaintiff’s] appointment as Chief Plumbing and Gas Inspector would rest in the hands of the new mayor, it is reasonable for this Board to conclude that Maher broke into the Office of the City of Quincy’s Personnel Director for the sole purpose of removing unflattering and/or critical documents from his personnel file which could compromise his reappointment by the new mayor.”[4]

The board concluded that there was “clearly . . . a link

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between [the plaintiff’s] official duties and his criminal convictions.” Had the plaintiff “broke[n] into a private residence . . . it is likely that his retirement allowance would not be revoked; however, in this case, but for the fact that he was the Chief Plumbing and Gas Inspector for the City of Quincy, he would not have had cause to break into the Personnel Director’s office, and steal his personnel file.” The board held that both the larceny and the breaking and entering convictions were violations of the laws applicable to the plaintiff’s office or position, thereby requiring forfeiture of the plaintiff’s retirement allowance.

Thereafter the plaintiff sought judicial review in the District Court pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 16(3), where, after hearing, a District Court judge found the board’s decision justified, including the forfeiture of the plaintiff’s pension, and dismissed the petition.[5] The plaintiff then commenced an action in the nature of certiorari in the Superior Court.[6] A Superior Court judge allowed the board’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, ruling that (1) the plaintiff’s convictions were for criminal offenses “involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position” under G. L. c. 32, § 15(4); (2) there was no error in the refusal of board member Francis X. McCauley, a former mayor of the city, to recuse himself from participating in the forfeiture hearing; (3) the court need not reach the plaintiffs claim that forfeiture of his pension constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as that claim was not raised before the board and not considered by the District Court and thus was waived; and (4) there was no error in the

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introduction before the board of a copy of the city police department file relating to the investigation into the break-in that resulted in the plaintiff’s indictments, despite the hearsay it included, as there was substantial evidence to support the board’s decision in any event.[7]
The plaintiff has appealed, pressing each of the foregoing issues.

Discussion. As provided in G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), as inserted by St. 1987, c. 697, § 47, “[i]n no event shall any member [of the retirement system] after final conviction of a criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position, be entitled to receive a retirement allowance. . . .” Upon such conviction, § 15(4) further provides that the member “shall receive, unless otherwise prohibited by law, a return of his accumulated total [contributions to the retirement system]; provided, however, that the rate of regular interest for the purpose of calculating accumulated total [contributions] shall be zero.”

The Supreme Judicial Court has stated that “[t]he substantive touchstone intended by the General Court is criminal activity connected with the office or position.” Gaffney v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Bd., 423 Mass. 1, 4 (1996). See State Bd. of Retirement v. Bulger, 446 Mass. 169, 174-175 (2006). This does not mean that the crime itself must reference public employment or the employee’s particular position or responsibilities. Gaffney v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Bd., supra
at 3-4. Rather, it means that the violations must be “related to the member’s official capacity.” Id. at 5. We therefore “[l]ook to the facts of each case for a direct link between the criminal offense and the member’s office or position.” Ibid.

There are multiple, direct links between the criminal offenses here and the plaintiff’s office or position. He broke and entered into the city’s personnel office. He stole documents from his personnel file. His object was to remove documents criticizing his performance as the chief inspector of gas and plumbing to improve his chances of being reappointed by a recently-elected

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mayor.[8] There was also substantial evidence to support all the board’s findings given the plaintiffs guilty pleas, the statements made during the plea colloquy, the testimony provided by former city personnel director Kevin Madden, the timing of the break-in shortly before a new mayor would take office, and the reasonable inferences that could be drawn from the plaintiffs refusal to testify at the board hearing. Se Doherty v. Retirement Bd. of Medford, 425 Mass. 130, 138 (1997) (applying the substantial evidence standard of review to a retirement board decision appealed pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 16[3][a], and G. L. c. 249, § 4).[9]

We likewise discern no merit in the plaintiffs argument that board member Francis McCauley was required to recuse himself. The plaintiff, without supporting authority, contends that McCauley should have recused himself. McCauley had previously served as mayor of the city and during such term the plaintiff was fired and then eventually reinstated by the civil service commission. The plaintiff contends that this raises at least the appearance of bias. In declining to recuse himself, McCauley “absolutely” denied any actual bias and stated that the firing was done not by him but by the plaintiffs manager. We also emphasize that the board consisted of five persons. In these circumstances, we conclude that the alleged “bias is itself speculative, and the prospect of any such bias influencing the decision making of other board members is implausible.” Varga v. Board of Registration of Chiropractors, 411 Mass. 302, 307 (1991).

Finally, we address the plaintiffs Eighth Amendment claim. The plaintiff contends that the automatic forfeiture provision of G. L. c. 32, § 15(4), as applied to him in these circumstances, would constitute an “excessive fine” as prohibited by the

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Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The issue was not, however, raised before the board. When it was presented to the District Court, the judge concluded that the plaintiff “did not offer into evidence before the [board] any factual support for his claim that forfeiture of his pension benefits would violate the Eight[h] Amendment. Limited to the [board] record, . . . the court declines to consider this argument.” Upon certiorari review, the Superior Court judge concluded that the issue was not properly before the court and was therefore waived “as it was not raised with the Retirement Board and was not considered by the District Court.”

The plaintiff argues, however, that the District and Superior Court judges erred in considering the record closed and the issue waived because the board had no jurisdiction over constitutional questions; therefore, the plaintiff was not required to bring his constitutional challenge to the board first. Furthermore, the plaintiff submitted an affidavit in the District Court that provided a factual basis for determining his monthly retirement allowance prior to the forfeiture ($2,866.67) and the monthly health care premium he was required to pay for himself and his wife prior to the forfeiture ($600) and afterwards ($1,403.08), thereby allowing calculation of the fine. In various memoranda submitted to the District Court, he also presented legal arguments for why the forfeiture constituted an excessive fine.[10]

Our analysis of the Eighth Amendment claim begins with a recognition that there are exceptions to exhaustion requirements for challenges to the constitutionality of administrative statutes, particularly those that present pure questions of constitutional law or do not require expert fact finding by administrative agencies. See, e.g., Gurry v. Board of Pub. Accountancy, 394 Mass. 118, 126 (1985) (“Except for jurisdictional claims based upon constitutional challenges to an agency’s enabling legislation, litigants involved in adjudicatory proceedings should raise all claims before the agency, including those which are constitutionally based”); Hartford Ace. Indent. Co. v. Commissioner of Ins., 407 Mass. 23, 28-29 (1990) (“as applied”

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challenge to the constitutionality of an insurance statute need not be presented to an administrative agency); Liability Investigative Fund Effort, Inc. v. Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Assn., 409 Mass. 734, 747 (1991) (no exhaustion requirement for a constitutional challenge, particularly where there was no specialized fact finding required).[11]

The board clearly had no jurisdiction to decide the constitutionality of the forfeiture provision as applied to the plaintiff. See ibid.; 2 Pierce, Administrative Law § 15.5, at 1004 (4th ed. 2002) (“agencies lack the power to hold statutory provisions unconstitutional”). It is for the courts, not administrative agencies, to decide the constitutionality of statutes. Moreover, the determination of the constitutionality of a statute as applied can be one of the most difficult and sensitive tasks performed by the judiciary. This is particularly true here given the novelty of Eighth Amendment excessive fine claims,[12] the scarcity of precedent, the importance of pension rights, and the potential widespread applicability of the forfeiture provision. Recognizing this limitation on their jurisdiction, retirement boards have declined to consider constitutional challenges to G. L. c. 32, § 15, forfeitures. Se Doherty v. Retirement Bd. of Medford, 425 Mass. at 133; MacLean v. State Bd. of Retirement, 432 Mass. 339, 352 n. 16 (2000).

Although an agency cannot decide an ultimate constitutional issue, the question remains whether such an issue must nonetheless be brought before it to inform the agency’s resolution of the statutory and regulatory questions it must consider and to draw on its specialized expertise for necessary fact finding. In the instant case, for example, the board, had it been so informed, would have been made sensitive, if it were not already, to the

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need to interpret statutes to avoid constitutional problems. Nevertheless, the legal issue before the board — whether the convictions were for offenses involving the plaintiff’s office or position — was quite distinct from whether the forfeiture was an Eighth Amendment violation. Given this clear distinction, the multiple direct links between the crimes and the plaintiff’s office, and the automatic nature of the forfeiture provision, we discern no basis for concluding that the failure to alert the board about the Eighth Amendment argument would have altered the board’s analysis of the other issues within its jurisdiction.

We also conclude that the fact finding required to resolve the Eighth
Amendment issue does not involve specialized expertise. In determining whether a pension forfeiture is an excessive fine, the Supreme Judicial Court has calculated the lost benefits and the ill-gotten gains to determine whether the punishment is “grossly disproportional.”[13] MacLean v. State Bd. of Retirement, 432 Mass at 346, quoting from United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321, 334 (1998).[14] This requires determining the value of the lost pension benefits after subtracting the returned contributions.[15] It would also require an understanding of the value of continued employment to the plaintiff, at least in terms of salary and increased pension benefits. The “gravity of the offense, . . . whether the violation was related to any other illegal activities, and die harm resulting from the crime” must also be considered. MacLean v. State Bd. of Retirement, supra. Although the board could have been helpful in developing some of the underlying

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facts, most of these facts are not within the special expertise of a retirement board. Rather, they involve the type of fact finding ordinarily undertaken by the courts.[16]

In sum, the resolution of the Eighth Amendment as applied challenge to the forfeiture provision in the statute is ultimately and undeniably a core judicial function. It is also outside the jurisdiction and special expertise of the board and separate and apart from the issues the board needs to resolve. Consequently, the failure to raise the issue before the administrative agency cannot result in the closure of the record and the waiver of the constitutional claim. A remand of the Eighth Amendment claim is therefore required.

Conclusion. We conclude that the plaintiffs convictions were for offenses involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position, and that there was no error in the refusal of board member McCauley to recuse himself from the hearing. However, it was error to deem the Eighth Amendment claim waived. Accordingly, the judgment of the Superior Court is vacated, and the case is remanded to the District Court for consideration of the plaintiffs Eighth Amendment claim.

So ordered.

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