Michael Lambert v. Wayne T. Salisbury, Jr.

Syllabus

This case came before the Supreme Court pursuant to a writ of certiorari filed by the state, seeking review of a Superior Court decision that granted an application for postconviction relief which had been filed by the applicant, Michael Lambert. The state contended before this Court that the hearing justice erred in ordering the Parole Board to immediately release Mr. Lambert on parole to the community as a consequence of the fact that the hearing justice had determined that Mr. Lambert was eligible for parole as a result of the aggregation of his life sentence with his consecutive sentence of ten years. The Supreme Court held that, based on its recent opinion in Neves v. State, 316 A.3d 1197 (R.I. 2024), the hearing justice ruled correctly in aggregating Mr. Lambert's sentences to determine his parole eligibility date. However, the Court further held that the hearing justice erred in ordering the Parole Board to immediately parole Mr. Lambert to the community. Accordingly, the Court affirmed in part and quashed in part the judgment of the Superior Court, and it remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.