Bryant v. Miller
Bryant v. Miller
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
We have received the Report of Magistrate Raymond J. Durkin dated October 4, 1984. While Plaintiff Bryant styles his complaint as a habeas corpus action, Magistrate Durkin has correctly concluded that it would be more properly brought under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Since Plaintiff’s complaint does not allege that he is in custody in violation of the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States, habeas corpus relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 would not be proper here. In his exceptions to the Magistrate’s Report filed on October 18, 1984,
This complaint flows from a work-stoppage at U.S.P. Lewisburg in May of 1984. Plaintiff was charged with fomenting the disturbance and received an incident report which states in pertinent part:
... information gathered indicates that you were an active supporter, enforcer, and leader in encouraging other inmates to follow your action of refusing to work____ Your actions have contributed to a disruption of work at this institution.
Consequently, the Institution Disciplinary Committee (IDC) decided that Plaintiff’s actions warranted 30 days in disciplinary segregation and a disciplinary transfer to U.S.P. Leavenworth. Plaintiff seeks prison wages lost as a result of his allegedly improper removal to disciplinary confinement; injunctive relief in the form of expungement of the record of the disciplinary proceeding and re-characterization of his transfer to Leavenworth as “administrative”; money damages from the various named Defendants for their alleged violation of his due process rights in the conduct of his disciplinary hearing; and attorney’s fees.
In assessing the seriousness of a threat to institutional security prison administrators necessarily draw on more than the specific facts surrounding an incident; instead, they must consider the character of the inmates confined in the institution, recent and longstanding relations between prisoners and guards, prisoners inter se and the like____ The judgment of prison officials in this context, like that of those making parole decisions, turns largely on ‘purely subjective evaluations and on predictions of future behavior.’ Hewitt [103 S.Ct.] at 867 citing Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, 452 U.S. 458, 464,101 S.Ct. 2460, 2464, 69 L.Ed.2d 158 (1981).
Thus, Plaintiff’s claim
Another salient point in Hewitt is the statement that an inmate who prison officials commit to disciplinary segregation “must merely receive some notice of the charges against him and an opportunity to present his views to the prison official charged with deciding whether to transfer him to administrative segregation”
As regards Plaintiff's desire to have his disciplinary transfer re-characterized as an administrative transfer, any such relief would be contingent upon Plaintiff convincing us that his disciplinary hearing was somehow invalid. This is also a prerequisite to any order by this Court that the record of Plaintiff's IDC hearing be expunged. Paine v. Baker, 595 F.2d 197, 202, cert. denied 444 U.S. 925, 100 S.Ct. 263, 62 L.Ed.2d 181 (1979). Since Plaintiff has failed to convince this Court that his IDC hearing did not meet due process criteria, his requests for re-characterization of his transfer and expungement of the record of his IDC hearing are denied.
A final claim to be addressed is for attorney’s fees in the amount of $3,500. This claim is spurious for the reason that Plaintiff Bryant has functioned pro se.
In accordance with the rationale above, we issue the following.
ORDER
AND NOW, this 24th day of October, 1984, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED as follows:
1. Plaintiff’s request to have the disciplinary record mentioned herein expunged is denied.
2. Plaintiff’s request to have his disciplinary transfer recast as an administrative transfer is denied.
3. Plaintiff’s request for attorney’s fees in this matter is denied.
4. Plaintiff’s demand for compensatory damages for alleged violation of his due process rights by the named Defendants is denied.
5. Plaintiff’s demand for lost wages and punitive damages is denied.
6. Judgment in Defendants’ favor is hereby entered and the Clerk of Courts is directed to close this case.
. We overlook the fact that these exceptions were untimely due to Plaintiffs pro se status.
. Magistrate Durkin has recommended that this case be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. Our consideration of the merits of this case is in no way indicative of a belief that the Magistrate’s recommendation of procedural dismissal is incorrect.
. Page 4(b) of Plaintiffs complaint.
. Hewitt, supra, 103 S.Ct. at 868.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Billie Austin BRYANT v. G.H. MILLER, Warden
- Status
- Published