Day v. Davis
Opinion of the Court
ORDER
Indiana inmate Mark Day filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, alleging among other things that his due process rights were violated when he was disciplined for unauthorized possession of a typewriter The district court denied Day’s petition and we affirm.
In June 2003, Officer D. Null confiscated a typewriter in Day’s possession because
At Day’s disciplinary hearing, the charged offense — “unauthorized reproduction” was dropped and changed to “unauthorized possession,” based on the lack of proof that Day owned the typewriter. According to a report of the disciplinary hearing, Day admitted that the document signed by Sue Hood was false and claimed never to have seen it before, but he maintained that the typewriter was his. The CAB denied Day’s request for documents he considered necessary for his defense because “[w]e don’t feel the requested evidence is needed for this case”; the CAB explained that, under prison policy, Day was not entitled to possess a typewriter once he left the prison. The CAB thus found Day guilty of unauthorized possession of the typewriter and revoked 30 days’ earned time credit. After exhausting administrative remedies, Day petitioned unsuccessfully for a writ of habeas corpus to the district court.
Indiana prisoners have a liberty interest in earned good-time credits, and are entitled to due process before it is taken away. Piggie v. Cotton, 344 F.3d 674, 677 (7th Cir. 2003). One such due process right is the opportunity to call witnesses and present evidence in their defense, when consistent with institutional safety and correctional goals. Superintendent, Mass. Corr. Inst., Walpole v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 454, 105 S.Ct. 2768, 86 L.Ed.2d 356 (1985); McPherson v. McBride, 188 F.3d 784, 785-86 (7th Cir. 1999).
On appeal, Day reiterates that he was denied due process when the CAB denied him the documentary evidence that he argues was pertinent to his defense. Day argues that the CAB’s denial was “pretext to prevent petitioner from proving that the disciplinary charges were false and retaliatory and part of a conspiracy by DOC officials.” Day argues that the requested documents will allow him to prove some vague conspiracy against him, but nowhere does he suggest that any of these documents would corroborate his right to possess the typewriter. Because Day does not argue that the requested documents related to his culpability for “unauthorized possession,” the CAB did not deprive him of due process when it denied him access
Day also argues that the district court abused its discretion by failing to rule on his discovery request for the same documents. Although the district court did not explicitly rule on the request, the court stated in its final order that “[t]he documents requested would not have assisted Mr. Day. None of Mr. Day’s due process rights were violated by the denial of the evidence by the CAB.” Day offers no reason why the requested documents would bolster his case, and we therefore conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion by not granting the request.
AFFIRMED.
. A copy of the grievance is not in the record.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mark E. DAY v. Cecil DAVIS
- Status
- Published