Wright v. Lansing , 75 F. App'x 710 ( 2003 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
SEP 10 2003
TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
BRETT WRIGHT,
Petitioner-Appellant,
v. No. 03-3027
(D.C. No. 00-CV-3164-RDR)
MICHAEL A. LANSING, (D. Kansas)
Commandant, USDB -
Ft. Leavenworth,
Respondent-Appellee.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before EBEL , HENRY , and HARTZ , Circuit Judges.
Brett Wright, a military prisoner appearing pro se and in forma pauperis
(IFP), appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2241 habeas corpus
application. Because this proceeding arises under § 2241, he does not need a
*
After examining the brief and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not
binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and
collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the citation of orders and
judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under the terms and
conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
certificate of appealability. See McIntosh v. United States Parole Comm’n, 115
F.3d 809, 810 n.1 (10th Cir. 1997). We review the district court’s decision de
novo, see Patterson v. Knowles, 162 F.3d 574, 575 (10th Cir. 1998), and affirm.
Mr. Wright is an inmate at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Fort
Leavenworth, Kansas. He alleges that he was deprived of “good-conduct time”
and “extra-good-conduct time” without due process of law, apparently as the
result of two prison proceedings: (1) a Disciplinary and Adjustment Board (D&A
Board), at which he was found guilty of misconduct and as a result forfeited
earned good-conduct credits; and (2) an Unscheduled Reclassification Board
(URB), at which he was ordered placed in “maximum custody” (apparently a more
restrictive level of confinement), which he contends deprived him of the
opportunity to earn extra good conduct time that he would have earned had he
remained in the general prison population. The district court rejected Mr.
Wright’s due-process claim (along with others he does not press on appeal). The
court assumed that he had a liberty interest in his conduct credits, but ruled that
he received all the process he was due under the Constitution. We agree.
“Prison disciplinary proceedings are not part of a criminal prosecution, and
the full panoply of rights due a defendant in such proceedings does not apply.”
Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 556 (1974). When a prison disciplinary
hearing may result in the loss of good conduct credits, due process requires that
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the inmate receive “(1) advance written notice of the disciplinary charges; (2) an
opportunity, when consistent with institutional safety and correctional goals, to
call witnesses and present documentary evidence in his defense; and (3) a written
statement by the factfinder of the evidence relied on and the reasons for the
disciplinary action.” Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 454 (1985). In
addition, the findings of the disciplinary board must be “supported by some
evidence in the record.” Id.Mr. Wright does not argue on appeal that any of these procedural
protections were lacking at the D&A Board and URB proceedings. His sole
argument is that those proceedings offended due process because neither was held
within 14 days of some unspecified event (what that event is is unclear from his
brief), which he contends was required under prison regulations. (We note that he
points to no facts indicating that he was prejudiced by any delay in convening the
proceedings.)
His contention lacks merit. Where a liberty or property interest has been
infringed, the process which is due under the United States Constitution is that
measured by the due process clause, not prison regulations. See Cleveland Bd. of
Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 539-41 (1985); Hulen v. Yates, 322 F.3d 1229,
1247 (10th Cir. 2003) (“once the property right is established, it is purely a matter
of federal constitutional law whether the procedure afforded was adequate”).
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Since Mr. Wright does not dispute that he received the procedures described by
the Supreme Court in Hill and Wolff, his due process claim must fail. To the
extent that he is complaining that as a result of the alleged violation of the prison
regulations he “is in custody in violation of the . . . laws . . . of the United
States,” 28 U.S.C. § 2241(c)(3), he has not established a violation cognizable
under the habeas corpus statutes, even assuming that the regulations of a federal
prison could be deemed federal law. Cf. United States v. Talk, 158 F.3d 1064,
1069 (10th Cir. 1998) (alleged statutory violations are cognizable in motion under
§ 2255 only where there has been “a fundamental defect which inherently results
in a complete miscarriage of justice,” [or] an omission inconsistent with the
rudimentary demands of fair procedure” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
Accordingly, after consideration of Mr. Wright’s brief, the district court’s
order dated January 10, 2003, and the record on appeal, we AFFIRM for
substantially the same reasons set forth in the district court’s order. We DENY as
moot Mr. Wright’s motion to proceed IFP.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Harris L Hartz
Circuit Judge
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