All hearings are tape recorded, and both counsel substitutes and disciplinary hearing officers undergo outside assessment every two years and peer assessment every 90 days, said TDCJ Assistant Director for Programs and Services Charles Smith. Counsel substitutes, while subject to the authority of the warden at their unit, are employed by a separate branch of TDCJ, not the unit itself, Smith said. TDCJ spokesman Larry Todd said empowering the disciplinary hearing officer to act as prosecutor, judge and jury does not unduly weight the procedure toward guilty verdicts. Our people are well trained, and they are people of integrity. Colosi said the process itself stands up to constitutional scrutiny, but this is no guarantee abuses won't occur.
Prisoners alleging mistreatment can sue in federal court.
In most cases, the prisoners cannot afford a lawyer and represent themselves. Colosi said the grievance process resulted from the Legislature's desire to reduce the number of such cases. Even if an inmate gets a lawyer and files suit, the lawyer is hamstrung by whatever the inmate said during the grievance process. Todd said TDCJ owes it to taxpayers to conduct the disciplinary process as quickly and fairly as possible. We are trustees of the taxpayers' money, and we must be good stewards of that money.