Opinion ID: 447905
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Identifying a Protected Liberty Interest

Text: 10 The threshold question in due process analysis is whether a constitutionally protected interest is implicated. Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 223-24, 96 S.Ct. 2532, 2537-38, 49 L.Ed.2d 451 (1976). Not every grievous loss suffered at the hands of the state will require the procedural protection of constitutional due process. Id. at 224, 96 S.Ct. at 2538. A prisoner has no independent constitutional right to conditional release before the expiration of a valid sentence. Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, 442 U.S. 1, 7, 99 S.Ct. 2100, 2103, 60 L.Ed.2d 668 (1979). 11 A state may create a constitutionally protected liberty interest by establishing regulatory measures that impose substantive limitations on the exercise of official discretion. Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 470-71, 103 S.Ct. 864, 870-71, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983). To establish a protected interest, a prisoner must show  'that particularized standards or criteria guide the State's decisionmakers.'  Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 249, 103 S.Ct. 1741, 1747, 75 L.Ed.2d 813 (1983) (quoting Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, 452 U.S. 458, 467, 101 S.Ct. 2460, 2466, 69 L.Ed.2d 158 (1981) (Brennan, J., concurring)). There must be objective and defined criteria which the decision-maker is required to respect. Id. 12 The statistical probability that a particular treatment will be applied does not generate constitutional protection. Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, supra, 452 U.S. at 465, 101 S.Ct. at 2464. Unspoken understandings are unprotected. Jago v. Van Curen, 454 U.S. 14, 20, 102 S.Ct. 31, 35, 70 L.Ed.2d 13 (1981). 13 Published prison regulations may create a protected interest. Olim v. Wakinekona, supra, 461 U.S. at 249-50, 103 S.Ct. at 1747-48. It is unclear whether unpublished administrative policy statements may do so. The Supreme Court has not considered that issue, but circuit courts generally have held that explicit written pronouncements may create a protected interest. See Lucas v. Hodges, 730 F.2d 1493, 1501-04 (D.C.Cir.), vacated as moot, 738 F.2d 1392 (D.C.Cir.1984) (per curiam) (reviewing cases). Contra id. at 1507-08 (Starr, J., dissenting in part). 14 An issue left open by the Supreme Court in Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, supra, is whether state standards governing prison release must eliminate all discretion in decision-making to create a protected liberty interest. In Greenholtz, the Court characterized the conditional release decision as a subtle, predictive judgment, based on subjective appraisal of many elusive considerations. Id. 442 U.S. at 8-10, 99 S.Ct. at 2104-2105. The possibility of parole creates only a hope, not protected by due process. Id. at 11, 99 S.Ct. at 2105. However, the Court found that Nebraska created a protected interest in parole by mandating that parole shall be granted, unless one of four specially designated exceptions applied. Id. at 11-12, 99 S.Ct. at 2105-2106. The Court emphasized the uniqueness of the Nebraska parole statute and cautioned that whether any other state statute created a liberty interest would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. Id. at 12, 99 S.Ct. at 2106. 15 We are persuaded that the unique shall/unless formula of the Nebraska statute was decisive in Greenholtz. Boothe v. Hammock, 605 F.2d 661, 664 (2d Cir.1979). No protected entitlement to release exists unless a state scheme includes that formula. Id. Guidelines used to structure the exercise of discretion in making release decisions do not create a protected interest. Id. Accordingly, this circuit joins the majority of other circuits that endorse a restrictive interpretation of Greenholtz. E.g., Slocum v. Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles, 678 F.2d 940, 941 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1043, 103 S.Ct. 462, 74 L.Ed.2d 612 (1982); Candelaria v. Griffin, 641 F.2d 868, 869-70 (10th Cir.1981) (citing cases); Williams v. Briscoe, 641 F.2d 274, 277 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 854, 102 S.Ct. 299, 70 L.Ed.2d 147 (1981). See generally Brandon v. District of Columbia Board of Parole, 734 F.2d 56, 61-62 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 811, 83 L.Ed.2d 804 (1985) (noting circuit conflict, declining to choose sides). 16 Baumann asserts that Winsett v. McGinnes, 617 F.2d 996 (3d Cir.1980) (en banc), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1093, 101 S.Ct. 891, 66 L.Ed.2d 822 (1981), controls the disposition of this case. There, the Third Circuit held that guidelines setting out the goals of prison programs established perimeters limiting the exercise of officials' discretion. Id. at 1006-07. The court reasoned that a liberty interest arises when a prisoner meets the work release eligibility requirements and release would be consistent with established work release policy. Id. at 1007. We reject the Third Circuit's reasoning in Winsett.