Opinion ID: 512586
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appropriate on Grounds of Qualified Immunity

Text: 39 Eng's appeal from summary judgment in favor of Milligan presents a different picture. The district court there ruled as a matter of law that Eng's claims against Milligan, even if true, do not rise to the level of a constitutional violation under Wolff. This ruling effectively determines that Milligan is entitled to qualified immunity because no construction of the alleged facts could demonstrate that in 1983 Milligan violated Eng's established constitutional right to assistance. 40 As the district court recognized, a prison inmate facing a disciplinary hearing is only entitled to assistance from a fellow inmate or a prison employee under certain circumstances. For example, when the inmate is illiterate or the issues extremely complex. Wolff, 418 U.S. at 570, 94 S.Ct. at 2981. The hearing transcript and pleadings demonstrate that Eng is not illiterate and that he understood the charges against him. Thus, he was not, at the time when these events occurred in 1983, deprived of any assistance due him as a matter of clearly established constitutional right. See Weber v. Dell, 804 F.2d 796, 803 (2d Cir.1986) (requiring an appropriately direct prior holding by federal courts as a prerequisite to finding clearly established rights), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 3263, 97 L.Ed.2d 762 (1987); see also Anderson v. Creighton, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3038, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987); Robison v. Via, 821 F.2d 913, 920 (2d Cir.1987). Because the interest asserted by Eng was not clearly established, and therefore not protected at the time of Milligan's omissions, we affirm Judge MacMahon's ruling that granted summary judgment dismissing Eng's claim against Milligan for failure to provide assistance.