Opinion ID: 2816582
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Mr. Ruppert’s Claims and the Disposition

Text: The complaint contains five claims: 1. The New Mexico Department of Corrections and the company operating the correctional facility used disciplinary actions as a pretext to increase profit by keeping individuals imprisoned longer than they should have been. 2. Prison officials deprived Mr. Ruppert of due process by excluding him from rehabilitative programs. 3. Authorities did not allow Mr. Ruppert to have adequate access to legal materials. 4. The sentence, life imprisonment, was unauthorized. 5. Prison officials retaliated against Mr. Ruppert. The district court dismissed the first three claims and held that the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the fifth claim. We agree with these rulings. The fourth claim (unauthorized life sentence) was not discussed in the district court’s opinion. But this omission was harmless because the claim was invalid on its face.