Opinion ID: 778006
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Aftermath of the June 3, 1995 Incident

Text: 8 On June 4, 1995, Pennsylvania State Trooper Leo Luciani interviewed Smith regarding Smith's alleged attack of Mensinger. During that interview Luciani purportedly showed Smith a photograph of Mensinger that Smith claims supports his claim that he never hit her in the face. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth filed a criminal complaint against Smith based upon Mensinger's allegation, and Luciani testified for the prosecution at the preliminary hearing on those charges. The charges included assault, assault by a prisoner, and retaliation for past official action. The Commonwealth subsequently added the charge of disorderly conduct, and Smith eventually pled nolo contendere to that charge. The trial court then granted the Commonwealth's request to nol pros the remaining charges. 9 Meanwhile, a hearing on the three misconduct reports was scheduled at SCI-Frackville, and Smith completed a Request for Representation form listing two inmates he wanted to call as witnesses at that hearing. He claims that those two inmates would have testified that he did not strike Mensinger as she had charged. When Smith arrived at the hearing, Hearing Officer Mary Canino informed him that his witnesses were not available and that the hearing would be delayed until that afternoon. 1 However, the hearing did not proceed that afternoon, and Smith was transferred to the State Correctional Institution at Mahoney (SCI-Mahoney) the next day. 10 Smith's misconduct hearing reconvened at SCI-Mahoney a few days later. However, since Smith's witnesses remained at SCI-Frackville, Canino offered to continue the hearing to afford Smith an opportunity to submit written statements from his witnesses. Smith refused the offer because he did not trust that prison officials would obtain accurate statements. Rather than submit those statements, Smith sought a continuance in order to attempt to recover the allegedly exculpatory photograph that Trooper Luciani had shown him. Canino denied Smith's request for a continuance, and Smith's hearing on the misconduct reports proceeded without his witnesses. 11 Canino credited the testimony against Smith, and found Smith guilty of the conduct charged in all three misconduct reports. He received seven months disciplinary confinement for assaulting Mensinger and for resisting the officers who were escorting him to the RHU. Canino also ordered that Smith's prison account be assessed for medical and other expenses to pay for contact lenses for Officer Mensinger even though no evidence of any such expenses had been produced at the hearing. App. at 63. Accordingly, $165.00 was deducted from Smith's inmate account. Smith challenged that action by filing a grievance in which he complained that there was insufficient evidence to debit his account to buy Mensinger lenses. He also unsuccessfully appealed to the Program Review Committee, and to Superintendent Dragovich.