Opinion ID: 324986
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Counsel and Counsel-Substitutes

Text: 8 In Wolff, the Court declined to hold 'that inmates have a right to either retained or appointed counsel in disciplinary proceedings.' (418 U.S. at 570, 94 S.Ct. at 2981.) 'Where an illiterate inmate is involved, however, or where the complexity of the issue makes it unlikely that the inmate will be able to collect and present evidence necessary for an adequate comprehension of the case, he should be free to seek the aid of a fellow inmate, or if that is forbidden, to have adequate substitute aid in the form of help from the staff or from a sufficiently competent inmate designated by the staff.' (Id.) 9 A provision for counsel-substitute does not depend upon the seriousness of the disciplinary sanction threatened, as we had contemplated in our prior opinion, but, under Wolff, turns on the ability of the prisoner to handle his own case. The consideration is crucial because any guaranty of process due is empty if the particular inmate is incompetent meaningfully to avail himself of it. Accordingly, we hold that in submitting a plan to the district court, the prison authorities must make provision for a counsel-substitute whenever a prisoner subjected to disciplinary proceedings is unable competently to handle his case without help. 10 Wolff did not reach the question of the right to counsel when a prisoner 'is required to appear before a prison disciplinary committee for violation of a prison rule which may also be punishable by state authorities.' (497 F.2d at 823.) Nothing in Wolff suggests to us that our reasoning or our conclusion on this issue requires reconsideration, and we decline the appellants' request that we do so. 11 Finally, respondents complain that the prison authorities seek to avoid the due process protections that the Supreme Court and we have required by relabeling some disciplinary proceedings as 'administrative classifications.' If the complaint has foundation, the ruse will be defeated. But the record before us does not reveal any facts bearing on the issue, and the district court has not had an opportunity to consider it. If any facts do exist tending to support the claim, they can be developed on remand. 12 We adhere to our prior opinion as herein modified. The cause is remanded for further proceedings consistent with the views herein expressed.