Opinion ID: 787387
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Totality Review of the Reliability of Confidential Evidence

Text: 76 We agree that when confidential information presented at a prison disciplinary proceeding involves multiple levels of hearsay, a hearing officer cannot determine the reliability of that information simply by reference to the informant's past record for credibility. Credible informants may, after all, unwittingly pass along suspect information from unreliable sources. For this reason, the officer must consider the totality of the circumstances to determine if the hearsay information is, in fact, reliable. 77 Any number of factors may inform a totality assessment of reliability. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 233, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) (holding that reliability assessments generally depend on the totality of circumstances). For example, a hearing officer may consider the identity and reputation of the original declarant, his motive for making the statements at issue, whether he is willing to testify and, if not, the reasons informing that decision, and the consequences he faces if his disclosures prove false. Where the original declarant's identity is unknown or not disclosed, the hearing officer may nevertheless consider such factors as the specificity of the information, the circumstances under which it was disclosed, and the degree to which it is corroborated by other evidence. See Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 330-31, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 110 L.Ed.2d 301 (1990); United States v. Wagner, 989 F.2d 69, 72-73 (2d Cir.1993). See generally Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. at 300-01, 93 S.Ct. 1038 (finding hearsay statements reliable because they were made spontaneously, were corroborated by some other evidence in the case, and were against the declarant's interest); Dutton v. Evans, 400 U.S. 74, 88-89, 91 S.Ct. 210, 27 L.Ed.2d 213 (1970) (further discussing factors relevant to reliability). The officer may also consider any challenges to reliability raised by the accused inmate. Where good reasons justify withholding confidential evidence from the inmate, the hearing officer, of course, has the singular responsibility for ensuring that he has been provided with all the facts and circumstances necessary to make an informed assessment of reliability. 78 In this case, where Sira appears to have been unjustifiably deprived of adequate notice and the substance of the evidence against him, Capt. Morton's failure to probe and assess the totality of the circumstances in assessing the reliability of third-party hearsay information disclosed by confidential informants makes it impossible for us to conclude as a matter of law at this stage of the case that Sira can present no viable sufficiency claim. While this is obviously the case with respect to the general accusations reported by Informants 2 and 4, the conclusion pertains even as to Informant 1. As we have already noted, his report that Codorel had announced to a group of striking inmates that Sira would enforce discipline in C-Block might have sufficed, by itself, to support Sira's discipline if the statement's reliability had been assessed in light of the totality of the circumstances. But Codorel's reliability could not be determined by reference only to the credibility record of Informant 1. It may be that on further development of the record, Morton might satisfactorily demonstrate that he did base his reliability finding with respect to all the hearsay declarants on more than a credibility assessment of the informants, but on this appeal, we must assume otherwise and, therefore, conclude that plaintiff has stated a viable constitutional claim. 79 Defendants, however, submit that further factual development is unnecessary to their motion. They argue that the reliability of the hearsay evidence is so plainly established by the internal consistency of the information disclosed that Sira cannot, as a matter of law, establish that he was disciplined without some reliable evidence. In appropriate cases, consistency among hearsay statements may support a finding of reliability. See United States v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 998 F.2d 120, 124 (2d Cir.1993); accord United States v. Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters, 315 F.3d 97, 100 n. 3 (2d Cir.2002). But such a finding is not compelled as a matter of law in every case, and certainly not in this one. 80 For example, defendants highlight that several declarants placed Sira in Building 12 at night and in the pre-release center in the morning. At oral argument, however, Sira's counsel explained that his client was assigned to these locations. Presumably, Sira himself could have made this point at the discipline hearing had he known the substance of the confidential evidence. Corroboration of facts generally known or easily obtained do not necessarily establish a source's reliability with respect to other incriminating matters. See Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. at 332, 110 S.Ct. 2412; see also United States v. Mendonsa, 989 F.2d 366, 369 (9th Cir.1993) (mere confirmation of innocent static details is insufficient to support an anonymous tip); United States v. Rasor, 599 F.2d 1330, 1332 (5th Cir.1979) (holding that corroboration of information that was readily available to many persons does not demonstrate reliability). The consistency among the declarants on this point therefore bears little, if any, weight on a motion for summary judgment. 81 The more significant consistency among certain of the hearsay statements is the description of Sira as a person responsible for enforcing strike participation. The statements, however, also bear certain inconsistencies — for example, some of the declarants reported that Sira enforced C-Block (where he was housed), while others said J-Block (where he apparently worked). Further, except in the case of declarant Codorel, the statements reveal almost nothing about the circumstances under which they were made. On this record, we cannot conclude as a matter of law that Capt. Morton necessarily found that the consistencies in the hearsay established their reliability. Nothing in the record indicates that he considered the issue, nor any other circumstances relevant to the reliability of the hearsay accounts other than the confidential informants' credibility records. As we have already stated, this last factor is insufficient, by itself, to establish the reliability of the hearsay information communicated by Informants 1-4.
82 One source, Informant 5, provided direct evidence, reporting that he saw Sira coerce inmates through strong arm tactics and threats of violence to participate in certain stages of the planned strike. Hearing Tr., Feb. 8, 2000, at 5. We agree with the district judge that this conclusory characterization of Sira's conduct — unsupported by any factual basis as to what the informant heard or saw that he considered threatening, when or where he made his observations, or the persons toward whom Sira directed his purported threats — cannot, by itself, qualify as some reliable evidence of inmate misconduct. As the Supreme Court has long cautioned, a conclusory statement of culpability provides virtually no basis at all for a reviewing officer to make a reasoned and independent judgment on the matter at issue. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. at 239, 103 S.Ct. 2317. Due process does not permit a hearing officer simply to ratify the bald conclusions of others; it requires some inquiry to determine whether the totality of facts and circumstances reasonably supports the proffered conclusion. Indeed, this obligation pertains even when the conclusion is that of an eyewitness or person of general reliability. See id. at 234 & n. 8, 103 S.Ct. 2317; see also Zavaro v. Coughlin, 970 F.2d 1148, 1152-53 (2d Cir.1992) (holding that testimony from prison officials that every inmate of the more than one hundred in the mess hall at a particular time participated in a riot was too conclusory and speculative to constitute reliable evidence). 83 The factual basis for a witness's conclusions is certainly a relevant factor among the totality of circumstances properly considered in assessing reliability. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. at 239, 103 S.Ct. 2317; Caldarola v. Calabrese, 298 F.3d 156, 162-63 (2d Cir.2002). While a thorough articulation of the factual basis for particular information may not be necessary in every case, especially where other circumstances weigh heavily in favor of reliability, 11 in this case the record is devoid of any inquiry into the basis for Informant 5's conclusory disclosure. The officer who dealt directly with Informant 5 testified to no facts or circumstances supporting the source's conclusion, and the hearing officer did not request that the officer question the informant further to ascertain such underlying information. 84 The record suggests that Capt. Morton may have recognized a reliability problem with respect to Informant 5's conclusory statement and, rather than pursue any inquiry into the totality of the circumstances, chose simply to ignore the evidence. He did not, after all, find Sira guilty of the threat charge, which he presumably would have done had he concluded that Informant 5's statement was reliable. If, indeed, Morton rejected or ignored Informant 5's conclusory statement — as a view of the evidence most favorable to Sira would suggest — we cannot assume that it was used to corroborate the third-party hearsay declarations whose own reliability, on the record before us, appears not to have been adequately assessed. 85 In sum, if we view the record in the light most favorable to Sira, we must conclude that he has presented a viable due process claim that defendants ordered him disciplined without some reliable evidence of misconduct. 86