Opinion ID: 787387
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Inmate Due Process Claims

Text: 38 The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution provides that [n]o State shall ... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. Although prison inmates necessarily have their liberty severely curtailed while incarcerated, they are nevertheless entitled to certain procedural protections when disciplinary actions subject them to further liberty deprivations such as loss of good-time credit or special confinement that imposes an atypical hardship. See Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 555-56, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974) (describing rights that must be afforded before revocation of good-time credits); Kalwasinski v. Morse, 201 F.3d 103, 108 (2d Cir.1999) (per curiam) (concluding atypical confinement may not be imposed without providing procedures enumerated in Wolff ); see also Luna v. Pico, 356 F.3d at 487 (same). Given the procedural posture of this case, we assume, without deciding, that Sira's six-month confinement in the special housing unit imposed an atypical hardship entitling him to due process. See generally Kalwasinski v. Morse, 201 F.3d at 107-08 (discussing factors relevant to deciding if confinement in special housing unit constitutes an atypical hardship). 39 The due process protections afforded a prison inmate do not equate to the full panoply of rights due to a defendant in a criminal prosecution. Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. at 556, 94 S.Ct. 2963. Notably, there is no right to counsel or to confrontation at prison disciplinary hearings. See id. at 567-70, 94 S.Ct. 2963. Nevertheless, an inmate is entitled to advance written notice of the charges against him; a hearing affording him a reasonable opportunity to call witnesses and present documentary evidence; a fair and impartial hearing officer; and a written statement of the disposition, including the evidence relied upon and the reasons for the disciplinary actions taken. See id. at 563-67, 94 S.Ct. 2963; accord Luna v. Pico, 356 F.3d at 487; Kalwasinski v. Morse, 201 F.3d at 108. Since Wolff, the Supreme Court has clarified that judicial review of the written findings required by due process is limited to determining whether the disposition is supported by some evidence. Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 455, 105 S.Ct. 2768, 86 L.Ed.2d 356 (1985). This standard is extremely tolerant and is satisfied if there is any evidence in the record that supports the disciplinary ruling. Friedl v. City of New York, 210 F.3d 79, 85 (2d Cir.2000). Nevertheless, as this court recently explained, the some evidence standard requires some reliable evidence. Luna v. Pico, 356 F.3d at 488; see Taylor v. Rodriguez, 238 F.3d 188, 194 (2d Cir.2001).