Bruner v. Rasmussen

792 F. Supp. 731, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8791, 1992 WL 130594
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedJune 11, 1992
DocketNo. 92-C-090 B
StatusPublished

This text of 792 F. Supp. 731 (Bruner v. Rasmussen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bruner v. Rasmussen, 792 F. Supp. 731, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8791, 1992 WL 130594 (D. Utah 1992).

Opinion

ORDER

BENSON, District Judge.

The plaintiff in this case filed a Complaint on January 27, 1992, alleging that the defendants failed to follow prison disciplinary procedures, thereby denying his rights to due process in violation of 42 U.S.C. section 1983. This court referred the case to the Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 636(b)(1)(B). On February 12, 1992, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation, concluding that plaintiffs case is without merit and recommending that it be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1915(d). Plaintiff filed an Objection to the Report and Recommendation on February 25, 1992.

This court has conducted a de novo review of the entire file in this case, including plaintiff’s Complaint and the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge. Gee v. Estes, 829 F.2d 1005, 1008-09 (10th Cir.1987). Because plaintiff is pursuing this claim pro se, the court will construe his Complaint liberally. Ruark v. Solano, 928 F.2d 947, 949 (10th Cir.1991). Based on such review, the court agrees with the Magistrate Judge that plaintiff’s Complaint is without merit.

To state a valid claim under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, plaintiff must allege that the defendants acted under color of state law to deprive him of a right secured by the United States Constitution. Ruark, 928 F.2d at 949 (citing Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 150, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1604, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970)). Plaintiff John Patrick Bruner, an inmate at the Utah State Prison, has alleged that various officers of the Utah Department of Corrections, in their official and individual capacities, failed to follow certain prison disciplinary procedures, thereby violating his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amend[733]*733ment of the United States Constitution. Specifically, plaintiff first alleges that defendants violated his right to due process by not informing him of the seriousness of the offenses charged against him prior to a hearing on the matter as required by prison regulations. Second, plaintiff claims his right to due process was violated when defendants failed to inform him of the exact date of the disciplinary hearing, also required by prison regulations.

In reviewing the Complaint, the court finds that plaintiffs allegations against the defendants in their official capacities must be dismissed. Such allegations constitute an action against the State of Utah and are barred by the Eleventh Amendment absent waiver by the state or a valid congressional override. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165-66, 169, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 3105, 3107, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985). Utah law specifically provides that immunity is not waived in cases involving civil rights violations. Utah Code Ann. § 63-30-10(2) (Cum.Supp.1991). Further, the United States Supreme Court has held that 42 U.S.C. section 1983 does not provide a congressional override to the Eleventh Amendment and therefore, a state or an official of the state acting in his official capacity is not subject to suit under Section 1983. See Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 2309, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989) (citing Quern v. Jordan, 440 U.S. 332, 99 S.Ct. 1139, 59 L.Ed.2d 358 (1979)); see also Ruark v. Solano, 928 F.2d 947, 950 (10th Cir.1991). Consequently, plaintiff’s allegations against the defendants in their official capacities must be dismissed.

Plaintiff is also making claims against the defendants in their individual capacities. To state a claim for denial of due process under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, plaintiff must allege a deprivation of a property or liberty interest. Phelps v. Wichita Eagle-Beacon, 886 F.2d 1262, 1268 (10th Cir.1989). If such an interest is found, the court must then ask whether the state, in depriving plaintiff of the protected interest, afforded him due process. Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U.S. 471, 481, 92 S.Ct. 2593, 2600, 33 L.Ed.2d 484 (1972).

In Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 556-57, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2975, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974), the United States Supreme Court recognized that inmates have a basic liberty interest in prison disciplinary procedures protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition to this liberty interest, which is based in the Due Process Clause itself, additional liberty interests may be created by state law. Id. But whether the liberty interest arises from the Due Process Clause itself or from state law, the Fourteenth Amendment requires that a prisoner facing disciplinary charges for misconduct be entitled to:

twenty-four hours’ advance written notice of the charges against him; [2] a right to call witnesses and present documentary evidence in defense, unless doing so would jeopardize institutional safety or correctional goals; [3] the aid of a staff member or inmate in presenting a defense, provided the inmate is illiterate or the issues complex; [4] an impartial tribunal; and [5] a written statement of reasons relied on by the tribunal.

Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 466 n. 3, 103 S.Ct. 864, 868 n. 3, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983) (citing Wolff, 418 U.S. at 563-72, 94 S.Ct. at 2978-82). The purpose of these minimum procedures is to insure that the substantive liberty interest to which the individual has a legitimate claim of entitlement is not arbitrarily abrogated. Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 250, 103 S.Ct. 1741, 1748, 75 L.Ed.2d 813 (1983); see Wolff, 418 U.S. at 557, 94 S.Ct. at 2975.

Plaintiff makes no claim that defendants violated any of the above-stated procedural requirements. Rather, plaintiff claims a denial of due process resulting from the prison’s failure to follow its own policies and procedures, in particular those procedures requiring classification of the incident at issue and incorporation of the hearing date on the notification.

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Related

Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
398 U.S. 144 (Supreme Court, 1970)
Morrissey v. Brewer
408 U.S. 471 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Wolff v. McDonnell
418 U.S. 539 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Quern v. Jordan
440 U.S. 332 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Hewitt v. Helms
459 U.S. 460 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Olim v. Wakinekona
461 U.S. 238 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Kentucky v. Graham
473 U.S. 159 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Neitzke v. Williams
490 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Will v. Michigan Department of State Police
491 U.S. 58 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Wendell Bills v. Murray Henderson
631 F.2d 1287 (Sixth Circuit, 1980)
United States v. Jiles, Anthony, Eliecer
658 F.2d 194 (Third Circuit, 1981)
Velasco-Gutierrez v. Crossland
732 F.2d 792 (Tenth Circuit, 1984)
Gee v. Estes
829 F.2d 1005 (Tenth Circuit, 1987)
Phelps v. Wichita Eagle-Beacon
886 F.2d 1262 (Tenth Circuit, 1989)
Brown v. Frey
889 F.2d 159 (Eighth Circuit, 1989)

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Bluebook (online)
792 F. Supp. 731, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8791, 1992 WL 130594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bruner-v-rasmussen-utd-1992.