PALMER, J.
Under Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 483-84, 115 S.Ct. 2293, 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995), and Wilkinson v. Austin, 545 U.S. 209, 222-23, 125 S.Ct. 2384, 162 L.Ed.2d 174 (2005), prison inmates have a protected liberty interest in avoiding certain conditions of confinement if, pursuant to state statute or regulation, they can be subjected to such conditions only if certain procedural requirements are met, and those conditions impose an atypical and significant hardship in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life. This certified
The following undisputed facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. The petitioner is serving sentences for numerous convictions, including murder and escape from a correctional institution. In October, 1997, shortly after Department of Correction (department) officials transferred the petitioner to the general population at MacDougall Correctional Institution following his December 31, 1991 escape from what is now the Osborn Correctional Institution (Osborn), certain department personnel found the petitioner in possession of a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) publication entitled "Stopping Escapes: Perimeter Security," which discusses perimeter security at prisons in the United States. The petitioner was charged with a disciplinary violation in connection with this
In a prior habeas proceeding, the petitioner had challenged the disciplinary report that was issued in connection with his possession of the NIJ publication. On July 28, 2003, the respondent agreed to withdraw that report and to restore the ninety days of statutory good time that had been revoked as a result of his possession of the NIJ publication.
In November, 2003, the petitioner filed the present habeas petition, alleging, inter
At the trial on the petitioner's habeas petition, Frederick Levesque, the department's Director of Offender Classification, testified on behalf of the respondent. He explained that, although a disciplinary violation often is the precipitating event that leads to the review of an inmate's eligibility for administrative segregation status, an administrative segregation hearing is not a disciplinary hearing, and placement in administrative segregation is not a form of punishment; rather, it is a management tool that is used to control inmates who are perceived to present the greatest safety and security threats. According to Levesque, the petitioner was placed in administrative segregation after a routine search of his cell turned up the NIJ publication on prison perimeter security. Levesque stated that the petitioner's possession of such a publication so soon after being released from administrative segregation following his escape from Osborn was deemed "highly suspicious" and caused department officials to conclude that the petitioner posed a danger "to the safety and security of ... [the] facility." With respect to the decision to place the petitioner in administrative segregation, Levesque explained that the petitioner "ha[d] already proven ... that he [was] very good at escaping. [The] ... number one mission ... is to protect the public. Unfortunately, back in 1991, we didn't do a very good job of that. [The petitioner] actually escaped and went and committed... additional crime[s]...." Levesque also observed that, in addition to his successful escape in 1991, the petitioner also had attempted to escape from prison two other times.
In its memorandum of decision, the habeas court, in denying the habeas petition, made no findings as to whether the petitioner's placement in administrative segregation was improper on the ground that the evidence presented at the administrative segregation hearing was insufficient to support the respondent's placement decision. Instead, the court denied the habeas petition on the basis of its determination that the petitioner was not entitled to the relief that he was seeking. Specifically, the court stated that "[t]he petitioner ... never had or presently has a right to the statutory good time and seven day job credits he is seeking. The awarding of such credits always has been and remains solely within the respondent's discretion.... Such decisions are discretionary and wholly within the [respondent's] purview in accordance with General Statutes § 18-7a."
The Appellate Court rejected the petitioner's claims. See Vandever v. Commissioner of Correction, 135 Conn.App. at 741-43, 42 A.3d 494. In contrast to the habeas court, the Appellate Court did not base its conclusion on the discretionary nature of the award of good time and work credits. See id., at 741-42, 42 A.3d 494. But cf. id., at 743, 42 A.3d 494 (noting that "the respondent ha[s] the discretion to award [or not to award statutory] good time credits ... and ha[s] the authority to promulgate rules that make an inmate ineligible to earn statutory good time" in concluding that "[t]he petitioner had no protected liberty interest in `good time' not yet credited" [citation omitted]). Like the habeas court, however, the Appellate Court did not address the petitioner's contention that, under Sandin, he had a protected liberty interest in avoiding administrative segregation, or that the process that he received prior to his transfer to Northern was constitutionally deficient. The Appellate Court concluded, instead, that "[i]nmates do not have a constitutionally protected right to a particular classification.... Discipline by prison officials in response to a wide range of misconduct falls within the expected perimeters of a sentence imposed by a court of law.... In order to state a claim of a violation of due process, an inmate must show a protected liberty interest and a deprivation of that interest without being afforded due process of law. A prisoner's liberty interest to be free from disciplinary segregation is not inherent in the due process clause of the federal constitution.... Under Connecticut law, the Commissioner of Correction retains discretionary authority to classify prisoners at any security level.... A prisoner has no constitutionally protected interest in or to a particular classification." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 741-42, 42 A.3d 494. The Appellate Court ultimately determined that the habeas court had not abused its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal and dismissed the petitioner's appeal. Id., at 743, 42 A.3d 494.
On appeal to this court following our grant of certification, the petitioner reasserts his claim that he had a protected liberty interest in avoiding administrative segregation and that his transfer to Northern violated his right to due process because it was based on a disciplinary report that later was expunged, and a prior escape for which he already had completed his period of administrative segregation.
The respondent does not dispute that, pursuant to one of the department's administrative directives, the petitioner was entitled to notice and a hearing prior to being transferred to Northern, and that the respondent was required to proffer a reason or reasons for concluding that the petitioner poses a threat to safety and security. The first requirement of Sandin is therefore met.
In Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 103 S.Ct. 864, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983), the United States Supreme Court considered the process that is due to a prisoner prior to his placement in administrative segregation. "The requirements imposed by the [due process] [c]lause are, of course, flexible and variable [depending on] the particular situation being examined.... In determining what is due process in the prison context, we are reminded that one cannot automatically apply procedural rules designed for free citizens in an open society ... to the very different situation presented by a disciplinary proceeding in a state prison.... Prison administrators... should be accorded wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline and to maintain institutional security.... These considerations convince [the court] that [prison officials are] obligated to engage only in an informal, nonadversary review of the information supporting [an inmate's] administrative confinement, including whatever statement [the inmate] wishe[s] to submit, within a reasonable time after [placement in] administrative segregation." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 472, 103 S.Ct. 864; see also Taylor v. Rodriguez, 238 F.3d 188, 192 (2d Cir.2001) ("[t]he [United States] Supreme Court requires that, assuming the existence of a liberty interest, a prisoner placed in administrative segregation be provided some notice of the charges against him and an opportunity to present his views to the prison official charged with deciding whether to transfer him to administrative segregation" [internal quotation marks omitted]).
"In a variety of contexts, [including the prison context] the [United States Supreme] Court has [also] recognized that a governmental decision resulting in the loss of an important liberty interest violates due process if the decision is not supported by any evidence." Superintendent v. Hill, 472 U.S. 445, 455, 105 S.Ct. 2768, 86 L.Ed.2d 356 (1985); see also Taylor v. Rodriguez, supra, 238 F.3d at 194 (when inmate has liberty interest in avoiding transfer to more restrictive conditions of confinement, decision to transfer must be supported by "`some evidence'"). This standard is a lenient one, requiring
In the present case, the petitioner does not dispute that the procedures that he was afforded prior to being placed in administrative segregation exceeded those to which he was constitutionally entitled under Hewitt. As we discussed previously, prior to being transferred to Northern, the petitioner was provided with written notice of the reasons for the transfer followed by a hearing at which he was allowed to present evidence and argument as to why the transfer was unwarranted. The petitioner was also given the option of having a staff advocate represent him at the hearing. The petitioner's contention, rather, is that the respondent's reasons for placing him in administrative segregation were invalid because the disciplinary report relating to his possession of the NIJ publication was subsequently expunged, and because he already had completed his period of administrative segregation following his escape.
The petitioner provides no authority for the proposition that department officials were not permitted to consider his interest in learning about perimeter security, and the fact that he previously had escaped from Osborn and attempted to escape on two other occasions, in evaluating whether he should be placed in administrative segregation, and our independent research has uncovered no such authority. This is not surprising, because we cannot perceive of any reason why it was improper for department officials to consider this information. To the contrary, it is well established that prison officials, in determining the appropriate security classification for inmates, often and for good reason must rely on an inmate's past conduct as a predictor of his or her future behavior. See, e.g., Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 225, 96 S.Ct. 2532, 49 L.Ed.2d 451 (1976) ("[t]ransfers between institutions, for example, are made for a variety of reasons and often involve no more than informed predictions as to what would best serve institutional security or the safety and welfare of the inmate"); Crawford v. Lappin, 446 Fed.Appx. 413, 415 (3d Cir.2011) (rejecting inmate's claim that his placement in administrative segregation violated due process because decision was predicated, in part, on conduct for which he already had been disciplined, and explaining that "due process is not violated by placing an inmate in administrative custody based on past conduct when that conduct provides a basis for predicting [future misconduct]"); Shoats v. Horn, 213 F.3d 140, 146 (3d Cir.2000) ("[e]ven [if the court] conclude[d] that [the prisoner's] continued confinement in administrative custody [was] based solely on his past crimes, the process he received would nonetheless pass constitutional muster, because predictions of likely future behavior based on a generally volatile criminal character have been upheld by the [United States] Supreme Court").
Moreover, as Levesque explained at the habeas trial, the prior hearing relating to the petitioner's possession of the NIJ publication was a disciplinary proceeding held for the purpose of determining whether the petitioner had violated any prison rules. The fact that it was later determined that that publication was not
In this regard, it bears emphasis that "a prison's internal security is peculiarly a matter normally left to the discretion of prison administrators. In assessing the seriousness of a threat to institutional security, prison administrators necessarily draw on more than the specific facts surrounding a particular incident; instead, they must consider the character of the inmates confined in the institution, recent and longstanding relations between prisoners and guards, prisoners inter se, and the like. In the volatile atmosphere of a prison, an inmate easily may constitute an unacceptable threat to the safety of other prisoners and guards even if he himself has committed no misconduct; rumor, reputation, and even more imponderable factors may suffice to spark potentially disastrous incidents. The judgment of prison officials in this context, like that of those making parole decisions, turns largely on purely subjective evaluations and on predictions of future behavior...." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Hewitt v. Helms, supra, 459 U.S. at 474, 103 S.Ct. 864. It therefore is not the role of this court to second-guess that decision, especially when, as in the present case, there is ample reason, based on the undisputed evidence, to support it. See, e.g., Superintendent v. Hill, supra, 472 U.S. at 455, 105 S.Ct. 2768 ("that due process requires some evidentiary basis for a decision ... does [not] imply that a disciplinary board's ... decisions ... are subject to second-guessing upon review"); Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 547, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979) ("[p]rison administrators... should be accorded wideranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline and to maintain institutional security").
As we have explained, however, the habeas court apparently misunderstood the petitioner's claim, and, as a result, its reason for rejecting the claim is unsustainable. See footnotes 6 and 7 of this opinion. Consequently, the Appellate Court incorrectly determined that the habeas court acted within its discretion in dismissing the petitioner's petition for certification to
The form of the judgment of the Appellate Court is improper, the judgment of the Appellate Court is reversed, and the case is remanded to that court with direction to affirm the judgment of the habeas court denying the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
In this opinion the other justices concurred.
Department of Correction Administrative Directive 9.4(5) provides: "An inmate shall not earn or receive statutory good time, seven-day work credit, restoration of lost good time or outstanding meritorious performance awards while on Administrative Segregation, Close Custody, Chronic Discipline Status or Special Needs Management."
We previously have explained that, in enacting this statute, "the legislature intended to discourage frivolous habeas appeals.... A habeas appeal ... is not ... frivolous and warrants appellate review if the appellant can show: that the issues are debatable among jurists of reason; that a court could resolve the issues [in a different manner]; or that the questions are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.... [I]f an appeal is not frivolous, the habeas court's failure to grant certification to appeal is an abuse of discretion....
"In determining whether the habeas court abused its discretion in denying the petitioner's request for certification, we necessarily must consider the merits of the petitioner's underlying claims to determine whether the habeas court reasonably determined that the petitioner's appeal was frivolous. In other words, we review the petitioner's substantive claims for the purpose of ascertaining whether those claims satisfy one or more of the three criteria [that we have] identified ... for determining the propriety of the habeas court's denial of the petition for certification." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Taylor v. Commissioner of Correction, 284 Conn. 433, 448-49, 936 A.2d 611 (2007).
This directive satisfies the first prong of Sandin because it requires, "in language of an unmistakably mandatory character, that a prisoner not suffer a particular deprivation" — in this case, placement in administrative segregation at Northern — "absent specified predicates." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Vega v. Lantz, 596 F.3d 77, 83 (2d Cir.2010).