JACKSON L. KISER, Senior District Judge.
Ashbea Taylor Williams, a federal inmate housed at the United States Penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia, and proceeding
On May 7, 2016, Williams was charged with a disciplinary infraction for possessing drugs. A disciplinary hearing was held on May 18, 2016. The Disciplinary Hearing Officer ("DHO") found Williams guilty and, among other sanctions, imposed a penalty of disallowance of forty days of good conduct time. Williams alleges that on May 30, 2016, he requested that the DHO provide him with a written statement of the evidence relied on and the reasons for the sanctions imposed, but he did not receive a response or the DHO report.
On June 27, 2017, Williams was charged with a disciplinary infraction for destroying evidence during a search, after he flushed a drug pipe down a toilet. A disciplinary hearing was held on July 6, 2017. The DHO found Williams guilty and, among other sanctions, imposed a penalty of disallowance of forty days of good conduct time. Williams alleges that on July 31, 2017, he requested that the DHO provide him with a written statement of the evidence relied on and the reasons for the sanctions imposed, but he did not receive a response or the DHO report.
On August 27, 2017, Williams was charged with a disciplinary infraction for fighting, after he hit another inmate with closed-first punches. A disciplinary hearing was held on August 30, 2017. The DHO found Williams guilty and, among other sanctions, imposed a penalty of disallowance of twenty-seven days of good conduct time. Williams alleges that on September 25, 2017, he requested that the DHO provide him with a written statement of the evidence relied on and the reasons for the sanctions imposed, but he did not receive a response or the DHO report.
Williams alleges in his verified petition that, at the time he filed this action, he had not received a written statement of the evidence relied on or the reasons relied on for the sanctions imposed for any of the three disciplinary convictions.
Respondent filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Williams failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing this petition and, that his claims nevertheless are meritless because he did receive each of the DHO reports at the time of each conviction.
In response to respondent's motion, Williams argues that he could not exhaust administrative remedies because he did not receive copies of the DHO reports prior to filing this action and because Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") staff failed to provide him with appropriate administrative remedy forms, despite his requests for them.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) provides that a court should grant summary judgment "if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." "As to materiality, .... [o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment."
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. "An inmate has a liberty interest in good time credit and no state may constitutionally deprive him of that good time credit without due process of law."
Ordinarily, federal prisoners must exhaust "available" administrative remedies prior to filing § 2241 petitions.
Respondent argues that Williams contemporaneously received copies of the DHO reports for each of his disciplinary convictions and that he failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing this action. Williams avers in his petition that he did not receive the reports, and he states in his response to the motion for summary judgment that he could not exhaust remedies because BOP staff would not give him the appropriate forms to exhaust. I find material disputes of fact exist concerning whether Williams received the reports and whether administrative remedies were available to him. Accordingly, I will deny respondent's motion for summary judgment.
Although I am denying respondent's motion for summary judgment on the grounds raised by respondent, I note that delayed receipt of a DHO report, without more, is not a due process violation.