Hasty v. Broglin

Citation531 N.E.2d 200
Decision Date07 December 1988
Docket NumberNo. 46S00-8808-CV-737,46S00-8808-CV-737
PartiesJohn M. HASTY, Appellant (Petitioner Below), v. G. Michael BROGLIN, Appellee (Respondent Below).
CourtSupreme Court of Indiana

John M. Hasty, Summitville, pro se.

Linley E. Pearson, Atty. Gen., David A. Arthur, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, for appellee.

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

Appellant John M. Hasty petitioned the LaPorte Circuit Court for a writ of habeas corpus. In his petition, Hasty alleged that the disciplinary procedures of the Westville Correctional Center violated his constitutional rights. The trial court dismissed the case, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction over the matter. Hasty argues that the trial court should have entertained jurisdiction.

Hasty was serving a ten-year sentence for robbery and arson when prison officials charged him with "Abuse of Mail." Hasty sent a large envelope to a friend outside the prison. The envelope contained smaller envelopes that Hasty hoped his friend would mail without the Department of Correction's return address. Prison officials determined that Hasty had violated a rule requiring a return address on outgoing correspondence and stripped him of a month's good-time credit. Hasty appealed the violation arguing that he did not know about the rule. He said a woman in the mail room failed to inform him that the rules prohibited such use of the mail. He points to a subsequent change in the rule specifically prohibiting his actions as proof that he was innocent. Prison officials denied Hasty's appeal.

This Court has held that there is no constitutionally protected right to judicial review of individual decisions of the prison disciplinary system. Riner v. Raines (1980), 274 Ind. 113, 409 N.E.2d 575; Adams v. Duckworth (1980), 274 Ind. 503, 412 N.E.2d 789. The Court thoroughly analyzed this issue in Riner, and we need only paraphrase that argument to address Hasty's contentions. Neither Indiana statutes nor common law rules establish Hasty's right to judicial review of prison disciplinary action. Absent statutory authorization, Indiana courts have declined to review a decision of a penal institution to take away an inmate's good-time credit for a prison infraction. Riner, 274 Ind. at 115, 409 N.E.2d at 577. The current system of administrative review by policy makers and executive officers within the correction department establishes a fair procedure to resolve disputes, one adequate under due process.

The trial court's dismissal for want of...

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22 cases
  • Walker v. O'Brien
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • June 22, 2000
    ... ... App. Ct. 1980) (habeas corpus review available). In others, like Indiana, the administrative proceeding is the end of the line. See Hasty v. Broglin, 531 N.E.2d 200 (Ind. 1988) (no judicial review available). In those states in which review is possible, it is far from plenary. See ... ...
  • Forbes v. Trigg
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • October 21, 1992
    ...Supreme Court has held that Indiana courts do not have jurisdiction to review the decisions of prison disciplinary boards, Hasty v. Broglin, 531 N.E.2d 200 (Ind.1988), Forbes has no state judicial remedies to exhaust. In his petition, Forbes argued that his due process rights include judici......
  • Ping v. McBride
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana
    • July 19, 1993
    ... ... Duckworth, 909 F.2d 1057 (7th Cir.1990), and the opinion of the Indiana Supreme Court in Hasty v. Broglin, 531 N.E.2d 200 (Ind.1988). This court also notes the discussion of an important facet of this issue in Forbes v. Trigg, 976 F.2d 308 ... ...
  • Medley v. Lemmon
    • United States
    • Indiana Appellate Court
    • September 12, 2013
    ...to resolve disputes, one adequate under due process.’ ” Zimmerman v. State, 750 N.E.2d 337, 338 (Ind.2001) (quoting Hasty v. Broglin, 531 N.E.2d 200, 201 (Ind.1988)). Medley seems to argue that Zimmerman does not apply here because the DOC has decided to label restriction of visitation unde......
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