Baumann v. Arizona Dept. of Corrections

• Citation: 754 F.2d 841
• Decision Date: 28 February 1985
• Docket Number: No. 83-2699,83-2699
• Parties: Marcus T. BAUMANN, Appellant, v. ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)

Page 841

754 F.2d 841

Marcus T. BAUMANN, Appellant, v. ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Appellees.

No. 83-2699.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued Dec. 13, 1984.

Submitted Jan. 9, 1985.

Decided Feb. 28, 1985.

Marcus T. Baumann, pro se.

John H. Ryley, Phoenix, Ariz., for appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.

Before WRIGHT, POOLE, and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.

EUGENE A. WRIGHT, Circuit Judge:

On this appeal from the dismissal of a complaint seeking damages and equitable relief for denial of custodial release on a Although a litigant asserts that an order is final for purposes of appellate review, this court must determine sua sponte whether its jurisdiction is properly invoked. Hoohuli v. Ariyoshi, 741 F.2d 1169, 1171 n. 1 (9th Cir.1984). The record reflects the district court's reasoning that summary judgment could be granted due to Baumann's failure to discharge his burden in opposing defendants' summary judgment motion.

work furlough program, we are confronted initially with a jurisdictional question. Following oral argument, the parties were required to file additional memoranda on the question whether the district court made final disposition of all claims.

On the merits, the district court believed that Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), mandated summary disposition. Moreover, we are persuaded by representations made by the appellant and by counsel for the appellees that the district court intended to dispose of the entire case on immunity grounds. We have jurisdiction to reach the merits of this appeal and we affirm the judgment.

FACTS

Baumann was convicted in Arizona state court of 25 counts relating to the sale of unregistered securities, in connection with the sale of fraudulent mortgages to unsuspecting purchasers. He was convicted also in federal court of four counts of mail fraud in connection with a land fraud scheme in Arizona. He was imprisoned in May 1978. He was released from federal custody in September 1981 and transferred to state prison.

In December 1981, despite approval by several strata of decision-makers, Baumann was denied a work release. In June 1982, a second work release hearing was cancelled. In July, he was denied a home furlough. He filed suit challenging the denial of his applications for furloughs and seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.

On August 4, 1982, Judge Bilby found that Baumann had a protectible liberty interest in work release and ordered a work release hearing to be held within 30 days. About August 18, Baumann was granted parole and on September 8 he was released. His suit for declaratory and injunctive relief was dismissed as moot.

Baumann then filed a civil rights suit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 seeking equitable relief and damages for violation of his constitutional rights. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Our task in reviewing a summary judgment is "identical to that of the trial court." M/V American Queen v. San Diego Marine Construction Corp., 708 F.2d 1483, 1487 (9th Cir.1983). Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Baumann, we must determine under a de novo standard whether there are no genuine issues of material fact and whether the defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.; Fruehauf Corp. v. Royal Exchange Assurance of America, Inc., 704 F.2d 1168, 1171 (9th Cir.1983).

ANALYSIS

I. DUE PROCESS

Baumann contends that the denial of his work and home furloughs constituted a deprivation of liberty without due process, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

A. Identifying a Protected Liberty Interest

The threshold question in due process analysis is whether a constitutionally protected interest is implicated. Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 223-24, 96 S.Ct. 2532, 2537-38, 49 L.Ed.2d 451 (1976). Not every "grievous loss" suffered at the hands of the state will require the procedural protection of constitutional due process. Id. at 224, 96 S.Ct. at 2538. A prisoner has no independent constitutional right to conditional release before the expiration of a valid sentence. Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional A state may create a constitutionally protected liberty interest by establishing regulatory measures that impose substantive limitations on the exercise of official discretion. Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 470-71, 103 S.Ct. 864, 870-71, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983). To establish a protected interest, a prisoner must show " 'that particularized standards or criteria guide the State's decisionmakers.' " Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 249, 103 S.Ct. 1741, 1747, 75 L.Ed.2d 813 (1983) (quoting Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, 452 U.S. 458, 467, 101 S.Ct. 2460, 2466, 69 L.Ed.2d 158 (1981) (Brennan, J., concurring)). There must be "objective and defined criteria" which the decision-maker is required to respect. Id.

Complex, 442 U.S. 1, 7, 99 S.Ct. 2100, 2103, 60 L.Ed.2d 668 (1979).

The statistical probability that a particular treatment will be applied does not generate constitutional protection. Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, supra, 452 U.S. at 465, 101 S.Ct. at 2464. Unspoken understandings are unprotected. Jago v. Van Curen, 454 U.S. 14, 20, 102 S.Ct. 31, 35, 70 L.Ed.2d 13 (1981).

Published prison regulations may create a protected interest. Olim v. Wakinekona, supra, 461 U.S. at 249-50, 103 S.Ct. at 1747-48. It is unclear whether unpublished administrative policy statements may do so. The Supreme Court has not considered that issue, but circuit courts generally have held that explicit written pronouncements may create a protected interest. See Lucas v. Hodges, 730 F.2d 1493, 1501-04 (D.C.Cir.), vacated as moot, 738 F.2d 1392 (D.C.Cir.1984) (per curiam) (reviewing cases). Contra id. at 1507-08 (Starr, J., dissenting in part).

An issue left open by the Supreme Court in Greenholtz v. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex, supra, is whether state standards governing prison release must eliminate all discretion in decision-making to create a protected liberty interest. In Greenholtz, the Court characterized the conditional release decision as a subtle, predictive judgment, based on subjective appraisal of many elusive considerations. Id. 442 U.S. at 8-10, 99 S.Ct. at 2104-2105. The possibility of parole creates only a hope, not protected by due process. Id. at 11, 99 S.Ct. at 2105. However, the Court found that Nebraska created a protected interest in parole by mandating that parole "shall" be granted, "unless" one of four specially designated exceptions applied. Id. at 11-12, 99 S.Ct. at 2105-2106. The Court emphasized the uniqueness of the Nebraska parole statute and cautioned that whether any other state statute created a liberty interest would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. Id. at 12, 99 S.Ct. at 2106.

We are persuaded that the unique "shall/unless" formula of the Nebraska statute was decisive in Greenholtz. Boothe v. Hammock, 605 F.2d 661, 664 (2d Cir.1979). No protected entitlement to release exists unless a state scheme includes that formula. Id. Guidelines used to structure the exercise of discretion in making release decisions do not create a protected interest. Id. Accordingly, this circuit joins the majority of other circuits that endorse a restrictive interpretation of Greenholtz. E.g., Slocum v. Georgia State Board of Pardons & Paroles, 678 F.2d 940, 941 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1043, 103 S.Ct. 462, 74 L.Ed.2d 612 (1982); Candelaria v. Griffin, 641 F.2d 868, 869-70 (10th Cir.1981) (citing cases); Williams v. Briscoe, 641 F.2d 274, 277 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 854, 102 S.Ct. 299, 70 L.Ed.2d 147 (1981). See generally Brandon v. District of Columbia Board of Parole, 734 F.2d 56, 61-62 (D.C.Cir.1984), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 105 S.Ct. 811, 83 L.Ed.2d 804 (1985) (noting circuit conflict, declining to choose sides).

Baumann asserts that Winsett v. McGinnes, 617 F.2d 996 (3d Cir.1980) (en banc), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1093, 101 S.Ct. 891, 66 L.Ed.2d 822 (1981), controls the disposition of this case. There, the Third Circuit held that guidelines setting out the goals of prison programs established perimeters

limiting the exercise of officials' discretion. Id. at 1006-07. The court reasoned that a liberty interest arises when a prisoner meets the work release eligibility requirements and release would be consistent with established work release policy. Id. at 1007. We reject the Third Circuit's reasoning in Winsett.

B. Arizona Law

Published regulations establish the broad objectives of all furlough programs of the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADOC). ¹ The eligibility standards for application for a furlough also are provided by published regulation. ² Those regulations do not include substantive criteria specifically limiting the discretion of officials in making decisions concerning a particular application.

The ADOC Internal Management Policy and Procedure Manual includes Policy No. 432, which provides a specific procedure for handling work furlough applications. By statute, any Arizona rule not filed with the Secretary of State is void. Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. Sec. 41-1004. However, the state cannot arbitrarily deny privileges based on the lack of regulations if it grants privileges under unfiled regulations to other prisoners. Brown v. State, 117 Ariz. 476, 479, 573 P.2d 876 (1978). If Policy No. 432 creates a protected interest, its unfiled status will not bar Baumann's claims.

Policy Statement No. 432 provides specifically that the grant of a furlough is "at the sole discretion of the Director in accordance with [the] procedures." The statement's procedural structure alone does not establish a constitutionally protected interest. Hewitt v. Helms, supra, 459 U.S. at 471, 103 S.Ct. at 871.

Arizona has established no...