Helms v. Hewitt, 80-2393
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit) |
| Citation | 712 F.2d 48 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-2393,80-2393 |
| Parties | Aaron HELMS, Appellant, v. Lowell D. HEWITT, Superintendent; B.B. Kyler, CO III; R.F. Stotelmyer, Major; B.K. Smith, Counselor III; K.R. Hileman, Farm Manager; D.R. Erhard, Deputy Superintendent for Treatment; T.W. Henry, Director of Treatment; W.W. Mateer, C.I. Manager. |
| Decision Date | 29 June 1983 |
Before GARTH, ROSENN and MILLER, Circuit Judges. *
In his complaint filed in the district court, the plaintiff alleged that he was removed from the general population and placed under less favorable conditions in administrative segregation without being afforded due process. He also averred that the subsequent adjudication of institutional disciplinary charges against him was constitutionally tainted by the substantive use of critical hearsay testimony allegedly obtained from an unidentified informant. The district court entered summary judgment for the defendants on both claims.
On appeal we reversed on both claims. Because we were unable to conclude on this record whether the defendants acted reasonably in light of existing law and with the requisite good faith in connection with Helms' confinement and restrictive custody, we left the issue of official immunity to the district court on remand. Helms v. Hewitt, 655 F.2d 487 (3d Cir.1981). We also directed that on remand the defendants should be provided an opportunity to prove that they afforded Helms his constitutional rights before the Hearing Committee in the proceedings on December 8, 1978.
The defendants sought certiorari which the Supreme Court granted "to consider what limits the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment places on the authority of prison administrators to remove inmates from the general prison population and confine them to a less desirable regimen for administrative reasons." Hewitt v. Helms, --- U.S. ----, 103 S.Ct. 864, 74 L.Ed.2d 675 (1983). 1
Predicated on the questions presented to the Supreme Court for certiorari 2 and its decision, we conclude that our judgment with respect to the second issue before this court, namely, the denial of due process when a prisoner's conviction on disciplinary charges rests solely on a hearsay report of an unidentified informant which offers no basis for an independent assessment of the informant's credibility or reliability, remains unaffected by the Supreme Court's mandate.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the judgment of this court filed June 30, 1981, be and the same is hereby vacated, only insofar as we directed a remand of the case to provide the defendants "an opportunity to prove that they afforded Helms his constitutional rights before the December 8 [Hearing Committee]." Helms v. Hewitt, supra, 655 F.2d at 500. Therefore, the judgment of the district court will be affirmed...
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