Prison Disciplinary Procedures and Judicial Review Under the Nebraska Administrative Procedure Act

• NCJ Number: 88460
• Journal: Nebraska Law Review Volume: 61 Issue: 1 Dated: (1982) Pages: 1-29
• Author(s): J R Potuto
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 29 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article calls for judicial review of prison disciplinary decisions, thereby refuting the Reed decision in Nebraska which was based on a suit in district court that attempted to reverse the punitive action of a disciplinary committee on the grounds that district court jurisdiction was provided by the judicial review sections of the Nebraska Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

Abstract

The Nebraska Supreme Court in Reed v. Parratt (1981) went out of its way to avoid the plain language of the APA and find its judicial review provisions inapplicable to prison disciplinary decisions. The court also misevaluated the policy considerations underlying judicial review -- both with respect to the court's attempt to find legislative intent and, more generally, with respect to the nature and efficacy of judicial review. The court should correct its decision in Reed by expressly finding that the Declaratory Judgment Act is applicable to prison hearings and by employing a standard of review equivalent to that of the APA. A total of 142 footnotes are supplied. (Author summary modified)