Suspension of Inmate's Visiting Privileges Does Not Mandate Due Process Protection: Kentucky Department of Corrections V. Thompson, 109 S. Ct. 1904 (1989)

• NCJ Number: 131790
• Journal: Washington University Journal of Urban and Contemporary Law Volume: 38 Dated: (Fall 1990) Pages: 259-273
• Author(s): R Simon
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In Kentucky Department of Corrections v. Thompson, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Kentucky prison regulation did not limit official discretion enough to grant inmates a State-created liberty interest in visitation privileges.

Abstract

The Thompson case came about when prison officials suspended visitation privileges for two inmates at the Kentucky State Reformatory without affording them a hearing. The inmates brought a class action suit against the prison, alleging that the suspension of visiting privileges without a hearing violated the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. The District Court for the western District of Kentucky held that the language of the consent decree entitled prisoners to a protected liberty interest in open visitation. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed this decision, holding that the Kentucky prison regulation did not sufficiently limit official discretion in order to give inmates a State-created liberty interest in receiving visitors. The high court explicitly endorsed the requirement of mandatory language for entitlement to due process protection. The case demonstrates the need to strike a balance between prisoner rights and the independence of prison officials. 89 footnotes