666 N.E.2d 304 | Ohio Ct. App. | 1995
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *422 Inmate Michael E. Shockey appeals from a judgment of the Ross County Court of Common Pleas which dismissed his civil rights complaint against several employees of the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He assigns the following error:
"The trial court erred to the prejudice of plaintiff-appellant in dismissing his claims authorized by
Inmate Shockey filed a complaint under Section 1983, Title 42, U.S. Code, seeking declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and money damages for alleged violations of his due process rights in conjunction with disciplinary proceedings against him. Named in the complaint as defendants, both individually and in their official capacities, were Corrections Officer Cliff Fouty; Steve Clever, Chairman of the Rules Infraction Board; Fred McAninch, Warden, Chillicothe Correctional Institution; Lynn Goff, Administrative Assistant to the Warden; *423 and Reginald A. Wilkinson, Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.
The appellees filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(1) and (6). Under Civ.R. 12(B)(1), appellees apparently contended that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter of the complaint since it was based upon violations of state law and state administrative procedure, rather than a violation of federal rights. The motion to dismiss also argued that the complaint failed to state a claim for relief under Civ.R. 12(B)(6) because the sanction imposed upon claimant, five hours of "extra duty," did not rise to the level of a deprivation of a protected liberty interest, and thatrespondeat superior liability cannot be asserted in a Section 1983 claim. Without identifying the basis for its ruling, the trial court granted the appellees' motion to dismiss, whereupon appellant filed this appeal.
The factual context for this suit appears in the complaint and the numerous exhibits attached to it by the appellant. Appellant was charged with a violation of various rules of conduct by Corrections Officer Fouty. Inmate Dotson was caught attempting to "smuggle" copies of legal documents, from the Ohio Prison Industries ("OPI") where he worked, to inmate Shockey. Fouty contended that Dotson was making copies at OPI for Shockey. Shockey, to whom the original belonged, denied having Dotson make copies and insisted he received them from his mother. Initially, Shockey was charged with a violation of disobedience of a direct order, Ohio Adm. Code
In his complaint, Shockey alleges that his procedural due process rights were violated by a series of acts by Fouty and his superiors. In essence, he complains that Fouty amended the conduct report from a violation of Class II, Rule 117 to Class II, Rules 8 and 24 shortly before his hearing. He also contends that Fouty took too long to prepare the conduct report and that the board took too long to review it, thus violating federal due process guarantees.
As noted above, the appellees filed a motion to dismiss under Civ.R. 12(B)(1) and (6). The standard to apply for a dismissal pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(1), lack of subject matter jurisdiction, is whether the plaintiff has alleged any cause of action which the court has authority to decide. McHenry v.Indus. Comm. (1990),
In order for a court to dismiss a complaint pursuant to Civ.R. 12(B)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, it must appear beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. York v. Ohio State Hwy. Patrol (1991),
Initially, we note that our review is somewhat handicapped by the fact that the trial court did not indicate a basis for its decision. Accordingly, we would normally analyze in detail each of the grounds set forth in appellees' motion. However, in this case, it is apparent from the face of the complaint that it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted for reasons other than that asserted by the appellees. In Vicory v.Walton (C.A.6, 1983),
However, in light of the trial court's failure to identify its rationale for dismissing the case in its entirety, we feel it appropriate to comment on the stated bases for appellees' motion. In Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police (1989),
Furthermore, we reject outright the state's contention that there is no liberty interest involved in disciplinary proceedings simply because the ultimate sanction imposed was extra duty, rather than segregation or isolation. In Wolff v.McDonnell (1974),
"Petitioners assert that the procedure for disciplining prison inmates for serious misconduct is a matter of policy raising no constitutional issue. If the position implies that prisoners in state institutions are wholly without the protections of the Constitution and the Due Process Clause, it is plainly untenable.
"We also reject the assertion of the state that whatever may be true of the Due Process Clause in general or of other rights protected by that clause against state infringement, the interest of prisoners in disciplinary procedures is not included in that `liberty' protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. * * * The state having created the right to good time and itself recognizing that its deprivation is *426
a sanction authorized for major misconduct, the prisoner's interest has real substance and is sufficiently embraced within the Fourteenth Amendment `liberty' to entitle him to those minimum procedures appropriate under the circumstances and required by the Due Process Clause to ensure that the state-created right is not arbitrarily abrogated."
Ohio Adm. Code
Finally, while we acknowledge that respondeat superior
liability cannot be asserted in a Section 1983 claim, seePolk Cty. v. Dodson (1981),
In any event, we hereby affirm the dismissal of appellant's complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Judgment affirmed.
STEPHENSON and KLINE, JJ., concur.