In 1974, an inmate in the State Correctional Institution at Graterford filed a Section 1983 suit, pro se, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against prison officials. Plaintiff contended that, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, he had been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment and denied procedural due process. The factual basis of the claim was his continued confinement in the "Behavior Adjustment Unit" of the prison. The court appointed law student counsel from the Indigent Prisoner Litigation Program.

Between 1976 and 1978, the parties unsuccessfully attempted to settle the case. During this period, plaintiff also underwent several psychiatric evaluations. After reviewing the record, the District Court (Judge Alfred Leopold Luongo) held that plaintiff had not been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, but had been deprived of his right to due process by defendants' administrative segregation procedures. United States ex rel. Hoss v. Cuyler, 452 F. Supp. 256 (E.D. Pa. 1978). The court issued a permanent injunction ordering defendants to remedy the constitutional defects in BAU confinement procedures.

In August 1978, the court approved new administrative segregation criteria for use by officials of the State Correctional Institution at Graterford in a final judgment and decree. United States ex rel. Hoss v. Cuyler, 454 F. Supp. 51 (E.D. Pa. 1978). The new criteria established several factors to be considered by the Program Review Committee in determining whether an inmate warranted continued administrative confinement as a security risk.

The docket for this case is not available on PACER, and therefore our information ends with the last reported decision, dated August 2, 1978.

Eoghan Keenan - 06/10/2005


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