The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in Rezaq v. Nalley on Friday, April 20, 2012.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision. Petitioners are all currently incarcerated in the federal prison system and appeal the district court’s grants of summary judgment in favor of appellee Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). Petitioners “contend that they have a liberty interest in avoiding transfer without due process to the Administrative Maximum Prison (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, where they were formerly housed. In separate orders, the district court rejected this argument and found that [Petitioners] lack a cognizable liberty interest in avoiding confinement at ADX. While the BOP agrees with this reasoning, it also contends that all of [Petitioners]‘ claims became moot when they were transferred to other prisons.
The Court disagreed with the BOP and found that the “case presents a live controversy in which the court could afford meaningful prospective relief. . . . Yet the inmates lack a cognizable liberty interest in avoiding the conditions of confinement at ADX, so no due process protections were required before they were transferred to that facility.” The Court therefore affirmed the judgment of the district court.
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