Authority Pursuant to Title 28, V.S.A., Chapter 3, subsection
102, the
Commissioner of Corrections shall establish local procedures for the
administration of discipline to the offenders committed to his care and
custody. These local procedures shall guarantee the rights of due process as
afforded by state and federal law and this policy.
Purpose The purpose of this policy is to establish the rule
for the administration of discipline to offenders in the custody of the
Department of Corrections.
Applicability/Assessibility This policy applies directly to
Department of Corrections staff and the offenders under their control. Anyone
may have a copy of this policy.
Policy statement These procedures shall insure that no
cruel, inhuman or corporal punishment shall be used on any offender, nor is the
use of force on any offender justifiable except as provided by law. Only
disciplinary practices that can assist the offender to control behavior and
provide staff with a legitimate means to deal with punishable offender conduct
will be used.
The procedures for discipline shall, at a minimum, contain
the following provisions:
Section 1
Violations and Punishments
Procedures shall be promulgated to include Major and Minor
violations. Major violations shall be divided into two categories, A & B.
Major A violations shall be construed to be the most serious. These constitute
violent acts or serious threats to institutional security or personal safety.
Major B violations shall be considered to be serious instances of misconduct,
by of lesser import than Major A violations. The constitute less serious acts
of violence and breaches of security. Minor violations constitute the least
serious conduct injurious to order and discipline. Only Major A and B
violations are punishable by punitive segregation and/or loss of good time.
Other punishments for commissions of Major A and B and minor violations may
include the following:
Loss of privileges within the offender's
classification;
Removal from program and/or group activity for up to thirty
days (does not include those programs required in case plan);
Change in living unit (within same or like custody
level);
Restriction to the area of the living unit (not just cell or
room);
Early lock-in;
Point fines;
Temporary loss of the use of personal property;
Forfeiture of excess funds to the Vermont Treasury;
Institutional community service/reparation (work project
related to offensive behavior);
Reprimand;
Apology;
Written Essay concerning infraction;
Make Monetary restitution;
Hearing Officers will consider the frequency of the conduct
and aggravating and mitigating circumstances when recommending punishments.
Punishments for Major A and B violations must be reviewed by the Disciplinary
Committee and approved by the Superintendent.
Section 2 Hearings for Major A & B
Violations
a. Offenders shall be afforded a
hearing before a trained and certified Hearing Officer on each alleged Major
violation. The Hearing Officer is charged with hearing testimony, reviewing
evidence, making findings of fact, determining if the alleged violation was
committed and recommending a punishment.
b. Offenders shall be given notice of the
hearing at least 24 hours prior to the hearing.
c. A scheduled hearing may be continued under
the following circumstances:
(1) the offender
has requested the presence of the reporting officer or witnesses, and because
of work schedules, transfers or other causes, these persons would not be
available for the hearing, or for questioning prior to the hearing unless it
was continued. The Hearing Officer may continue the hearing at the request of
the offender for a reasonable period and/or;
(2) at the request of the
Superintendent/District Manager or designee, for a reasonable period of time if
he/she determines that because of unforeseen problems, operational emergencies,
witness availability or other unusual circumstances, the hearing should be
continued.
d. Offenders
may be present and heard subject to reasonable conduct.
e. Offenders who cannot adequately present
their cases shall be entitled to the assistance of a hearing
Assistant.
f. Offenders are
entitled to present documentary evidence and call reasonably available
witnesses, subject to relevance, necessity or hazards to institutional security
or safety of individuals.
g.
Offenders have the opportunity to question witnesses and review documentary
evidence provided such is not hazardous to the institutional security or safety
of individuals or deals with confidential information under Department of
Corrections Policy 266, Security, Privacy Confidentially of Offender
Information, or the provision for the use of confidential information by case
law.
h. The report, findings,
determination and recommendation of the hearing Officer shall be reviewed by
the Disciplinary Committee and the Superintendent/District Manager and shall be
given to the offender in a reasonable time after the hearing.
Section 3 Appeal
a. An appeal must be filed within 7 work days
of receipt of the Hearing Officer's decision. If it is not filed within the 7
days, it may be denied solely on the basis that it is out of time. An appeal
form must be obtained and completed to appeal to the Superintendent/District
Manager. The employee receiving the appeal to the Superintendent/District
Manager will fill in the appropriate signature, date and time blocks on the
form, forward it to be included with the appeal package, giving the offender
the receipt portion.
b. The
Superintendent/District Manager may, upon his/her review of the appeal, deny
the requested relief, or direct any other appropriate action, e.g., dismissing
the appeal, directing a new hearing, ordering a modification of findings
reducing sanctions, etc. The Superintendent/District Manager shall specifically
address all appeal issues raised by the offender in the appeal. The
Superintendent/District Manager will respond to the appeal within 30 days from
the date the appeal was delivered by the offender to a staff member at the
facility. Failure to respond to the appeal within 30 days will result in the
dismissal of the disciplinary action and expungement from the inmate/offender's
file.
c. Appeals to the
Superintendent/District Manager will delay access to the courts for the instant
issue for completion of the appeal process. In no case will this exceed 30
days.
