La. Admin. Code tit. 22 § I-787

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-787 - Disciplinary Procedures [Formerly Section 377]

A. Administrative Segregation/Confinement Guidelines (formerly referred to as room confinement). An offender whose continued presence in the general population poses a threat to life, property, self, staff, other offenders, or to the security or orderly running of the institution, or who is the subject of an investigation conducted by noninstitutional authorities, or who is pending review for or assignment to a special unit, or pending reassignment within an institution or to another institution, may (with the approval of the highest ranking supervisor on duty in the unit where the incident occurred), be placed in administrative segregation/ confinement. The supervisor, before the conclusion of his tour of duty, will review relevant documentation for completeness and correctness, and investigate as needed to confirm the reasonableness of the allegation or circumstances prompting the placement.

1. Placement of an offender in administrative segregation/confinement pending a disciplinary hearing should not normally exceed 24 hours unless justified for security reasons. (See §377. A. Administrative Segregation/ Confinement Guidelines above.)

2. Placement of an offender in administrative segregation/confinement pending case management review for possible placement in a special unit, protective care, or other reassignment review should not normally exceed 24 hours unless justified for security reasons. (See §377. A. Administrative Segregation/Confinement Guidelines above.) An incident report (Form JR-3) may be utilized to initiate placement under these circumstances. Review may be conducted by a disciplinary committee or other classification authority.

3. An offender who has been found guilty of a Schedule B offense may be placed in administrative segregation/confinement by the disciplinary committee for a period of time not to exceed five days as a sanction. [Refer to §379. Sanctions and §383. Penalty Schedule-Disciplinary Report (Heard by Disciplinary Committee)].

4. In the event an offender remains in administrative segregation/confinement for periods over 24 hours, the placement must be reviewed every 24 hours thereafter by the superintendent or his designee who may be a ranking security employee or administrative or treatment supervisor (who was not involved with the incident).

5. Offenders whose serious behavior problems or need for protective care extends beyond the five day maximum envisioned for administrative segregation/confinement should be reviewed by the appropriate classification authority for possible placement in a special unit where they can be separated from general population. Offenders may be held in excess of five days in administrative segregation/confinement pending such review and/or assignment to a special unit, or pending possible transfer to another institution, or pending assignment or reassignment within an institution only when they are at a high risk for assaultive behavior, present a danger to themselves or others or the security of the institution, or are in danger of being victimized by others.

6. During administrative segregation/confinement visual contact is made with an offender at least every 15 minutes (or more, depending upon his emotional state) and documented in the unit log book.

7. Time spent in administrative segregation/ confinement must be credited against any time spent in detention for disciplinary reasons even when the sentence is suspended. Credit will not be given for time spent in administrative segregation/confinement on a request for protection or while awaiting transfer to another area.

8. Offenders in administrative segregation/ confinement shall be allowed to receive all correspondence and to originate correspondence. Offenders in administrative segregation/confinement will be allowed: visits; clean clothing on a scheduled basis; toothbrush and toothpaste; sufficient heat; light; ventilation; toilet facilities; and the same meals as other offenders.

B. Informal Resolution

1. Many petty or minor acts of misbehavior do not warrant the time and effort of a full disciplinary proceeding, yet do warrant some staff response. Good judgment of institutional staff, when dealing with some misbehavior, can alleviate further problems. Formal disciplinary proceedings need not be initiated for such misbehavior if the employee feels that the situation can be controlled by verbal reprimand or counseling.

2. If the offender is unwilling to accept an informal resolution, the reporting employee shall prepare and forward a disciplinary report for processing. A record shall be kept of informal resolutions and reviewed by the supervisor on a daily basis. An informal resolution shall be documented in the log in the area in which it occurred.

C. Minor Offenses. After writing a disciplinary report alleging commission of a minor offense, the following steps will be followed.

1. Notice. A copy of the disciplinary report, as a notification of the charges, shall be given to the offender at least 24 hours prior to a hearing with the disciplinary hearing officer. The offender's written disciplinary report must be served before the end of the employee's shift and service documented on the disciplinary report. The employee will forward the disciplinary report to his supervisor for review and investigation as he deems appropriate to determine the relevancy and accuracy of the report. The supervisor will forward the disciplinary report to the disciplinary hearing officer. The disciplinary hearing officer is responsible for making certain the offender has the disciplinary report before conducting the hearing.

2. Hearing. The offender(s) shall be present during all phases of the hearing (except deliberations) unless he waives his right in writing, through obstructive behavior, or when another offender is giving a confidential testimony. Before the hearing can begin, the accused offender(s) must acknowledge that he/they understand their rights as outlined in Form JR-6. The offender shall be allowed a staff representative if requested. When it is apparent that the offender is not capable of effectively collecting and presenting evidence in his own behalf, a staff representative shall be appointed by the disciplinary hearing officer, even if one was not requested by the offender. The disciplinary hearing officer shall read the charge to the offender and ask that he plead guilty or not guilty. Unless the disciplinary hearing officer feels additional oral testimony is necessary, his decision may be based on the disciplinary report, the statements of the offender, and any other relevant written information presented at the hearing. He shall verbally advise the offender of his findings.

3. Record of Findings. At the conclusion of the hearing, the disciplinary hearing officer shall state his findings in writing, the evidence relied on, and the sanctions imposed, if any. A copy of this record shall be given to the offender within 24 hours. If an offender is found not guilty of a minor violation, all references to that offense shall be removed from his case record. (If the violation for which an offender was found not guilty is part of an incident where other violations were established, expungement is not necessary, but the "not guilty" violation shall be clearly marked.) A copy of all reports, documents, and notifications of the disciplinary process shall be maintained by the disciplinary hearing officer in a central location for six months with a copy placed in the offender's case record. The superintendent or his designee shall review disciplinary hearings and disposition to assure conformity with policy and procedures.

4. Appeals to Disciplinary Committee. An offender who wants to appeal a case heard by the disciplinary hearing officer must appeal to the disciplinary committee. As soon as the sentence is passed, the offender who wants to appeal must clearly say so to the disciplinary hearing officer who will then automatically suspend the sentence and schedule the case for a hearing by the disciplinary committee.

a. The disciplinary committee shall conduct a full hearing of the charge and report its findings in accordance with normal procedure. The disciplinary committee cannot upgrade the sanction imposed by the disciplinary hearing officer. The disciplinary committee may affirm, reverse or otherwise modify the decision. The appeal decision shall be in writing. Decisions rendered by the disciplinary hearing officer and appealed to the disciplinary committee may not be appealed to the superintendent or to the secretary.

D. Major Offense. After the filing of a disciplinary report alleging commission of a major offense, the following steps will be followed.

1. Notice. The accused offender must be given a written copy of the disciplinary report describing the alleged violation against him within 24 hours of the infraction (unless waived by the offender in writing) and service documented on the report. In addition, the offender must be notified of the time and place of the hearing at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing. The disciplinary report is forwarded to the employee's supervisor for review and investigation as he deems appropriate to determine the relevancy and accuracy of the report. The supervisor will forward the disciplinary report to the disciplinary committee.

2. Hearing. Disciplinary committee hearings must be tape recorded in their entirety and the tapes preserved for a minimum of 145 days or as required for judicial review. The offender shall be present during all phases of the hearing (except deliberations) unless he waives his right in writing, through obstructive behavior, or when another juvenile is giving a confidential testimony. Before the hearing can begin, the accused offender(s) must acknowledge that he/they understand their rights (Form JR-6). The disciplinary committee chairman is responsible for ensuring that the rights of offenders are protected. The chairman may reschedule the hearing if necessary to carry out the offender's request to exercise his rights. The offender shall be allowed a staff representative if requested. When it is apparent that the offender is not capable of effectively collecting and presenting evidence in his own behalf, a staff representative shall be appointed by the disciplinary committee chairman even if one was not requested by the offender. The disciplinary committee chairman shall read the charge to the offender and ask that he plead guilty or not guilty. The offender has the right to present evidence and witnesses in his behalf and to request cross-examination of the accuser, provided such requests are relevant, not repetitious, not unduly burdensome to the institution, or not unduly hazardous to staff or offender safety. (The committee has the option of stipulating expected testimony from witnesses. In such a case, the committee should assign proper weight to such testimony as though the witness had actually appeared.) The accusing employee must be summoned when the report is based solely on information from confidential informants. The offender and/or his representative shall have the opportunity to challenge any documentary or physical evidence presented and may introduce evidence subject to approval of the disciplinary committee. If warranted, the disciplinary committee may order an investigation using Form JR-8.

3. Hearing of Incident Reports. When the report is based solely on information from a confidential informant, or from an offender whose identity is known, it must be corroborated by witnesses (who may be other confidential informants), the record, or other evidence. The only time the accusing employee must be summoned for cross examination is when the report is based solely on information from confidential informants. In order for the accuser to attest to the reliability of the information received from a confidential informant, the informant must not have been unreliable in the past and must have legitimate knowledge of the present incident(s).

4. Decision. The offender shall be notified orally of the decision at the conclusion of the hearing. The decision rendered shall include:

a. a finding of guilty or not guilty;

b. the reason for the decision;

c. a summary of the evidence relied upon; and

d. penalty to be imposed.

The disciplinary committee shall render, and provide to the offender, a written decision including the above information.

5. Record of Findings. The disciplinary committee's decision shall become a part of the offender's case record. The disciplinary committee has full authority to suspend any sentence it imposes, including suspending the sentence pending appeal. If an offender is found not guilty of a violation, major or minor, all references to that offense shall be removed from his case record. (If the violation in which an offender was found not guilty is part of an incident where other violations were established, expungement is not necessary, but the "not guilty" violation shall be clearly marked.) A copy of all reports, documents, and notification of the disciplinary process shall be maintained by the committee chairman in a central location for six months with a copy placed in the offender's case record. The superintendent or his designee shall review disciplinary hearings and dispositions to assure conformity with policy and procedures.

6. Appeals to the Superintendent. An offender who wants to appeal a case heard by the disciplinary committee must, in all cases, appeal to the superintendent. The offender may appeal himself or through the staff representative. In either case, the appeal must be received within 15 days of the hearing. The appeal should be clearly written or typed on Form JR-4. If the form is not available, the appeal may be on plain paper but should contain the information called for on the form. The superintendent will decide all appeals within 30 days of the date of receipt of the appeal and the offender will be promptly notified on Form JR-5 of the results (unless circumstances warrant an extension of that time period and the offender is notified accordingly).

a. Lengthy appeals of disciplinary actions will not be accepted into the appeals process. It is necessary only that the offender provide basic factual information regarding his case. Appeals that are too long will be returned to the offender for summarization. The offender will have five days from receipt to comply with the instructions and resubmit. It is important to remember that our ability to respond to legitimate problems in a timely fashion depends upon everyone's cooperation.

7. Appeals to the Secretary. An offender who wants to appeal the decision of the superintendent to the secretary will indicate that he is "not satisfied" in the appropriate box on the superintendent's "Appeal Decision" (Form JR-5) and submit it to the ARP screening officer. The form must be submitted within five days of its receipt by the offender. No supplement to the appeal will be considered. It is only necessary that the offender check the box indicating "I am not satisfied," date, sign, and forward to the ARP screening officer. The ARP screening officer will provide the offender with an acknowledgement of receipt and date forwarded to the secretary's office. The institution will provide a copy of the offender's original appeal to be attached to the Form JR-5 for submission to the secretary.

a. The secretary will only consider appeals from decisions of the superintendent which resulted in an imposed or suspended sentence of one or more of the following penalties:

i. administrative segregation/confinement for up to five days;

ii. demotion of one level or maximum demotion to the beginning level;

iii. recommendation of transfer to a more restrictive and secure environment (such as a special unit separated from general population);

iv. loss of furlough.

b. In addition, all "restitution" assessments may be appealed to the secretary.

c. The secretary will decide all appeals within 45 days of the date of receipt of the appeal and the offender will be promptly notified in writing of the results (unless circumstances warrant an extension of that time period and the offender is notified accordingly). Absent unusual circumstances, the secretary will only consider review of the "sentence" of an inmate who pled guilty.

E. Correcting Disciplinary Reports

1. A reviewing employee may change the rule number to fit the description prior to the hearing but should ensure that the accused gets a corrected copy of the report at least 24 hours before the hearing begins. Rule number(s) may be added if the offense is clearly described on the report. An incident may consist of several related events, however, each separate and distinct rule violation should be processed independently in the disciplinary system.

2. Before the hearing begins, the disciplinary hearing officer/committee may change the rule number to match the description of alleged misbehavior, if necessary, and also change the rule number at any point prior to the deliberations, but should offer the accused a continuance to prepare the defense. It is the description of the conduct and not the rule number which determines the offense. The continuance may be waived and does not necessarily need to be for 24 hours.

La. Admin. Code tit. 22, § I-787

Promulgated by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, Corrections Services, Office of Youth Development, LR 20:58 (January 1994).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 15:823.