Greenholtz v. Inmates of Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex (1978)
- Docket
- 78-201
- Decided
- 1978-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment apply to discretionary parole release determinations made by a state’s board of parole? (1) If so, did the procedures employed by the Nebraska Board of Parole satisfy the requirements of the Due Process Clause? Conclusion: Yes and yes. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger delivered the opinion for the 5-4 majority. The Court held that, although there is no constitutional right to an inmate’s release from prison prior to the expiration of a valid sentence, the specific wording of the Nebraska statute created a constitutionally protected expectation of parole. The Court further held that the Parole Board’s procedures were adequate and reversed the prescribed modifications from the Court of Appeals. In his opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. reasoned that a state’s establishment of a parole problem, regardless of the specific wording of the statute, triggered a right to procedural due process. Justice Powell agreed that the Court of Appeal’s recommendations were unnecessary, but he argued that the Parole Board should provide inmates with at least 72 hours notice of their hearing date. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that all prisoners potentially eligible for parole have a right to due process. In his view, the Parole Board should provide the inmates with reasonable notice of their hearing dates and a written statement of the reasons underlying adverse decisions.