Denny v. Schultz, No. 11-1450; Third Circuit; opinion by Sloviter, U.S.C.J.; dissent by Rendell, U.S.C.J.; filed February 15, 2013. Before Judges Sloviter, Rendell and Hardiman. On appeal from the District of New Jersey. [Sat below: Judge Bumb.] DDS No. 14-8-9057 [21 pp.]
While an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution at Fairton, Travis Denny shared a cell with one other inmate. During a routine search, a corrections officer found a six-and-one-half-inch shank and a seven-inch shank in the duct work of the vent above the sink between Denny’s cell and an adjacent cell. Relying on Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Program Statement 5270.07, Inmate Discipline and Special Housing Units, which provides that it is an inmate’s responsibility to keep his area free of contraband, the disciplinary hearing officer found that Denny had committed the prohibited act of "possession of a weapon." The disciplinary hearing officer sanctioned Denny with 60 days in disciplinary segregation and the forfeiture of 45 days of good-time credit.
