28 CFR 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

Title 28 - Judicial Administration last revised: May 20, 2024

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Table of Contents

§ 541.1 - Purpose.

§ 541.2 - Application.

§ 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

§ 541.4 - Loss of good conduct sentence credit as a mandatory sanction.

§ 541.5 - Discipline process.

§ 541.6 - Mentally ill inmates.

§ 541.7 - Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) review of the incident report.

§ 541.8 - Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) hearing.

§ 541.1 - Purpose.

This subpart describes the Federal Bureau of Prisons' (Bureau) inmate discipline program. This program helps ensure the safety, security, and orderly operation of correctional facilities, and the protection of the public, by allowing Bureau staff to impose sanctions on inmates who commit prohibited acts. Sanctions will not be imposed in a capricious or retaliatory manner. The Bureau's inmate discipline program is authorized by 18 U.S.C. 4042(a)(3).

§ 541.2 - Application.

This program applies to sentenced and unsentenced inmates in Bureau custody. It also applies to sentenced and unsentenced inmates designated to any prison, institution, or facility in which persons are held in custody by direction of, or under an agreement with, the Bureau of Prisons.

§ 541.3 - Prohibited acts and available sanctions.

(a) Prohibited acts. The list of prohibited acts are divided into four separate categories based on severity: Greatest; High; Moderate; and Low. We describe the prohibited acts in Table 1—Prohibited Acts and Available Sanctions. Aiding, attempting, abetting, or making plans to commit any of the prohibited acts is treated the same as committing the act itself.

(b) Available sanctions. The list of available sanctions for committing prohibited acts is listed in Table 1—Prohibited Acts and Available Sanctions. If you commit repetitive prohibited acts, we can impose increased sanctions, as listed in Table 2—Additional Available Sanctions for Repeated Prohibited Acts Within the Same Severity Level.

Table 1—Prohibited Acts and Available Sanctions

Greatest Severity Level Prohibited Acts
100	Killing.
101	Assaulting any person, or an armed assault on the institution's secure perimeter (a charge for assaulting any person at this level is to be used only when serious physical injury has been attempted or accomplished).
102	Escape from escort; escape from any secure or non-secure institution, including community confinement; escape from unescorted community program or activity; escape from outside a secure institution.
103	Setting a fire (charged with this act in this category only when found to pose a threat to life or a threat of serious bodily harm or in furtherance of a prohibited act of Greatest Severity, e.g., in furtherance of a riot or escape; otherwise the charge is properly classified Code 218, or 329).
104	Possession, manufacture, or introduction of a gun, firearm, weapon, sharpened instrument, knife, dangerous chemical, explosive, ammunition, or any instrument used as a weapon.
105	Rioting.
106	Encouraging others to riot.
107	Taking hostage(s).
108	Possession, manufacture, introduction, or loss of a hazardous tool (tools most likely to be used in an escape or escape attempt or to serve as weapons capable of doing serious bodily harm to others; or those hazardous to institutional security or personal safety; e.g., hack-saw blade, body armor, maps, handmade rope, or other escape paraphernalia, portable telephone, pager, or other electronic device).
109	(Not to be used).
110	Refusing to provide a urine sample; refusing to breathe into a Breathalyzer; refusing to take part in other drug-abuse testing.
111	Introduction or making of any narcotics, marijuana, drugs, alcohol, intoxicants, or related paraphernalia, not prescribed for the individual by the medical staff.
112	Use of any narcotics, marijuana, drugs, alcohol, intoxicants, or related paraphernalia, not prescribed for the individual by the medical staff.
113	Possession of any narcotics, marijuana, drugs, alcohol, intoxicants, or related paraphernalia, not prescribed for the individual by the medical staff.
114	Sexual assault of any person, involving non-consensual touching by force or threat of force.
115	Destroying and/or disposing of any item during a search or attempt to search.
196	Use of the mail for an illegal purpose or to commit or further a Greatest category prohibited act.
197	Use of the telephone for an illegal purpose or to commit or further a Greatest category prohibited act.
198	Interfering with a staff member in the performance of duties most like another Greatest severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Greatest severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Greatest severity prohibited acts.
199	Conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another Greatest severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Greatest severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Greatest severity prohibited acts.
Available Sanctions for Greatest Severity Level Prohibited Acts
A.	Recommend parole date rescission or retardation.
B.	Forfeit and/or withhold earned statutory good time or non-vested good conduct time (up to 100%) and/or terminate or disallow extra good time (an extra good time or good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.1.	Disallow ordinarily between 50% and 75% (27-41 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (a good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.2	Forfeit up to 41 days of earned First Step Act (FSA) Time Credits (see 28 CFR part 523, subpart E) for each prohibited act committed.
C.	Disciplinary segregation (up to 12 months).
D.	Make monetary restitution.
E.	Monetary fine.
F.	Loss of privileges (e.g., visiting, telephone, commissary, movies, recreation).
G.	Change housing (quarters).
H.	Remove from program and/or group activity.
I.	Loss of job.
J.	Impound inmate's personal property.
K.	Confiscate contraband.
L.	Restrict to quarters.
M.	Extra duty.
High Severity Level Prohibited Acts
200	Escape from a work detail, non-secure institution, or other non-secure confinement, including community confinement, with subsequent voluntary return to Bureau of Prisons custody within four hours.
201	Fighting with another person.
202	(Not to be used).
203	Threatening another with bodily harm or any other offense.
204	Extortion; blackmail; protection; demanding or receiving money or anything of value in return for protection against others, to avoid bodily harm, or under threat of informing.
205	Engaging in sexual acts.
206	Making sexual proposals or threats to another.
207	Wearing a disguise or a mask.
208	Possession of any unauthorized locking device, or lock pick, or tampering with or blocking any lock device (includes keys), or destroying, altering, interfering with, improperly using, or damaging any security device, mechanism, or procedure.
209	Adulteration of any food or drink.
210	(Not to be used).
211	Possessing any officer's or staff clothing.
212	Engaging in or encouraging a group demonstration.
213	Encouraging others to refuse to work, or to participate in a work stoppage.
214	(Not to be used).
215	(Not to be used).
216	Giving or offering an official or staff member a bribe, or anything of value.
217	Giving money to, or receiving money from, any person for the purpose of introducing contraband or any other illegal or prohibited purpose.
218	Destroying, altering, or damaging government property, or the property of another person, having a value in excess of $100.00, or destroying, altering, damaging life-safety devices (e.g., fire alarm) regardless of financial value.
219	Stealing; theft (including data obtained through the unauthorized use of a communications device, or through unauthorized access to disks, tapes, or computer printouts or other automated equipment on which data is stored).
220	Demonstrating, practicing, or using martial arts, boxing (except for use of a punching bag), wrestling, or other forms of physical encounter, or military exercises or drill (except for drill authorized by staff).
221	Being in an unauthorized area with a person of the opposite sex without staff permission.
222	(Not to be used).
223	(Not to be used).
224	Assaulting any person (a charge at this level is used when less serious physical injury or contact has been attempted or accomplished by an inmate).
225	Stalking another person through repeated behavior which harasses, alarms, or annoys the person, after having been previously warned to stop such conduct.
226	Possession of stolen property.
227	Refusing to participate in a required physical test or examination unrelated to testing for drug abuse (e.g., DNA, HIV, tuberculosis).
228	Tattooing or self-mutilation.
229	Sexual assault of any person, involving non-consensual touching without force or threat of force.
231	Requesting, demanding, pressuring, or otherwise intentionally creating a situation, which causes an inmate to produce or display his/her own court documents for any unauthorized purpose to another inmate.
296	Use of the mail for abuses other than criminal activity which circumvent mail monitoring procedures (e.g., use of the mail to commit or further a High category prohibited act, special mail abuse; writing letters in code; directing others to send, sending, or receiving a letter or mail through unauthorized means; sending mail for other inmates without authorization; sending correspondence to a specific address with directions or intent to have the correspondence sent to an unauthorized person; and using a fictitious return address in an attempt to send or receive unauthorized correspondence).
297	Use of the telephone for abuses other than illegal activity which circumvent the ability of staff to monitor frequency of telephone use, content of the call, or the number called; or to commit or further a High category prohibited act.
298	Interfering with a staff member in the performance of duties most like another High severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of High severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed High severity prohibited acts.
299	Conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another High severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of High severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed High severity prohibited acts.
Available Sanctions for High Severity Level Prohibited Acts
A.	Recommend parole date rescission or retardation.
B.	Forfeit and/or withhold earned statutory good time or non-vested good conduct time up to 50% or up to 60 days, whichever is less, and/or terminate or disallow extra good time (an extra good time or good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.1	Disallow ordinarily between 25% and 50% (14-27 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (a good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.2	Forfeit up to 27 days of earned FSA Time Credits for each prohibited act committed.
C.	Disciplinary segregation (up to 6 months).
D.	Make monetary restitution.
E.	Monetary fine.
F.	Loss of privileges (e.g., visiting, telephone, commissary, movies, recreation).
G.	Change housing (quarters).
H.	Remove from program and/or group activity.
I.	Loss of job.
J.	Impound inmate's personal property.
K.	Confiscate contraband.
L.	Restrict to quarters.
M.	Extra duty.
Moderate Severity Level Prohibited Acts
300	Indecent Exposure.
301	(Not to be used).
302	Misuse of authorized medication.
303	Possession of money or currency, unless specifically authorized, or in excess of the amount authorized.
304	Loaning of property or anything of value for profit or increased return.
305	Possession of anything not authorized for retention or receipt by the inmate, and not issued to him through regular channels.
306	Refusing to work or to accept a program assignment.
307	Refusing to obey an order of any staff member (may be categorized and charged in terms of greater severity, according to the nature of the order being disobeyed, e.g., failure to obey an order which furthers a riot would be charged as 105, Rioting; refusing to obey an order which furthers a fight would be charged as 201, Fighting; refusing to provide a urine sample when ordered as part of a drug-abuse test would be charged as 110).
308	Violating a condition of a furlough.
309	Violating a condition of a community program.
310	Unexcused absence from work or any program assignment.
311	Failing to perform work as instructed by the supervisor.
312	Insolence towards a staff member.
313	Lying or providing a false statement to a staff member.
314	Counterfeiting, forging, or unauthorized reproduction of any document, article of identification, money, security, or official paper (may be categorized in terms of greater severity according to the nature of the item being reproduced, e.g., counterfeiting release papers to effect escape, Code 102).
315	Participating in an unauthorized meeting or gathering.
316	Being in an unauthorized area without staff authorization.
317	Failure to follow safety or sanitation regulations (including safety regulations, chemical instructions, tools, MSDS sheets, OSHA standards).
318	Using any equipment or machinery without staff authorization.
319	Using any equipment or machinery contrary to instructions or posted safety standards.
320	Failing to stand count.
321	Interfering with the taking of count.
322	(Not to be used).
323	(Not to be used).
324	Gambling.
325	Preparing or conducting a gambling pool.
326	Possession of gambling paraphernalia.
327	Unauthorized contacts with the public.
328	Giving money or anything of value to, or accepting money or anything of value from, another inmate or any other person without staff authorization.
329	Destroying, altering, or damaging government property, or the property of another person, having a value of $100.00 or less.
330	Being unsanitary or untidy; failing to keep one's person or quarters in accordance with posted standards.
331	Possession, manufacture, introduction, or loss of a non-hazardous tool, equipment, supplies, or other non-hazardous contraband (tools not likely to be used in an escape or escape attempt, or to serve as a weapon capable of doing serious bodily harm to others, or not hazardous to institutional security or personal safety) (other non-hazardous contraband includes such items as food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies, smoking apparatus and tobacco in any form where prohibited, and unauthorized nutritional/dietary supplements).
332	Smoking where prohibited.
333	Fraudulent or deceptive completion of a skills test (e.g., cheating on a GED, or other educational or vocational skills test).
334	Conducting a business; conducting or directing an investment transaction without staff authorization.
335	Communicating gang affiliation; participating in gang related activities; possession of paraphernalia indicating gang affiliation.
336	Circulating a petition.
396	Use of the mail for abuses other than criminal activity which do not circumvent mail monitoring; or use of the mail to commit or further a Moderate category prohibited act.
397	Use of the telephone for abuses other than illegal activity which do not circumvent the ability of staff to monitor frequency of telephone use, content of the call, or the number called; or to commit or further a Moderate category prohibited act.
398	Interfering with a staff member in the performance of duties most like another Moderate severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Moderate severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Moderate severity prohibited acts.
399	Conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another Moderate severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Moderate severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Moderate severity prohibited acts.
Available Sanctions for Moderate Severity Level Prohibited Acts
A.	Recommend parole date rescission or retardation.
B.	Forfeit and/or withhold earned statutory good time or non-vested good conduct time up to 25% or up to 30 days, whichever is less, and/or terminate or disallow extra good time (an extra good time or good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.1	Disallow ordinarily up to 25% (1-14 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (a good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.2	Forfeit up to 27 days of earned FSA Time Credits for each prohibited act committed.
C.	Disciplinary segregation (up to 3 months).
D.	Make monetary restitution.
E.	Monetary fine.
F.	Loss of privileges (e.g., visiting, telephone, commissary, movies, recreation).
G.	Change housing (quarters).
H.	Remove from program and/or group activity.
I.	Loss of job.
J.	Impound inmate's personal property.
K.	Confiscate contraband.
L.	Restrict to quarters.
M.	Extra duty.
Low Severity Level Prohibited Acts
400	(Not to be used).
401	(Not to be used).
402	Malingering, feigning illness.
403	(Not to be used).
404	Using abusive or obscene language.
405	(Not to be used).
406	(Not to be used).
407	Conduct with a visitor in violation of Bureau regulations.
408	(Not to be used).
409	Unauthorized physical contact (e.g., kissing, embracing).
498	Interfering with a staff member in the performance of duties most like another Low severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Low severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Low severity prohibited acts.
499	Conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security or orderly running of the institution or the Bureau of Prisons most like another Low severity prohibited act. This charge is to be used only when another charge of Low severity is not accurate. The offending conduct must be charged as “most like” one of the listed Low severity prohibited acts.
Available Sanctions for Low Severity Level Prohibited Acts
B.1	Disallow ordinarily up to 12.5% (1-7 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (to be used only where inmate found to have committed a second violation of the same prohibited act within 6 months); Disallow ordinarily up to 25% (1-14 days) of good conduct time credit available for year (to be used only where inmate found to have committed a third violation of the same prohibited act within 6 months) (a good conduct time sanction may not be suspended).
B.2	Forfeit up to 7 days of earned FSA Time Credits (only where the inmate is found to have committed a second violation of the same prohibited act within 6 months; forfeit up to 14 days of FSA Time Credits (only where the inmate is found to have committed a third violation of the same prohibited act within 6 months).
D.	Make monetary restitution.
E.	Monetary fine.
F.	Loss of privileges (e.g., visiting, telephone, commissary, movies, recreation).
G.	Change housing (quarters).
H.	Remove from program and/or group activity.
I.	Loss of job.
J.	Impound inmate's personal property.
K.	Confiscate contraband.
L.	Restrict to quarters.
M.	Extra duty.

Table 2—Additional Available Sanctions for Repeated Prohibited Acts Within the Same Severity Level

Prohibited act severity level	Time period for prior offense (same code)	Frequency of repeated offense	Additional available sanctions
Low Severity (400 level)	6 months	2nd offense	1. Disciplinary segregation (up to 1 month).
			2. Forfeit earned SGT or non-vested GCT up to 10% or up to 15 days, whichever is less, and/or terminate or disallow extra good time (EGT) (an EGT sanction may not be suspended).
		3rd or more offense	Any available Moderate severity level sanction (300 series).
Moderate Severity (300 level)	12 months	2nd offense	1. Disciplinary segregation (up to 6 months).
			2. Forfeit earned SGT or non-vested GCT up to 37 1/2% or up to 45 days, whichever is less, and/or terminate or disallow EGT (an EGT sanction may not be suspended).
		3rd or more offense.	Any available High severity level sanction (200 series).
High Severity (200 level)	18 months	2nd offense	1. Disciplinary segregation (up to 12 months).
			2. Forfeit earned SGT or non-vested GCT up to 75% or up to 90 days, whichever is less, and/or terminate or disallow EGT (an EGT sanction may not be suspended).
		3rd or more offense	Any available Greatest severity level sanction (100 series).
Greatest Severity (100 level)	24 months	2nd or more offense	Disciplinary Segregation (up to 18 months).

[75 FR 76267, Dec. 8, 2010; 75 FR 81854, Dec. 29, 2010, as amended at 85 FR 66229, Oct. 19, 2020; 87 FR 2719, Jan. 19, 2022]

§ 541.4 - Loss of good conduct sentence credit as a mandatory sanction.

(a) You will lose good conduct sentence credit as a mandatory disciplinary sanction if you are in one of the following two groups:

(1) VCCLEA-violent inmates. The date of your U.S. Code offense was on or after September 13, 1994, but before April 26, 1996, and you committed a “crime of violence” as defined by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (VCCLEA); or

(2) PLRA inmates and DC Code offenders. The date of your U.S. Code offense was on or after April 26, 1996, and, therefore, under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), or the date of your District of Columbia (DC) Code offense was on or after August 5, 2000.

(b) If you are an inmate in one of the above groups and commit a prohibited act, you will lose good conduct sentence credit as a mandatory disciplinary sanction. The amount of good conduct sentence credit you will lose depends on the severity level of the prohibited act(s) committed, as follows:

(1) Greatest Severity Level Offenses. You will lose at least 41 days, or 75% of available credit if less than 54 days are available for the prorated period, for each act committed.

(2) High Severity Level Offenses. You will lose at least 27 days, or 50% of available credit if less than 54 days are available for the prorated period, for each act committed.

(3) Moderate Severity Level Offenses. You will lose at least 14 days, or 25% of available credit if less than 54 days are available for the prorated period, after committing two or more Moderate severity acts during the current year of your good conduct sentence credit availability.

(4) Low Severity Level Offenses. You will lose at least 7 days, or 12.5% of available credit if less than 54 days are available for the prorated period, after committing three or more Low severity acts during the current year of your good conduct sentence credit availability.

§ 541.5 - Discipline process.

(a) Incident report. The discipline process starts when staff witness or reasonably believe that you committed a prohibited act. A staff member will issue you an incident report describing the incident and the prohibited act(s) you are charged with committing. You will ordinarily receive the incident report within 24 hours of staff becoming aware of your involvement in the incident.

(b) Investigation. After you receive an incident report, a Bureau staff member will investigate it.

(1) Information: The investigator will specifically inform you:

(A) of the charge(s) against you; and

(B) that you may remain silent at all stages of the discipline process, but that your silence may be used to draw an adverse inference against you at any stage of the process. Your silence alone, however, cannot be the basis for finding you committed the prohibited act(s).

(2) Statement: When the investigator asks for your statement, you may give an explanation of the incident, request any witnesses be interviewed, or request that other evidence be obtained and reviewed. However, the staff investigation of the incident report may be suspended before requesting your statement if it is being investigated for possible criminal prosecution.

(3) Informally resolving the incident report. The incident report may be informally resolved at any stage of the disciplinary process, except for prohibited acts in the Greatest and High severity levels, or as otherwise required by law or these regulations. If the incident report is informally resolved, it will be removed from your records.

§ 541.6 - Mentally ill inmates.

If it appears you are mentally ill at any stage of the discipline process, you will be examined by mental health staff.

(a) Competency to Participate in Disciplinary Proceedings. If evidence indicates that you cannot understand the nature of the disciplinary proceedings, or cannot help in your own defense, disciplinary proceedings may be postponed until you are competent to participate. The Unit Disciplinary Committee or Discipline Hearing Officer will make this decision based on evidence, including evidence presented by mental health staff.

(b) Responsibility for Conduct. You will not be disciplined for conduct committed when, as the result of a severe mental disease or defect, you were unable to appreciate the nature and quality, or wrongfulness of the act. The UDC or DHO will make this decision based on evidence, including evidence presented by mental health staff.

§ 541.7 - Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) review of the incident report.

A Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) will review the incident report once the staff investigation is complete. The UDC's review involves the following:

(a) Available dispositions. The UDC will make one of the following decisions after reviewing the incident report:

(1) You committed the prohibited act(s) charged, and/or a similar prohibited act(s) as described in the incident report;

(2) You did not commit the prohibited act(s) charged; or

(3) The incident report will be referred to the Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) for further review, based on the seriousness of the prohibited act(s) charged.

(4) If you are charged with a Greatest or High severity prohibited act, or are an inmate covered by § 541.4, the UDC will automatically refer the incident report to the DHO for further review.

(b) UDC members. The UDC ordinarily consists of two or more staff. UDC members will not be victims, witnesses, investigators, or otherwise significantly involved in the incident.

(c) Timing. The UDC will ordinarily review the incident report within five work days after it is issued, not counting the day it was issued, weekends, and holidays. UDC review of the incident report may also be suspended if it is being investigated for possible criminal prosecution.

(d) Inmate appearance. You are permitted to appear before the UDC during its review of the incident report, except during UDC deliberations or when your presence would jeopardize institution security, at the UDC's discretion. Also:

(1) You may appear either in person or electronically (for example, by video or telephone conferencing) at the UDC's discretion.

(2) You may waive your appearance before the UDC. If you waive your appearance, the UDC will review the incident report in your absence.

(3) If you escape or are otherwise absent from custody, the UDC will conduct a review in your absence at the institution where you were last confined.

(e) Evidence. You are entitled to make a statement and present documentary evidence to the UDC on your own behalf. The UDC will consider all evidence presented during its review. The UDC's decision will be based on at least some facts and, if there is conflicting evidence, on the greater weight of the evidence.

(f) Sanctions. If you committed a prohibited act or prohibited acts, the UDC can impose any of the available sanctions in Tables 1 and 2 of § 541.3, except loss of good conduct time credit, FSA Time Credits, disciplinary segregation, or monetary fines.

(g) Referral to the DHO. If the UDC refers the incident report to the DHO for further review, the UDC will advise you of your rights at the upcoming DHO hearing, as detailed in § 541.8.

(h) Written report. You will receive a written copy of the UDC's decision following its review of the incident report.

(i) Appeals. You may appeal the UDC's action(s) through the Administrative Remedy Program, 28 CFR part 542, subpart B.

[75 FR 76267, Dec. 8, 2010; 75 FR 81854, Dec. 29, 2010; 87 FR 2719, Jan. 19, 2022]

§ 541.8 - Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) hearing.

The Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) will only conduct a hearing on the incident report if referred by the UDC. The DHO's hearing involves the following:

(a) Available dispositions. The DHO will make one of the following decisions after a hearing on the incident report:

(1) You committed the prohibited act(s) charged, and/or a similar prohibited act(s) as described in the incident report;

(2) You did not commit the prohibited act(s) charged; or

(3) The incident report will be referred back for further investigation, review, and disposition.

(b) Discipline Hearing Officer. The DHO will be an impartial decision maker who was not a victim, witness, investigator, or otherwise significantly involved in the incident.

(c) Timing. You will receive written notice of the charge(s) against you at least 24 hours before the DHO's hearing. You may waive this requirement, in which case the DHO's hearing can be conducted sooner.

(d) Staff Representative. You are entitled to have a staff representative during the DHO hearing process as follows:

(1) How to get a staff representative. You may request the staff representative of your choice, so long as that person was not a victim, witness, investigator, or otherwise significantly involved in the incident. If your request(s) cannot be fulfilled, and you still want a staff representative, the Warden will appoint one. The Warden will also appoint a staff representative if it appears you are unable to adequately represent yourself before the DHO, for example, if you are illiterate or have difficulty understanding the charges against you.

(2) How the staff representative will help you. Prior to the DHO's hearing, the staff representative will be available to help you understand the incident report charges and potential consequences. The staff representative may also assist you by speaking with and scheduling witnesses, obtaining written statements, and otherwise helping you prepare evidence for presentation at the DHO's hearing. During the DHO's hearing, you are entitled to have the staff representative appear and assist you in understanding the proceedings. The staff representative can also assist you in presenting evidence during the DHO's hearing.

(3) How the staff representative may appear. Your staff representative may appear either in person or electronically (for example, by video or telephone conferencing) at the DHO's discretion. If your staff representative is not available for the scheduled hearing, you may either select another staff representative, request the hearing be postponed for a reasonable amount of time until your staff representative can appear, or proceed without a staff representative.

(e) Inmate appearance. You are permitted to appear before the DHO during the hearing on the incident report as follows:

(1) You may appear either in person or electronically (for example, by video or telephone conferencing), at the DHO's discretion.

(2) Your appearance may be prohibited during DHO deliberations or when your presence would jeopardize institution security, at the DHO's discretion.

(3) You may waive your appearance before the DHO. If you waive your appearance, the DHO hearing will be conducted in your absence.

(4) If you escape or are otherwise absent from custody, the DHO will conduct a hearing in your absence at the institution where you were last confined.

(f) Evidence and witnesses. You are entitled to make a statement and present documentary evidence to the DHO on your own behalf. The DHO will consider all evidence presented during the hearing. The DHO's decision will be based on at least some facts and, if there is conflicting evidence, on the greater weight of the evidence. Witnesses may appear at the DHO's hearing as follows:

(1) Witnesses may appear before the DHO either in person or electronically (for example, by video or telephone conferencing) at the DHO's discretion.

(2) The DHO will call witnesses who have information directly relevant to the charge(s) and who are reasonably available. However, the DHO need not call witnesses adverse to you if their testimony is adequately summarized in the incident report or other investigation materials.

(3) You or your staff representative may request witnesses appear at the hearing to testify on your behalf. Your requested witnesses may not appear if, in the DHO's discretion, they are not reasonably available, their presence at the hearing would jeopardize institution security, or they would present repetitive evidence.

(4) If your requested witnesses are unavailable to appear, written statements can be requested by either the DHO or staff representative. The written statements can then be considered during the DHO's hearing.

(5) Only the DHO may directly question witnesses at the DHO's hearing. Any questions by you or your staff representative must be submitted to the DHO, who will present the question to the witness in his/her discretion.

(6) The DHO may consider evidence provided by a confidential informant (CI) that the DHO finds reliable. You will not be informed of the CI's identity. You will be informed of the CI's testimony to the extent it will not jeopardize institution security, at the DHO's discretion.

(g) Sanctions. If you committed a prohibited act(s), the DHO can impose any of the available sanctions listed in Tables 1 and 2.

(h) Written Report. You will receive a written copy of the DHO's decision following the hearing. The DHO is not required to prepare a verbatim record of the hearing. The DHO's written report will document the following:

(1) Whether you were advised of your rights during the DHO process;

(2) The evidence relied on by the DHO;

(3) The DHO's decision;

(4) The sanction imposed by the DHO; and

(5) The reason(s) for the sanction(s) imposed.

(i) Appeals. You may appeal the DHO's action(s) through the Administrative Remedy Program, 28 CFR part 542, subpart B.

authority: 15 U.S.C. 301; 18 U.S.C. 3621,3622,3624,4001,4042,4081,4082,1987,4161,1987,5006,1984,5039; 28 U.S.C. 509,510

cite as: 28 CFR 541.3