In a disciplinary hearing at San Quentin Prison, where an inmate is accused of committing a criminal offence, is he entitled to be asked questions by the disciplinary committee?

Under the disciplinary procedures utilized in San Quentin at the commencement of this lawsuit, however, inmates were not asked questions by the disciplinary committee. Instead, a prisoner was given standard Miranda warnings (but told that the right to counsel attached only when he was questioned by the district attorney) and then was given opportunity to explain his conduct. We agree with the district court's conclusion that the "opportunity to explain" was in actuality a subtle form of interrogation. In effect, the disciplinary committee presented the evidence against the prisoner and then said to him, "And what do you have to say about that?" The interrogative nature of the hearing, however, does not depend on an absence of other procedural protections, as the district court apparently concluded. (328 F.Supp. at 779 & n. 7.) A disciplinary hearing is inherently inquisitive. It is designed to induce revelation of all the facts, including the accused inmate's version of them. The prison disciplinary hearing forces the prisoner into a situation of "interrogative custody," and the prison authorities must safeguard the inmate's privilege against self-incrimination. Adequate protection is provided either by postponing disciplinary action until after criminal proceedings have been completed by the courts or by providing the accused inmate with an attorney and advising him of his right to silence pursuant to the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona, supra.²³

[497 F.2d 824]