The Commonwealth Court has rejected almost all the appeal of a former inmate at State Correctional Institution/Frackville who alleged he had been mistreated.
In a 14-page opinion and order field Friday in Pottsville, the court ruled Patrick Horan did not offer sufficient evidence to support a claim he suffered cruel and unusual punishment when he was transferred to the prison's restrictive housing unit.
It also rejected his claims that he was deprived of due process rights in a misconduct hearing and that county Judge James P. Goodman should have recused himself from this case because of his rejection of a private criminal complaint filed by Horan.
However, Horan will be able to litigate his claim that his transfer to SCI/Cresson, where he is currently housed, was an unconstitutional retaliation for his exercise of free speech rights.
Horan, 50, of Bath, filed his lawsuit on Oct. 22, 2012, against the state Department of Corrections, four department officials and nine SCI/Frackville employees.
He asked for unspecified monetary and punitive damages for the alleged constitutional violations.
He is now an inmate at SCI/Benner Township in Centre County.
Goodman, to whom the case had been assigned, dismissed it on Aug. 5, 2013.
Commonwealth Court ruled that because Horan did not object to Goodman presiding over the case until he filed his appeal, it would not consider that claim.
"Because Horan failed to promptly raise the issue, he waived (it) and may not raise it on appeal," according to the opinion.
The court also ruled it must defer to prison officials' judgment in most cases, since they must preserve internal order and security.
"It is a prisoner's burden to establish that the action taken by prison officials did not advance legitimate penological objectives," the opinion reads in part.
In the opinion, the court also rejected Horan's claim that his misconduct hearings violated his due process rights, ruling they were not criminal proceedings.
Horan is allowed to proceed only on his claim that the transfers to restrictive housing at SCI/Frackville and then to SCI/Cresson violated his First Amendment rights.