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Commonwealth v. Dragovich

Denial of prisoner's petition for writ of habeas corpus affirmed because allegations relating to prison officials' exercise of discretion in superintending placement of prisoners did not provide a cognizable basis for relief; denial of request to proceed in forma pauperis affirmed because litigant failed to present a valid cause of action.

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OPINION

�1 Kenneth Fortune appeals, pro se, from the trial court’s order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus and his request to proceed in forma pauperis. Fortune, a prison inmate, contends that prison officials transferred him from one institution to another and imposed more restrictive conditions of confinement in retaliation for his prison reform activities and thus violated his constitutional rights. We conclude that Fortune’s allegations do not provide a cognizable basis for relief on a habeas corpus petition. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order denying his petition and request to proceed in forma pauperis (IFP).

�2 Fortune is currently incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Camp Hill (Camp Hill) following transfer in May 2001 from SCI-Huntingdon. Fortune is held in administrative custody in Camp Hill’s “Special Management Unit” (SMU) which, he alleges, imposes more stringent conditions of confinement than those under which he was held at SCI-Huntingdon. In response to his transfer, Fortune filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus with the trial court. In his petition, Fortune asserts that he was transferred to Camp Hill and confined to the SMU in retaliation for filing prisoner grievances and commencing litigation against prison officials while at Huntingdon. Fortune asserts that written Department of Corrections policy fails to provide grounds for his confinement in administrative custody, and that, accordingly, his detention infringes constitutionally protected “liberty interests,” and violates his rights to due process and equal protection. The trial court, upon review, dismissed Fortune’s petitions without hearing, concluding that his IFP petition was frivolous and that his habeas petition failed to state a cognizable basis for relief. Fortune filed this appeal.

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