Thomas E. Sloan v. Louis S. Nelson

This is an appeal from a denial of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The district court held that the state proceedings which resulted in the rescission of the prisoner’s future parole date did not offend the due-process demands of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Thomas E. Sloan, á long-term prisoner who had failed on parole earlier in his career, was granted a new parole date and placed in a work-release program to prepare for eventual release. After a few weeks in the work-release program, Sloan was charged with misconduct, taken before the prison disciplinary committee, and removed from work release and assigned inside the walls to the clothing factory.

Meanwhile, Sloan’s alleged misconduct on work release was called to the attention of the Adult Authority, which set a hearing date to consider whether to rescind Sloan’s parole release date. Because of intervening decisions of this court and of the Supreme Court upon the extent of due process required in such cases, it is necessary to set out the chronology of the material events.

On July 20, 1971, a parole date of January 3, 1972, was established for Sloan.

On November 4, 1971, Sloan appeared before the disciplinary…