Rick Koenig v. Daniel Vannelli Douglas Trudeau

Koenig, an Arizona prison inmate, tested positive for marijuana use in a random drug test. When prison officials repeated the ADx test, Koenig again tested positive. Prison officials cited him for a positive drug screen test. Before his disciplinary hearing, Koenig requested a gas liquid chromatography-mass spechtrometer test performed by an independent laboratory at his own expense to confirm the results of the immunoassay test. The prison officials denied it. Koenig was found in violation of prison regulations.

Koenig filed a civil rights complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the prison officials. He alleged that their denial of his request for an independent drug test violated due process. The district court dismissed, and Koenig appeals pro se. He argues that the court erred in failing to consider his right to call witnesses and present evidence at a disciplinary hearing.

An inmate facing disciplinary hearings may “call witnesses and present documentary evidence in his defense when permitting him to do so will not be unduly hazardous to institutional safety or correctional goals.” Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 566 , 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2979 , 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974); Ponte…