Cesar Rodriguez v. J. Puente

MEMORANDUM

Cesar R. Rodriguez, a California state prisoner, appeals pro se from the district court’s summary judgment in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging due process violations in connection with his continued assignment to the security housing unit (“SHU”) based on his re-validation as a prison gang associate. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo. Bruce v. Ylst, 351 F.3d 1283, 1287 (9th Cir.2003). We affirm.

The district court properly granted summary judgment on Rodriguez’s due process claim because, even assuming that there was a liberty interest at stake in avoiding continued confinement in the SHU, Rodriguez failed to raise a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether he was denied due process. See Wilkinson v. Austin, 545 U.S. 209, 228-29 , 125 S.Ct. 2384 , 162 L.Ed.2d 174 (2005) (notice and opportunity to be heard, involving informal, non-adversarial procedures, are adequate safeguards for placement in maximum custody); Bruce, 351 F.3d at 1287 (prison gang validation decisions require prison officials to provide an inmate with notice of the charges against him and an opportunity to present his views, and are reviewed under the “some…