As an Inmate, What Happens If I Violate a Prison Rule?

If one is already in prison in California, one may rhetorically ask oneself: “Why should I care about prison rules?  I am already in prison!  They can’t throw me in prison for breaking the rules because I am already here!”

As the following article describes, if one violates prison rules, dependency on the severity of the violation and one’s disciplinary history in prison, even a rather minor rule violation can affect one’s chances of being granted parole later and more serious violations can result in one losing custody time credits, programming opportunities and even result in being sent to “a prison within a prison,” the SHU (security housing unit).

The rules of any one prison and the disciplinary process for addressing such violation are set forth at California Penal Code § 2932 and 15 C.C.R. §§ 3310 – 3326.  The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) rules set up a tiered disciplinary system with increasing levels of punishment for increasingly serious misconduct.

The CDCR may respond to minor misbehavior by “verbal counseling,” which is just talking to the inmate about the misbehavior without making any report of the misbehavior. 15 C.C.R. 3312(a)(1). 

If the misconduct reoccurs or if the CDCR believes the misconduct should be documented, the CDCR can verbally counsel the inmate and record the misbehavior on a Counseling Only Rules Violation Report that will be placed in the inmates central file.  15 C.C.R. § 3312(a)(2).  This form was previously called CDCR Form 128.  There is no hearing or other procedural protection, and there is no loss of time credits or other punishment.  See In re Boag (1973) 35 Cal. App. 3d 866, 869-870, 111 Cal. Rptr. 226.  However, counseling only rule violations may be considered by the CDCR in deciding whether to place that inmate in a beneficial program and by the Board of Parole Hearings (BOPH).

If the misbehavior appears to violate the Penal Code or is not something minor, the CDCR will document this in a Rules Violation Report (RVR).  The RVR will state the type of rule violation, the basic information about what happened, and the name of the CDCR staff person reporting the violation. 

The charge will be classified as “administrative” or “serious,” depending upon the degree of misbehavior. 15 C.C.R. § 3313(a).  During the disciplinary process, a serious rule violation may be downgraded to an administrative violation and an administrative violation may be downgraded to a counseling only violation.  An administrative violation may also be upgraded to a serious violation either before the hearing or after the hearing if het Chief Disciplinary Officer or Director orders the charge reheard as a serious violation.

An administrative rule violation is misconduct which is not a felony offense and that does not involve the use or threat of force, hazard to security, serious disruption of operations, controlled substances or alcohol, dangerous contraband, or continued failure to meet program expectations. 15 C.C.R. § 3314(a). 

Examples of administrative violations are reporting to work late or using vulgar language.  15 C.C.R. 3314(a)(3).  A person charged with an administrative violation is entitled to a hearing, but does not have the right to an Investigative Employee (IE) or to call witnesses. 15 C.C.R. § 3314(b) – (c). 

Inmates who are found guilty of administrative violations do not lose time credits, but punishment can include suspension of privileges for up to 30 days, assignment to up to 40 hours of extra duty, or confinement to quarters (CTQ) for not more than five consecutive days or 10 weekend / holiday days, and / or placement of a hold on the person’s trust account for the cost of repair or replacement of property involved in the violation. 15 C.C.R. § 3314(e).

A serious rule violation is conduct that is a misdemeanor not included in the administrative rule violations, a felony, or behavior that involves violence or force, hazard to prison security, serious disruption of prison operations, dangerous contraband or controlled substances, or an attempt to commit any such violation. 15 C.C.R. § 3315(a).  In addition, misconduct that would normally be an administrative violation can be classified as a serious rule violation if a person has a “repeated pattern of violations for the same offense.” 15 C.C.R. § 3315(a)(2).  See In re Scott (2003) 113 Cal. App. 4th 38, 5 Cal. Rptr. 3d 887; 15 C.C.R. 3315(a) (an inmate charged with disrespect to staff could not be charged with a serious offense when he had not previously been found guilty of an administrative rule violation for his disrespectful behavior).

There are seven divisions of serious offenses (A1, A2, B, C, D, E and F) from most to least serious. 15 C.C.R. § 3323.  The CDCR can refer the case to the local district attorney for possible criminal prosecution in addition to the disciplinary charge.  The CDCR can hold a person beyond his or her release date if he or she is charged with a serious offense.

If one is found guilty of a serious offense can face a range of sanctions, from loss of privileges to loss of time credits and placement in a Security Housing Unit (SHU).

Greg Hill & Associates wishes to thank The Prison Law Group for their excellent treatise, California Prison and Parole Law Handbook, which provided much of the information presented in this article.