Meachum v. Fano

Meachum v. Fano
Argued April 21, 1976
Decided June 25, 1976
Full case nameLarry Meachum, et al., v. Arthur Fano, et al.
Citations427 U.S. 215 (more)
96 S.Ct. 2532, 49 L.Ed.2d 451
ArgumentOral argument
Opinion announcementOpinion announcement
Case history
PriorJudgment in favor of plaintiffs, Fano v. Meachum, 387 F. Supp. 664 (D. Mass. 1975), affirmed, 520 F.2d 374 (1st Cir. 1975), cert granted, 423 U.S. 1013 (1975)
SubsequentRehearing denied, 429 U.S. 873 (1976)
Holding
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not entitle a duly convicted state prisoner to a factfinding hearing when he is transferred to a prison the conditions of which are substantially less favorable to him, absent a state law or practice conditioning such transfers on proof of serious misconduct or the occurrence of other specified events.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
MajorityWhite, joined by Burger, Stewart, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist
DissentStevens, joined by Brennan, Marshall

Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215 (1976), is a 1976 United States Supreme Court case concerning the due process rights of prisoners. In this case, the Court held 6–3 that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not grant a prisoner a right to a fact-finding hearing when he was transferred to a new facility, even if it had significantly more unfavorable conditions compared to his previous facility. Justice Byron White wrote the majority opinion, and John Paul Stevens wrote the dissenting opinion.