Assessment of costs.

• Position: Brief Article

U.S. Appeals Court

COMMISSARY INMATE FUNDS RECOUPMENT

Nelson v. Heiss 271 F.3d 891 (9th Cir. 2001). A state inmate brought a [section] 1983 action against corrections officials after holds were placed on his inmate trust account. The district court dismissed the action on the basis of qualified immunity and the appeals court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. The appeals court held that the statute that provided for an exemption of veteran's benefits against the claims of creditors precluded officials from placing holds on the inmate's accounts, but that the officials were entitled to qualified immunity from liability because prior caselaw had not clearly established this exemption. The inmate's trust account was funded with payments of Veteran's Disability Benefits administered by the United States Veterans Administration. The court held that the officials' placement of a hold on the inmate's account, after the inmate authorized withdrawals for which he lacked funds and the officials provided the goods and services in expectation of future paymen ts, did not violate the inmate's alleged due process right to predeprivation proceedings because the inmate knew, or...