Young v. Wall

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires us to determine whether a prison’s unilateral suspension of its internal policy of paying interest on inmate accounts violated the constitutional rights of an affected inmate. The district court thought not. Weighing in on an issue that has split the circuits, we conclude that prison inmates lack a constitutionally protected property right in interest not yet paid. Accordingly, the defendant was at liberty to abrogate the policy prospectively.

The material facts are not in dispute. By statute, Rhode Island authorizes inmates to pursue gainful,…