Wilkinson v. Austin

Prisoners in Ohio's Supermax facility are let out of their cells for only five hours a week, they are denied all contact with other prisoners, contact with outside visitors is severely restricted, and they are ineligible for parole. The trial court found that these conditions represented a "severe and atypical hardship" within the context of the Ohio prison system. The question is whether due process requires Ohio to provide its prisoners with a meaningful hearing before they are transferred to the Supermax facility. The ACLU is co-counsel for the plaintiff prisoners with the Center for Constitutional Rights.