Edwin C. West v. Macht, 2000 WI App 134, 237 Wis. 2d 265, 614 N.W.2d 34
Issue: Whether living unit reassignment of a Ch. 980 subject was made in retaliation for his exercise of his constitutional right to petition on grievances.
Holding: A commitment subject has a protected interest against being punished for exercising first amendment rights, ¶15; however, those rights may be validly restricted if “reasonably related to legitimate therapeutic and institutional interests.” ¶17. Because the institution established reasonable rules regulating the conduct that West sought to exercise, and because he failed to follow those rules, the discipline impose by the institution — reassignment to a high management unit — was valid and not retaliatory. ¶20-23.
