Henry v. Rahway State Prison

In Henry v. Rahway State Prison, 81 N.J. 571, 579, 410 A.2d 686 (1980), the New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed the punishment meted out by the Board's predecessor agency and found it wanting. Henry was employed as a prison guard and had filed a false report with respect to an investigation of narcotics trafficking at Rahway State Prison. The prison dismissed Henry and the agency reduced the penalty to a ninety-day suspension. On the prison's appeal, the Court reinstated the dismissal because the falsification of a report can disrupt and destroy order and discipline in a prison. Even if motivated by good intentions, Henry subverted the discipline at Rahway State Prison by the deliberate falsification of his report. Consequently, the Commission was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable in reducing the penalty imposed on Henry from removal to a 90-day suspension. 81 N.J. at 580, 410 A.2d 686.