In the case of Montanye, Correctional Superintendent, et al. v. Haymes (1975), the United States Supreme Court ruled that a prisoner's transfer from one correctional facility to another does not require due process protections unless it imposes an "atypical and significant hardship" on the inmate beyond what is normally expected in prison life. The court held that while prisoners have certain constitutional rights, they do not possess a liberty interest in remaining at any particular institution within a state's penal system. This decision was based on the premise that incarceration inherently involves deprivation of liberty and thus transfers between facilities are part of this loss of freedom for which no additional procedural safeguards are required by constitution.

In the dissenting opinion for Montanye v. Haymes, Justice Brennan disagreed with the majority's ruling that a prisoner does not have to be given a hearing before being transferred to another prison unless he can show that his transfer was punitive in nature. He argued that this decision violated due process rights of prisoners under the Fourteenth Amendment. According to him, any disciplinary action taken against a prisoner should require some form of notice and an opportunity for hearing prior to its execution. He also expressed concern over potential abuses by prison officials who might use transfers as punishment without having to provide evidence or reasoning behind their decisions.