What is the test for establishing a protected interest in maintaining maximum security segregation?

"A mere expectation of receiving a benefit is not enough to create a protected interest." Spruytte v. Walters, 753 F.2d 498, 506 (6th Cir.1985), cert. denied, ---

Page 871

In Wright v. Enomoto, 462 F.Supp. 397 (N.D.Cal.1976) (3 judge court), summarily aff'd, 434 U.S. 1052, 98 S.Ct. 1223, 55 L.Ed.2d 756 (1978), a protected liberty interest was found when an administrative regulation conditioned inmate segregation on a decisionmaker's "reasonabl[e] belie[f] that [the inmates] are a menace to themselves and others or a threat to the security of the institution." Id. at 403. ¹ The protectable interest that the court found was "in not being confined in maximum security segregation unless [the inmate] is found, for clearly documented reasons, to come within the standard set by the rules." Id. (emphasis added).