Spies v. Voinovich

• Citation: 173 F.3d 398
• Decision Date: 14 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 97-4175,97-4175
• Parties: Douglas SPIES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. George V. VOINOVICH, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

Page 398

173 F.3d 398

Douglas SPIES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. George V. VOINOVICH, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 97-4175.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Oct. 27, 1998.

Decided April 14, 1999.

Alphonse A. Gerhardstein (argued and briefed), Laufman, Rauh & Gerhardstein, Cincinnati, OH, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Robert C. Angell (argued and briefed), Office of Attorney General, Corrections Litigation Section, Columbus, OH, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before: BOGGS, SUHRHEINRICH, and MOORE, Circuit Judges.

BOGGS, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which SUHRHEINRICH, J., joined. MOORE, J. (pp. 407-411), delivered a separate opinion dissenting in part.

OPINION

BOGGS, Circuit Judge.

Douglas Spies appeals the dismissal of his First Amendment prisoner's rights action, which alleged that (1) various prison regulations violated his free exercise rights, and (2) prison officials retaliated against him for filing this lawsuit. Spies claims that the district court's determination that various prison policies that allegedly burden his right to free exercise of religion were reasonably related to legitimate penological interests, pursuant to the four-part standard in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987), was in error. He also claims that the lower court erred by awarding appellees summary judgment on his retaliation claim. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM the trial court's grant of summary judgment on his free exercise claims, but REVERSE and REMAND the grant of summary judgment on his retaliation claim.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Douglas Spies is an inmate at North Central Correctional Institution ("NCCI") in Marion, Ohio. He was ordained as a Zen Buddhist in December 1994, and was given the religious name of Gunaratna Sarika. After his ordination, Spies attempted to organize formal Buddhist worship at NCCI, and presented a formal request to the prison chaplains to start a group "chanting practice." He and another inmate were given permission by the chaplains to use the prison chapel on a weekly basis in order to meditate. The chaplains claim that they instructed the two inmates not to talk to or interact with each other during these meditative sessions; Spies claims that they were never so instructed.

Spies claims that from the time of his ordination through early 1996, he meditated with one or more fellow Buddhists in the chapel on a regular basis. He was given permission to use several religious articles during these meditative sessions, including a small statute of Buddha, an altar cloth, a picture of Buddha, a wooden sculpture of a fish, and incense. Spies kept some of these articles in his cell; others were stored on his behalf by the chaplains.

Spies also inquired several times to one of the chaplains about getting a community leader to come in and instruct those interested in Buddhism. The chaplain responded that, pursuant to prison policy, an outside leader could not come to NCCI to lead formal religious services until there were at least five Buddhist inmates at the facility. This prison policy was commonly referred to as the "rule of five." The chaplain, however, told Spies that he was permitted to have "a personal minister come in to instruct him." Hawley gave Spies the address of a Buddhist prison ministry at a nearby temple and subsequently "wrote several letters from the department to the temple, informing them of an interest here in the institution."

In mid-1995, Spies filed a grievance with prison officials alleging that, because he was a Buddhist, the prison was required to provide him with a vegan ¹ diet. One of the prison chaplains investigated his complaint by contacting the International Buddhist Meditation Center in Los Angeles, CA, which responded that veganism was not a required tenet of the Buddhist faith, although followers were requested to refrain from eating flesh. NCCI subsequently rejected his request, on the ground that "evidence does not support [Spies's claim] that this facility is required to supply [Spies] with a religious Vegan diet," although "this facility does offer inmates the ability to eat meat-free meals." On December 15, 1995, Spies filed a formal complaint seeking a court order requiring NCCI officials to recognize his dietary needs and his new religious name.

In early 1996, a prison chaplain indicated to Spies that the Buddhists' meditation sessions in the chapel, which consisted in part of group chanting, were in fact group worship services (i.e., not simply several inmates meeting in the chapel to meditate independently and silently) and, thus, would have to cease until five Buddhist inmates at the facility were interested in having formal services. If five Buddhist inmates were to become interested, formal services could commence at NCCI as soon as a religious leader from outside the facility could be found to lead services. ² The chaplain explained that Spies and other Buddhists "could indeed have private devotions, but they could not have a corporate experience without the appropriate supervision." Hawley made this decision in accordance with "the administrative policies under the provisions for inmate-led groups or inmate groups."

This same chaplain told Spies a few weeks later that Spies's religious articles could not be stored in his cell or by the chaplains, because the articles (1) presented a security risk; (2) could create liability concerns for the prison if stored by the chaplains; and (3) might spark other inmates to make allegations of favorable treatment towards Spies. Spies alleges that the chaplain said to him, "This is what you wanted with your lawsuit, isn't it?"

Spies subsequently amended his complaint, adding a claim alleging retaliation by prison officials that stemmed from the filing of his lawsuit. The district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment on the ground that the regulations enforced by the prison officials (the "rule of five," prohibition of inmate-led groups, prohibition on possessing certain religious articles, and non-provision of vegan meals) did not violate his free exercise rights because they were reasonably related to legitimate penological interests and, thus, constitutional under Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987). The court, however, did not make explicit findings related to each part of the four-part Turner standard. Additionally, the court did not make any ruling on Spies's retaliation claim, apart from dismissing it with the rest of the complaint. Spies now appeals.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Spies's First Amendment challenges to various prison regulations

Spies claims that five policies at NCCI are unconstitutional because they violate his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. He challenges NCCI policies that: (1) require the existence of five documented members of a faith interested in forming a faith group before such a group is formed; (2) forbid him from keeping certain religious articles in his living area or in the chapel; (3) forbid the existence of inmate-led worship groups; (4) do not recognize his religious name; and (5) do not provide him with vegan meals.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. EEOC v. University of Detroit, 904 F.2d 331, 334 (6th Cir.1990). We must determine whether the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Canderm Pharmacal, Ltd. v. Elder Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 862 F.2d 597, 601 (6th Cir.1988). We do not endeavor to weigh the evidence; we need only determine whether there is a factual dispute that precludes summary judgment. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The Supreme Court has instructed that "when a prison regulation impinges on inmates' constitutional rights, the regulation is valid if it is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests." Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987). The Turner Court outlined four factors that are relevant in determining the reasonableness of a challenged prison regulation. "First, there must be a valid, rational connection between the prison regulation and the legitimate governmental interest put forward to justify it." Ibid. If not, the regulation is unconstitutional, and the other factors do not matter. Id. at 89-90, 107 S.Ct. 2254. Unlike the first factor, the remaining factors are considerations that must be balanced together: (2) "whether there are alternative means of exercising the right that remain open to prison inmates"; (3) "the impact that accommodation of the asserted constitutional right will have on guards and other inmates, and on the allocation of prison resources generally"; and (4) whether there are "ready alternatives" available "that fully accommodate the prisoner's rights at de minimis cost to valid penological interests." Id. at 90-91, 107 S.Ct. 2254. It should be noted that Spies also makes claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. These claims are without merit because the Supreme Court has declared that Act unconstitutional as applied to the states. City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 117 S.Ct. 2157, 2170-72, 138 L.Ed.2d 624 (1997).

As a preliminary matter, we note that a trial court is not required to weigh evenly, or even consider explicitly, each of the four Turner factors. See Scott v. Mississippi Department of Corrections, 961 F.2d 77, 80 (5th Cir.1992); see also Nobles v. Hoffman, No. 92-2692, 1 F.3d 1244, 1993 WL 299333 at * 2 (7th Cir.1993); cf. Casey v. Lewis, 4 F.3d 1516, 1522 (9th Cir.1993) ("we need not remand [to require a court to consider a Turner factor] because the resolution of this factual dispute in favor of the prisoners would not weigh heavily in our analysis.")....