Parton v. White

Decision Date13 January 2000
Docket NumberNo. 98-1074,98-1074
Citation203 F.3d 552
Parties(8th Cir. 2000) Michael Parton; Donald Yates; Terry Walls; William Leonard; James Bridgewater; Robert Smith; Ronald L. Boyer; James King, Plaintiffs, Jack Babcock; William Cooper; Larry Schaal; Gerald Bereuter, Appellants, v. Carl White, in his official capacity as Superintendent and Chief Administrative Officer at Missouri Training Center for Men at Moberly, Missouri; Clarence D. Smith, in his official capacity as Director of the Division of Adult Institutions, Missouri Department of Corrections; W. David Blackwell, in his official capacity as Director of the Division of Adult Institutions, Missouri Department of Corrections; Lee Roy Black, in his official capacity as the Director of the Missouri Department of Corrections and Human Resources, Appellees. Submitted:
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before WOLLMAN, Chief Judge, RICHARD S. ARNOLD, and BEAM, Circuit

Judges.

PER CURIAM.

Four Missouri inmates, on behalf of a class of inmates, appeal from the district court's1 order modifying a prison-conditions consent decree and denying a new trial motion. We affirm.

In 1982, inmates at the Missouri Training Center for Men (MTCM) in Moberly, Missouri, alleged in a class action that they were being subjected to unconstitutional overcrowding in the prison, which had a population of about 1,800. In 1983, the district court2 approved a consent decree that required reduction of MTCM's population to 1,265 over seven years. In 1992, with the name of the prison changed to Moberly Correctional Center (MCC), the state moved to modify the consent decree to increase the population limit. After extensive litigation, the district court3 permanently modified the decree to allow the inmate population at MCC to be increased to 1,500. In July 1995--citing Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(5), 18 U.S.C. § 3626 (1994), and Rufo v. Inmates of Suffolk County Jail, 502 U.S. 367 (1992)--the state again moved for permanent modification of the consent decree, this time seeking to allow an increase in MCC's population to 1,800 inmates on the basis of improved physical conditions, a proposed increase in staff, and an unanticipated inmate population growth. In August 1995, five MCC inmates, acting pro se, sought substitution of counsel and to be appointed as class representatives. The district court denied this request without prejudice.

In October 1996--having previously granted the state's motion for an emergency modification to the consent decree--the district court granted a permanent increase in MCC's allowable inmate population to 1,800. Upon consideration of the information provided by the inmates, together with the evidentiary-hearing testimony, the district court found that (1) medical services were generally adequate for a population of 1,800; (2) the quality of food preparation and distribution had improved; (3) cell space was generally adequate for general population, protective custody (PC), and administrative custody inmates; and (4) reports of violence among inmates notwithstanding, the increase in staff, with increased proximity of correctional officers to inmates, militated against increased violence. Noting the wide discretion accorded to prison administrators, the district court concluded that the state had met the Rufo standards and that the changes in housing conditions and staffing increases that had occurred since the last modification of the consent decree enabled MCC to incarcerate 1,800 inmates under conditions that would not violate the inmates' constitutional rights.

Within ten days of the order, the inmates moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(a) and (e) for a new trial or to amend the judgment, arguing that they had newly discovered evidence concerning the degeneration of conditions following the population increase, namely, the elimination of the PC inmates' freedom of movement. Concluding that the new conditions were reasonable and constitutional, the district court denied the Rule 59 motion.

On appeal, the inmates, through counsel, argue that (1) the district court abused its discretion in modifying the decree, as the court overlooked evidence suggesting that violence has increased since the inmate population increased; (2) the state failed to demonstrate changed circumstances significant enough to warrant a modification, the modification is not suitably tailored, and the changed conditions, particularly the PC inmates' loss of freedom of movement, violate the Eighth Amendment; (3) the district court failed to support its permanent modification with the requisite findings under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), as codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3626; and (4) the court erred in denying the new trial motion because the new evidence demonstrates that inmates transferred to Unit 2B have been subjected to near lockdown conditions, the state misrepresented the effect of the population increase, the court failed to address the inmates' reasonable alternatives, and the PC inmates' equal protection rights have been violated.

In a pro se supplemental brief filed with leave of this court, the inmates argue that Magistrate Judge Noce lacked jurisdiction to modify the decree because class representatives had not been appointed on behalf of the inmates and because the inmates never consented to proceed before a magistrate judge. They also argue that the modification is clearly erroneous in light of the unconstitutional conditions of confinement which the inmates outlined in their pro se objections to the motion to modify.

Initially, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the inmates' request for substitute counsel, as they failed to show circumstances warranting substitution. See Rayes v. Johnson, 969 F.2d 700, 702-03 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1021 (1992). We also conclude that the court properly denied the inmates' request to be appointed as class representatives, as they.-5- failed to indicate why they were qualified to act in that capacity. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(4); Bishop v. Committee on Prof'l Ethics and Conduct of the Iowa State Bar Ass'n, 686 F.2d 1278, 1288 (8th Cir. 1982). Further, we reject the inmates' argument that they failed to consent to proceed before a magistrate judge, as a form indicating the parties' consent to proceed to trial before Magistrate Judge Noce appears in the record.

Turning to the issue of modification, under Rule 60(b)(5), a court may modify a consent decree providing for prospective relief upon a showing that "a significant change in facts or law warrants revision of the decree and that the proposed modification is suitably tailored to the changed circumstance." Rufo, 502 U.S. at 393. Modification may be appropriate when changed factual conditions make compliance with the decree substantially more onerous, a decree proves to be unworkable because of unforeseen obstacles, or enforcement...

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