Steier v. New York State Education Commissioner
| Decision Date | 22 September 1959 |
| Docket Number | Docket 25270.,No. 94,94 |
| Citation | 271 F.2d 13 |
| Parties | Arthur STEIER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER, New York City Board of Higher Education and Brooklyn College, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Arthur Steier, pro se.
Joseph F. Gibbons, Asst. Corporation Counsel of City of New York, Brooklyn, N. Y. (George L. Hubbell, Jr., New York City, and Charles H. Tenney, Corporation Counsel, New York City, on the brief), for defendants-appellees New York State Education Commissioner, New York City Board of Higher Education and Brooklyn College.
Before CLARK, Chief Judge, MOORE, Circuit Judge, and GIBSON, District Judge.
Plaintiff brought this action alleging jurisdiction under Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 1343(3). The complaint alleges that plaintiff was maliciously suspended by the Dean of Students of Brooklyn College; that on appeal the President of the College arbitrarily sustained the suspension and that later the Faculty Council of the College, acting upon the recommendation of its Faculty Committee on Orientation and Guidance, unlawfully dismissed plaintiff permanently; that thereafter on appeal for reinstatement to the Board of Higher Education, that Board illegally denied plaintiff's request for a fair hearing and that the State Commissioner of Education refused to reverse the action of the Board and the College, rendering unconstitutional decisions in so doing.
Because of these allegations, plaintiff claims a grievance under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution in that he was deprived of his liberty, denied due process, and refused equal protection of the law.
The complaint contains no allegation that he was discriminated against by reason of race, creed, or previous condition of servitude.
The defendants, New York State Education Commissioner (hereinafter called The Commissioner), New York City Board of Higher Education (hereinafter called The Board), and Brooklyn College (hereinafter called The College), in their answers, generally denied plaintiff's allegations and moved to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiff's complaint failed to state a claim against The Board and The College; that the plaintiff had already appealed his dismissal to The Commissioner and had been denied relief, and that the complaint failed to show the deprivation of the plaintiff of any right secured to the plaintiff by the United States Constitution or United States Law. A detailed affidavit was filed with the Motion to Dismiss.
At the trial, Judge Rayfiel treated the Motion to Dismiss as a Motion for Summary Judgment and granted the summary judgment dismissing the complaint. Steier v. New York State Education Commissioner, D.C.E.D.N.Y.1958, 161 F. Supp. 549.
The public colleges of the City of New York, of which Brooklyn College is one, constitute a unit of the public school system of the State of New York. Under Section 6202 of the Education Law of the State of New York, McKinney's Consol. Laws, c. 16, The Board, a body corporate, separate and distinct from the Board of Education of the City of New York, which administers the affairs of the public elementary and secondary school system, is authorized to govern and control those educational institutions in the City which are of collegiate grade. Included among the powers and duties of The Board provided by Section 6202 of said Law is the power to "prescribe conditions of student admission, attendance and discharge." The Board has prescribed such conditions, which, so far as they are here pertinent, are contained in Sections 214a, 216, and 217 of its by-laws. Section 214a provides, inter alia, that each student obey all the rules, regulations and orders of the duly established college authorities, and shall conform to the requirements of good manners and good morals. Section 216 provides that, in the event of the violation of such rules, regulations or requirements, the Dean may reprimand the student involved, suspend him for a period not exceeding one term, or deprive him of certain college privileges. He may also recommend the dismissal of the student, but such disciplinary action may be imposed only by the President, or by the votes of a majority of the members of the Faculty Council. Section 217 provides that the student involved in disciplinary action by the Dean or the Faculty Council may appeal to the President, whose decision is final, except in the case of a dismissal, in which event appeal may be made to The Board.
Under the Education Law, the Education Department of the State of New York is charged with the general management and supervision of all the public schools in the State, and The Commissioner is the chief executive and administrative officer of the Department. Section 310 of said Law provides that in a case such as the instant case a "person conceiving himself aggrieved may appeal or petition to the commissioner of education who is hereby authorized, and required to examine and decide the same, * * * and his decision in such appeals, petitions or proceedings shall be final and conclusive, and not subject to question or review in any place or court whatever."
If one believes the decision of The Commissioner was arbitrary, capricious, or palpably illegal, one may file a petition under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Act of New York in a New York Supreme Court for a review of the decision of The Commissioner. Craig v. Board of Education, 173 Misc. 969, 19 N.Y.S.2d 293, affirmed 262 App.Div. 706, 27 N.Y.S.2d 993; Knapp v. Chisholm, Sup., 144 N.Y. S.2d 191.
To determine whether the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York had any jurisdiction of this case, we must look at the undisputed facts as contained in the affidavit of Charles A. Brind, Jr., counsel for Commissioner. These facts are not denied by the plaintiff.
Plaintiff entered Brooklyn College in the fall of 1952. He apparently became convinced that certain of the student organizations were too much dominated by the College Administrator. He assumed the role of a reformer. On November 22, 1954, and again on February 24, 1955, he wrote letters to the College President which were obviously bitter and in one of which intemperate language was directed against the office of Student Administration of The College. On March 3, 1955, as a result of these two letters, the Dean of Students suspended the plaintiff for the remainder of the term. In his letter of suspension the Dean quoted a by-law of the Board of Higher Education which reads as follows:
Plaintiff appealed this suspension to the College President — to no avail. However, on August 2, 1955, plaintiff applied in writing for readmission. On September 7th a conference was held between plaintiff, his mother, the Dean and a Professor, and on that day plaintiff wrote a letter to the Dean reiterating his mistake of undignified manner of expression in the letters which caused his suspension and generally promised if reinstated to abide by the rules and regulations and to generally have a change of spirit.
As a result of the conference and his letter, on September 17, 1955, the Dean unblocked his registration, but stipulated that during the coming year plaintiff could not participate as an officer in any student activity organization, and also warned plaintiff that The College would take a serious view of any violation of the letter or spirit of the understanding as outlined in plaintiff's letter of September 7th. In January, 1956, plaintiff received a warning from the Dean that in the Dean's opinion plaintiff was not keeping the agreement leading to plaintiff's reinstatement.
In June, 1956, after the academic year was completed, the Dean wrote the plaintiff that though still showing deficiencies, plaintiff had made certain gains. However, plaintiff was notified that during the fall term of 1956 he could not hold office or membership in any student organizations.
Plaintiff caused to be published in the first issue of the College paper, dated September 20, 1956, the story of his latest probation — claiming the probation was caused by the discriminatory and vindictive policies of the College Administration. On September 21st plaintiff was suspended for the second time as of September 24th because of his "continued disregard of the rules and regulations."
Plaintiff and his parents promptly appealed this second suspension to the College President — again to no avail. In December plaintiff applied for reinstatement. As a result he was asked to appear before the Faculty Committee on Orientation and Guidance. This he did. This Faculty Committee unanimously recommended plaintiff's dismissal for the following reasons:
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