Main Road v. Aytch

• Decision Date: 12 August 1975
• Docket Number: No. 75-1010,75-1010
• Citation: 522 F.2d 1080
• Parties: MAIN ROAD, an unincorporated association, by Grady Dyches, et al. v. Louis S. AYTCH, Superintendent, Philadelphia Prisons. Appeal of Franklyn X. PRILLERMAN et al.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 1080

522 F.2d 1080

MAIN ROAD, an unincorporated association, by Grady Dyches, et al. v. Louis S. AYTCH, Superintendent, Philadelphia Prisons.

Appeal of Franklyn X. PRILLERMAN et al.

No. 75-1010.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued May 13, 1975.

Decided Aug. 12, 1975.

Claudia Kapustin, Asst. City Sol., James M. Penny, Jr., Asst. City Sol., Raymond Kitty, Deputy City Sol., Sheldon L. Albert, City Sol., for appellee.

Theodore Clattenburg, Jr., Elliot B. Platt, Community Legal Services, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., for appellants.

Before ADAMS, ROSENN and HUNTER, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

ADAMS, Circuit Judge.

On this appeal the principal issues pressed concern the constitutional right of freedom of speech enjoyed by persons incarcerated in an institution where a majority of the prisoners are unconvicted persons held pending trial.

The first question is whether a prison superintendent may preclude prisoners in such institutions from having face-to-face contact with the press because of the ideas which the prisoners intend to express. The second matter to be resolved is whether a prison administrator, if he does not ban all interviews with the press, must follow written standards in selectively forbidding such meetings with the press. Finally, we must decide whether the prisoners are constitutionally entitled to an administrative review of decisions prohibiting specific discussions with the press.

I.

This class action, based on the Civil Rights Act, Section 1983, was initiated on behalf of all prisoners confined in the Philadelphia prison system. It alleges that Louis Aytch, the superintendent of the Philadelphia prisons, has denied the inmates under his supervision constitutionally protected freedom of speech by the manner in which he has restricted their ability to have individual interviews ¹ with the members of the news media and by the manner in which he has restrained the residents of the city's prisons from holding press conferences. ²

Plaintiffs are individuals incarcerated in the Philadelphia prisons and organizations composed of such persons. The complaint requested a declaratory judgment that Aytch had infringed upon the First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of the inmates. Preliminary and permanent injunctions against Aytch's conduct relating to inmates meeting with representatives of the media were also sought.

The Philadelphia prison system consists of three institutions which house approximately 2400 prisoners. About 85% Of the inmates are pretrial detainees charged with a wide variety of offenses. The remaining 15% Of the prison's population are sentenced offenders serving terms of less than two years. ³

In October, 1972, Inmates Action Council, one of the plaintiff associations, requested from Aytch permission to hold a press conference. The group wished to express to the public their concern that prisoners within the system were not receiving notice of continuance dates when trials or hearings were postponed. Aytch denied the request for a press conference after learning that the Philadelphia Voluntary Defenders Association, which represented many of the prisoners in their criminal cases and apparently was responsible for notifying prisoners of continuance dates, refused to have a representative attend the conference. The district court, sitting without a jury, found that Aytch was motivated in part by a concern that the inmates might prejudice their pending criminal cases, but also by a desire to avoid a possible clash between his office and the Defenders Association resulting from public criticism of the latter office by the inmates.

The plaintiff organizations attempted to schedule a second press conference in March, 1973. This meeting was intended to provide the news media with information regarding alleged improprieties in probation procedures. Representatives of the prisoner groups discussed the proposed news conference with Aytch on March 2nd. A second meeting was held on March 16th. In addition to Aytch, the supervisor of the Philadelphia probation office and the state's regional director for parole supervision were present. At this second meeting, Aytch, according to the trial judge, informed the inmates that he had authority to permit such a conference but that he would refuse to do so unless the probation office concurred in his decision. The probation office apparently withheld its approval, and Aytch denied permission for the conference.

In spite of Aytch's decision, several inmates and their legal counsel scheduled a press conference on April 4, 1973. Aytch did not permit the conference to take place, explaining to the reporters that he had not sanctioned the news conference. He did, however, attempt to arrange some interviews between reporters and individual prisoners. These efforts notwithstanding, at least one newsman was refused permission to meet with an inmate whom he had specifically requested to see.

All personal contacts between the prisoners and the press, the district court found, must be approved in advance by Aytch. Although he possesses the authority to grant any such request, there is, according to the trial judge, a tacit understanding with the board of trustees of the prison system, the commissioner of public welfare and the city solicitor that Aytch will consult with them before taking any "major" action of that sort. If a request for an interview or press conference is denied by Aytch, there is no procedure for administrative review of that decision.

Notwithstanding Aytch's denial of permission to hold the two press conferences described above, the district court found that he had authorized other large gatherings of inmates and outsiders. More particularly, Aytch had permitted other group press conferences. One such instance was a briefing in May, 1973 sponsored by a prisoner group named "Gangs Relate with Society."

The district court found that the Philadelphia prison system has no written regulations and no standard policy with respect to personal contacts between inmates and reporters. In processing any such request Aytch, in the words of the trial judge, "attempts to gauge both the 'climate' or tension level of the institution and the purpose or subject matter of the interview. If the tension level in the prison is high, or the subject matter of the interview touches on a sensitive issue, the superintendent might decide that there is a 'security risk' in allowing the interview."

For instance, Aytch stated at trial that he might postpone or refuse an interview at which an inmate intended to air charges that white guards had beaten a black inmate. According to the trial judge, Aytch also declared that he might censor interviews dealing with "racial or religious" issues on the ground that such discussions would be "explosive." The superintendent is concerned, the trial court said, not only that "the inherently volatile nature of prison existence" presents a threat to the safety of the reporters visiting the institution, but also that inmates' statements regarding "sensitive issues" might be communicated back into the prison and result in disturbances.

The Supreme Court decisions in Pell v. Procunier ⁴ and Saxbe v. Washington Post ⁵ were announced while this case was under consideration by the district court.

In granting judgment for Aytch ⁶ the trial judge interpreted Pell and Saxbe to mean that regulations barring convicted prisoners from being interviewed by the press are constitutionally valid "so long as (a) there is no differentiation based upon the contents of the communication, and (b) the prisoners are not denied reasonable access to the press by alternative means. . . ." He declared that the rationale of Pell and Saxbe indicated that the plaintiffs have no First Amendment right to convene group press conferences in spite of the fact that the preponderance of the inmates are being held only pending a trial, rather than after a conviction.

The Supreme Court in Pell cited four governmental interests as justification for the restrictions on the First Amendment rights of convicted prisoners: deterrence of crime, rehabilitation of offenders, quarantining of criminals and the internal security of the prison system. Although the district court stated that the first three of these interests were largely inapplicable to the majority of the city's inmates, he decided that the legitimate governmental concern for prison security as well as the public interest in assuring that the inmates appear for trial, would be a sufficient basis for banning press conferences. The district court noted that these prisoners have alternative means of communicating with the press through the mail or individual interviews, and that Aytch "rarely" prohibits such interviews.

Although the trial judge recognized that the evidence indicated that Aytch had censored press conferences on the basis of their expected content, he denied injunctive or declaratory relief on the ground that he believed such censorship was unlikely to recur. The district court did not address the question whether written standards for the licensing of press conferences were necessary. ⁷

The inmates and their organizations appealed. We vacate the judgment of the district court and remand the case for further consideration.

II.

The plaintiff inmates and prisoner groups contend that Aytch has violated their First Amendment rights by permitting or prohibiting contacts between prisoners and the press on the basis of the expected substance of those discussions.

The prisoners also argue that the record provides no basis for believing that Aytch will discontinue such censorship voluntarily. In addition, the inmates assert that the absence of fixed, written standards governing Aytch's decision whether or not to allow specific meetings between themselves and reporters deprives them of due process. Further, in permitting some inmates contact with the press while...