Ortiz v. Downey

• Decision Date: 01 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 06-2453.,06-2453.
• Citation: 561 F.3d 664
• Parties: Rolando ORTIZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael DOWNEY and Jean Flageole, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

561 F.3d 664

Rolando ORTIZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael DOWNEY and Jean Flageole, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-2453.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued January 28, 2009.^*

Decided April 1, 2009.

Sarah A. Huck, Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, Milwaukee, WI, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Before BAUER, RIPPLE and TINDER, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Rolando Ortiz, a federal pretrial detainee being held in a state jail, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Michael Downey, Chief of Corrections at the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, Illinois, and Jean Flageole, a nurse at that facility.¹ He claimed that, in denying his request for certain religious articles, Chief Downey had violated his rights under the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, which was made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. See Callahan v. Fermon, 526 F.3d 1040, 1043 (7th Cir.2008). He also claimed that Chief Downey had deprived him of access to legal periodicals that he believed necessary to the prosecution of this civil case against jail officials, thereby denying his constitutional right of access to the courts. See Christopher v. Harbury, 536 U.S. 403, 415 n. 12, 122 S.Ct. 2179, 153 L.Ed.2d 413 (2002); Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 352-54, 116 S.Ct. 2174, 135 L.Ed.2d 606 (1996). The district court screened the complaint, see 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, and dismissed it for failure to state a claim. Because we believe that this action was premature, we must reverse the judgment of the district court and remand the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I BACKGROUND

A.

While awaiting trial on federal drug conspiracy charges, Mr. Ortiz was detained at the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, Illinois.² He asked officials there to "provide a chaplain or implement religious services . . . . [o]r explain to me how to practice my Roman Catholic beliefs in your jail without mass, communi[o]n, or rosary prayer beads?" R.1 at 24. Chief Downey replied, "We are able to provide non-denominational services, there is no jail requirement to provide a service for every religion. If you would like to meet with a priest or deacon of the Catholic faith, let me know." Id. In another request during the same period, Mr. Ortiz wrote, "I am a Roman Catholic and I require a rosary and prayer pamphlet or booklet to pray so I need you to provide those two things for me." R.1 at 27. Chief Downey responded, "I am also a Catholic & you do not need a rosary and pamphlet or booklet. If you would like a priest to come in to pray with you, that can be arranged." Id. A few months later a priest met with Mr. Ortiz for ten minutes but "[h]e never came back." R.36 at 6. Mr. Ortiz never received the requested rosary, pamphlet or booklet.

B.

During this same period, Mr. Ortiz requested, and was denied, various legal accommodations. He asked that jail officials copy, at no charge, approximately fifty legal documents that pertained either to his pro se civil suit against his jailers or to his criminal prosecution. He was represented by counsel in the criminal case, but was proceeding pro se in the civil matter. In reply, jail officials told him that he would be charged $1.00 per page and also commented that "[t]here is no legal obligation for this department to make copies for you for a frivolous lawsuit. If you need copies of legal work for your criminal case, we will assist you in any way we can." R.1 at 50. Chief Downey later explained in writing that copies of files relevant to Mr. Ortiz's criminal case would be provided at no charge. On another occasion, Mr. Ortiz requested a notepad, envelopes and stamps "to do legal work," to which officials responded by asking him if he had money in his commissary account. R.1 at 18, 20.

When Mr. Ortiz's relationship with his appointed criminal counsel soured in early 2006, Mr. Ortiz attempted to research his criminal case on his own. He asked jail officials whether the detention center had "a federal law library to research case law post-Booker or any Seventh Circuit decisions of federal courts or any case law or library at all." R.1 at 9. An official responded, "No, we don't have a law library." Id. Mr. Ortiz admits that he had access to at least "8 state law books and 2 federal law books," R.17 at 4, but not the particular federal sentencing guidelines manual that he sought.

Mr. Ortiz also tried to subscribe to various legal periodicals, but that request was denied as well. A note attached to Mr. Ortiz's grievance explained, "newspapers not accepted. . . . That also goes for magazines." R.1 at 12.

C.

In March 2006, Mr. Ortiz brought this action against Chief Downey, alleging that Chief Downey denied him access to courts, prevented him from receiving legal and nonlegal reading materials, and unduly restricted his ability to practice his faith. At the section 1915A screening hearing, Mr. Ortiz elaborated on his claims and answered various questions put to him by the district court. When the district court asked why he needed a law library, Mr. Ortiz replied: "I really want to put a motion in. I feel [my appointed criminal attorney] is ineffective counsel and I don't know how to proceed." R.36 at 3. The court explained that a letter to the court simply stating "I want a different lawyer" would suffice and the court would construe it as a motion. Id.

When screening the complaint, the district court dismissed it for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. With respect to the free-exercise claim, the court noted that prisoners are entitled to practice their religion so long as it does not interfere excessively with prison or jail administration. The district court also noted, however, that prison administrators may restrict that right if the restriction is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. The court concluded: "There is nothing in the record that shows Downey violated the plaintiff's right to practice his religion. Downey accommodated the plaintiff by providing a Catholic priest. Downey had no obligation to supply the plaintiff with rosary beads or a prayer booklet or pamphlet." R.6 at 4.

As for Mr. Ortiz's access-to-courts claim, the court concluded that, even without a law library, Mr. Ortiz enjoyed unrestricted access to the courts:

The plaintiff claims that because he does not have access to a law library he does not know how to file the motion. The court finds that the plaintiff does not need a law library to file that type of motion. This plaintiff, apparently, is very resourceful and apparently knows how to file documents with the court. This plaintiff has submitted every document necessary to open up the instant civil lawsuit. He filed a petition to proceed in forma pauperis, the required trust fund ledgers and his complaint, without the benefit of a law library. Further, when in criminal court, the plaintiff simply could have orally told the judge that his attorney was ineffective and he could have orally requested a new attorney. Additionally, the plaintiff could have simply written a letter to the judge. In fact, the plaintiff could have written his attorney and could have requested that he file and/or present the motion to the court. Pretrial detainees are entitled to counsel—that is their access to the courts.

Id. at 3 (citations omitted).

Finally, the court dismissed Mr. Ortiz's claim regarding access to reading materials. It reasoned that Chief Downey was not personally responsible for the deprivation because another officer, not Chief Downey, had responded to Mr. Ortiz's request. Id. at 3-4.

II ANALYSIS

A.

After oral argument in this case, we asked counsel about Mr. Ortiz's present location. Counsel informed us that he is no longer at the Jerome Combs Detention Center. He currently is incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin, Illinois, where he is serving a term for his federal conviction for possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Therefore, he is no longer under the jurisdiction and control of the defendants. Nor is there any reasonable possibility that he will be returned to their custody. The federal government had arranged to house Mr. Ortiz at the Kankakee facility pending the disposition of his federal charges. Today, as a result of those charges, he is incarcerated in a federal facility and therefore subject to the regulations of that federal facility and under the sole custody of its warden.

Because of this change in circumstances, Mr. Ortiz's prayers for prospective relief are moot. If we were to reverse the judgment of the district court and remand this matter for further proceedings, the district court could grant no prospective relief to Mr. Ortiz against these defendants. There is no realistic possibility that Mr. Ortiz will again be incarcerated in the same state facility and therefore be subject to the actions of which he complains here. Any relief that our judgment might permit would be purely speculative in nature. See Preiser v. Newkirk, 422 U.S. 395, 401-04, 95 S.Ct. 2330, 45 L.Ed.2d 272 (1975) (holding that a prayer for prospective relief on a claim of unconstitutional transfer was moot because the prisoner had been returned to the initial facility with no foreseeable effect on future parole decisions); Sutton v. Rasheed, 323 F.3d 236, 248 (3d Cir.2003) ("An inmate's transfer from the facility complained of generally moots the equitable and declaratory claims."); Young v. Lane, 922 F.2d 370, 373 (7th Cir.1991) (concluding that past exposure to illegal conduct at a prior facility, without threat of repetition, did not present a pending case or controversy that might warrant injunctive relief). Moreover, as in Preiser, we shall not assume without reason that Mr. Ortiz might once again find himself an inmate of the same local institution and find himself subject to the...