Martino v. Carey

Decision Date01 February 1983
Docket NumberCiv. No. 81-751-RE.
PartiesJack MARTINO, Leigh J. Cronland, Terry Rivera, Jose Herrera, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Jim CAREY, Sheriff of Umatilla County, Oregon; Woody Starrett, Bob Ten Eyck, and Bud Draper, County Commissioners, Umatilla County, Oregon, all sued in their individual and official capacities and their successors in office, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Oregon

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Roy S. Haber, Eugene, Or., for plaintiffs.

Harold A. Fabre, Douglas R. Nash, Pendleton, Or., for defendants.

OPINION

REDDEN, District Judge:

The plaintiffs, a class composed of persons incarcerated in the Umatilla County Jail, brought this suit against the Sheriff and County Commissioners of Umatilla County, alleging that the conditions of confinement in the Umatilla County Jail violate rights guaranteed to them by the First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. The plaintiffs allege that those conditions violate the minimum standards prescribed by the Constitution.

The plaintiffs allege that these conditions violate the minimum standards prescribed by the Constitution in the following ways:

1) The lack of security at the jail is such that many inmates are in danger of attack from other, more violent inmates,

2) The lack of medical care is such that inmates suffer from illness and pain without treatment, despite their efforts to get medical care,

3) The conditions of confinement are inhumane and indecent, in that prior to the filing of the action, feces, urine and vomit were allowed to overflow from the toilets onto the floor and onto inmates, creating risks of disease as well as inflicting needless suffering on the prisoners; that there was a lack of sanitation and hygiene at the jail which further increased the risk of disease; that there was until recently an almost total lack of recreation and exercise at the jail, with prisoners being in "lockdown" essentially all day every day; that the cells were not heated sufficiently in winter to maintain the health of inmates; that there was no cooling or ventilation in summer, resulting in stifling, tomb-like conditions; that there was arbitrary censorship of mail, without required safeguards; that prisoners were denied the required due process in jail disciplinary proceedings; that prisoners are denied access to the courts because defendants do not allow free access to the law library located in the same building as the jail; and that the conditions complained of amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

I agree with plaintiffs that these conditions existed at the Umatilla County Jail at the time of filing and that these conditions violated the civil rights of the persons incarcerated there. Some of those conditions existed, or were inadequately remedied, at the time of trial.

In this opinion, I will first recount briefly the relevant aspects of the procedural history of this case. I will then describe the conditions of confinement at the Umatilla County Jail as I have found them to be. I will then briefly summarize the applicable legal principles which I apply in reaching my conclusions. I will then specifically discuss the separate claims of the plaintiffs which have been summarized above in light of the facts I have found and the law I am required to apply.

I. Procedural History of the Case

The complaint was filed August 17, 1981. The suit was brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Constitution of the United States. On November 5, 1981, the Court held a conference of all parties in Pendleton, Oregon, where the Umatilla County Jail is located. The Court granted certification to the class pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b), ordering that the notice of class be posted in the cells of the jail. The Court, accompanied by counsel, visited the jail on that date and noted the conditions then in existence.

The parties proceeded with discovery. On April 1, 1982, I granted the plaintiffs' motion to strike the defendants' jury demand, holding that a suit challenging jail conditions and seeking only injunctive relief should be tried to the court and not to a jury. On July 2, 1982, I granted the plaintiffs' motion for interim relief pending trial, and ordered that the defendants provide outdoor exercise in the rooftop recreation area of the jail for one hour a day, five days a week; that defendants provide the necessary staffing for the jail so that the security of inmates could be maintained on a 24-hour basis; that the defendants provide means for the ventilation of the cells during the summer, and that the temperature of the water in the showers not be maintained at a level which would scald inmates.1

Before listing the several claims made by plaintiffs, I will provide some background information in an attempt to explain the rather unusual situation which this case presented: litigation of the constitutionality of conditions in a county jail which was scheduled for a major renovation which, together with other planned changes, would likely obviate many if not all of the challenged conditions. Since early 1981 which marked the commencement of Sheriff Carey's term, improvements for certain problem areas were considered, planned and, in some instances, implemented. Plans for a new or renovated jail have been under consideration for many years, with "citizen committee" participation pre-dating Carey's election.

This action was filed August 17, 1981 and the evidence which I will subsequently discuss indicates that further improvements were thereupon implemented. Plans for construction or renovation were revised and expedited. I urged the parties to consider this state of affairs and agree to a settlement which would acknowledge that many of the challenged conditions were to be remedied with or without litigation and judgment. I urged settlement because it was apparent that many of the complaints would be remedied regardless of the nature of the court's judgment, and that the parties could enter into a consent decree without requiring defendants to admit that the filing of the lawsuit was the action that precipitated the changes. The defendants, however, concluded that settlement was undesirable and insisted that plaintiffs be put to their proof that any existing conditions, at the time of the filing of the action, were unconstitutional. I hope to adequately distinguish the conditions between those which existed prior to the filing of the lawsuit, and those which existed thereafter. Inasmuch as many of the criticized conditions emanate from inadequate facilities, it will be worth bearing in mind that those will be alleviated by the renovation currently underway. It is puzzling that litigation was necessary, but the defendants are as entitled to their day in court as are the plaintiffs.

On September 1 and 2, 1982, the case was tried to the Court. The Court on September 2, 1982, accompanied by counsel, made another inspection of the jail and confirmed the fact that the defendants were complying with the interim relief order.

II. The Facts of Confinement at the Umatilla County Jail

These are the conditions which existed at the Umatilla County Jail prior to the filing of the complaint in this case.

The jail was constructed in 1956. It occupies the top floor of the Umatilla County Courthouse. It is located adjacent to the main office of the Sheriff's Department. Most prisoners are housed in "dormitories" with eight to fourteen beds.

A. Security

The security provided inmates at the jail against assaults by other inmates is clearly inadequate. Prisoners are separated from guards in the sheriff's office by multiple locked security doors. There are no surveillance cameras aimed at the cell interiors and no regular rounds are made by guards. To get assistance an inmate must be heard in the adjacent sheriff's office, rely on a guard to respond and wait for that response. In documented cases, in the past, this "security" system has proved to be totally inadequate. Prisoners have been attacked and injured while the sheriff's office was unable to respond. Prior to the filing of the complaint there was an almost total lack of security at night. The cells would be closed and the guards would retire to the office. On many occasions there was only one guard present in the jail, which held as many as seventy prisoners on occasion. On one documented occasion, a prisoner was attacked and was able to yell for assistance and be heard. However, only one guard was on duty and he was under instruction not to enter the cells alone. Therefore, the guard could not render immediate assistance, but first had to summon help from the outside by radio, before he was able to render assistance. The inmates of the jail are aware of the security problem and aggressors take advantage of it to terrorize other inmates. There were no written policies or rules instructing guards what to do in the event of security breaches or emergencies. During this period the individual judgment or inclination of the guard on duty was the only guide.

There is no provision for classification of prisoners. Dangerous or violent inmates shared cells with persons awaiting trial for minor offenses. At the time of trial, a person awaiting trial for the rape of a child was housed in the jail, and was not segregated from young inmates accused of misdemeanors. A document has been promulgated since the filing of the complaint which states classification as a goal. However, this document cannot be complied with due to space limitations. The inmates accused or convicted of violent crimes, or inmates who are large and aggressive, become the "cell bosses." They dominate the other occupants of the cell by violence and thereby maintain their control. The security situation at the jail does not allow corrections personnel to remedy that situation. According to the testimony of several inmates and...

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