Farid v. Ellen

• Decision Date: 28 January 2010
• Docket Number: Docket No. 07-4070-pr(XAP).,Docket No. 07-4057-pr(L).
• Citation: 593 F.3d 233
• Parties: Mujahid FARID, Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, v. Dr. I. ELLEN, Clinton Correctional Facility, Commissioner Glenn S. Goord, of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Lieutenant L. Jones, at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Superintendent John P. Keane, of The Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Thomas Miller, Deputy Superintendent at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, John Mitchell, Nurse Administrator at the Clinton Correctional Facility, Director Donald Selsky, of Special Housing Units, Superintendent Daniel Senkowski, of Clinton Correctional Facility, Dr. Lester Wright, Deputy Commissioner of NYS Department of Correctional Services; Individually and in their Official Capacities, Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.<SMALL><SUP>*</SUP></SMALL>
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

593 F.3d 233

Mujahid FARID, Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, v. Dr. I. ELLEN, Clinton Correctional Facility, Commissioner Glenn S. Goord, of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Lieutenant L. Jones, at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Superintendent John P. Keane, of The Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Thomas Miller, Deputy Superintendent at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, John Mitchell, Nurse Administrator at the Clinton Correctional Facility, Director Donald Selsky, of Special Housing Units, Superintendent Daniel Senkowski, of Clinton Correctional Facility, Dr. Lester Wright, Deputy Commissioner of NYS Department of Correctional Services; Individually and in their Official Capacities, Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.^*

Docket No. 07-4057-pr(L).

Docket No. 07-4070-pr(XAP).

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: June 8, 2009.

Decided: January 28, 2010.

Eghann E. Donahue (Philip A. Irwin, on the brief), Covington & Burling LLP, New York, N.Y., for Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee.

Sasha Samberg-Champion, Assistant Attorney General (Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General, Barbara D. Underwood, Solicitor General; and Michelle Aronowitz, Deputy Solicitor General, on the brief) New York, N.Y., for Defendants-Appellees-Cross-Appellants.

Before: CALABRESI, SACK, and WESLEY, Circuit Judges.

CALABRESI, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Mujahid Farid filed a Section 1983 claim against Defendants—all of whom are state prison officials at either Woodbourne Correctional Facility ("WCF") or Clinton Correctional Facility-asserting six claims for relief: first, due process and state law violations based on the filing and conduct of a disciplinary hearing; second, First Amendment violations based on disciplinary actions resulting from his possession and distribution of a booklet called "The Politics of Parole"; third, constitutional and state law violations based on the seizure of documents related to "The Politics of Parole"; fourth, constitutional violations arising out of his transfer to another facility while he was undergoing medical treatment; fifth, constitutional and state law violations arising out of the alleged deprivation of follow-up medical treatment; and sixth, constitutional violations arising from a prison transfer that disrupted a scheduled trial. All but the first and sixth claims are before us here.

The present appeal involves three separate opinions by the District Court. First, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Castel, J.) dismissed without prejudice Farid's third and sixth claims due to his failure to exhaust available administrative remedies, as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PLRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a). Farid v. Ellen, No. 01 Civ. 8292, 2003 WL 23018805 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2003) ("Farid I"). Then, after denying Farid's motion to supplement his complaint with new defendants and allegations, the Court granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment on the first, fourth and fifth claims, holding that Farid had failed to come forward with evidence upon which a reasonable jury could find in his favor on those claims. Farid v. Ellen, No. 01 Civ. 8292, 2006 WL 59517 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 11, 2006) ("Farid II"). Finally, in a published decision, the District Court addressed Farid's second claim (his First Amendment allegations), and held that the prison's catch-all contraband and anti-smuggling rules were unconstitutionally vague as applied to Farid. The court entered a permanent injunction ordering defendant Goord (a) to reinstate Farid's lost good-time credits and (b) to strike the violation from his disciplinary record. But, on the grounds of qualified immunity, the court also granted Defendants summary judgment with respect to the award of any monetary relief on this claim. Farid v. Ellen, 514 F.Supp.2d 482 (S.D.N.Y.2007) ("Farid III").

The parties have appealed and cross-appealed these decisions. We affirm them in all respects save one: Because we find that Defendants' conduct violated clearly established rights, the existence of which a reasonable prison official should have known, we vacate the finding of qualified immunity and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Background

A. Facts

Farid is serving an indeterminate sentence with a maximum of life imprisonment. See Farid v. Travis, 17 A.D.3d 754, 792 N.Y.S.2d 258 (3d Dep't 2005). From December 1997 to June 2000, he was incarcerated at WCF, a state prison in Woodbourne, New York. During this time, he was a member of an inmate organization known as the Long Termers Committee ("LTC"). The New York Department of Corrections ("DOCS") recognized and approved the existence of the LTC, whose stated purpose, inter alia, was "to advocate for positive and constructive change in the criminal justice system, particularly as it relates to the unique concerns of long term prisoners." Members of the LTC, including Farid, agreed to be governed by the Committee's by-laws, one of which provides that all "correspondence, callouts and fiscal expenditures must be reviewed and approved by the staff advisor [to the LTC]." Section 11 of the by-laws lists the consequences of violation, including censure or reprimand for one violation; suspension from LTC for multiple violations; and expulsion from LTC for "repeated and serious violations." None of the listed consequences entail, or even suggest, discipline under prison rules.

Of course, prison officials regulate group and organizational activities within the prison, but they do so pursuant to DOCS rules, not under those of internal prisoner groups. Thus, for example, inmates are not permitted to engage in unauthorized organizational activities or meetings, or to possess or distribute unauthorized materials. See, e.g., DOCS Institutional Rule of Conduct 105.12, 7 N.Y.C.R.R. § 270.2(B)(6)(v) ("An unauthorized organization is any gang or any organization which has not been approved by the deputy commissioner for program services.").

DOCS rules also prohibit "contraband" and "smuggling." The catch-all contraband provision, Rule 113.23, 7 N.Y.C.R.R. § 270.2(B)(14)(xiii) reads as follows:

In addition to those items of contraband specifically identified by this rule series, an inmate shall not possess any item unless it has been specifically authorized by the superintendent or designee, the rules of the department or the local rules of the facility.

And, the anti-smuggling rule, Rule 114.10, 7 N.Y.C.R.R. § 270.2(B)(15)(i), provides that "[a]n inmate shall not smuggle or attempt to smuggle or solicit others to smuggle any item in or out of the facility or from one area to another." Transfer of items which are contraband under Rule 113.23 constitutes smuggling under Rule 114.10. It is these two rules under which Farid was eventually disciplined.

On April 6, 2000, officers conducted random searches of cells at WCF. No contraband was found in Farid's cell during this search. However, in another inmate's cell, officials discovered a copy of a booklet called "The Politics of Parole: An Analysis by The Woodbourne Long Termers Committee," which among other things criticized parole policies and practices. The twenty-one page booklet also contained profiles of nine prisoners, including Farid. The District Court noted that the booklet "has the appearance of a professionally formatted document." The booklet argued, inter alia, that the "Parole board is prone to corruption [and] political influence," that "[t]he weight of the injustice of the criminal justice system falls disproportionately on communities of color," and that "[i]t will require the unified effort of every element of the community, including prisoners, to bring about the needed change." The booklet is dated April 2000 and—critically for the proceedings here— listed the WCF address of the LTC on its cover page, thus arguably giving the impression that it was prepared by the LTC.

On or about April 7, 2000, while Farid was at his work assignment, corrections officers searched his cell and confiscated various written materials. Among the papers seized were "2 envelopes of papers and approximately 150 pages of parole related articles." Also confiscated were seven copies of "The Politics of Parole." Other materials taken included "[m]ultiple letters to civilians explaining the book and its distribution, envelopes to civilians that coincide with letters and [a] list of addresses that correspond to envelopes and letters."

At a later deposition, Farid acknowledged that he was the principal author of "The Politics of Parole" and that he created it "working with" the LTC. He accepted the characterization of the work as having been prepared by the LTC. Farid also acknowledged that the work was not "authorized" by DOCS.

On April 8, 2000, Farid received an Inmate Misbehavior Report ("IMR") alleging that he had committed several disciplinary violations by possessing and distributing, without authorization, copies of the booklet, letters and envelopes. Specifically, Farid was charged with: (1) violating the catch-all contraband provision, Rule 113.23, through his possession of "The Politics of Parole" and associated items; (2) smuggling or attempting to smuggle in violation of Rule 114.10; (3) possessing unauthorized organizational materials in violation of Rule 105.12; (4) giving unauthorized legal assistance in violation of Rule 103.20; (5) soliciting foods or services in violation of Rule 103.20; and (6) violating Rule 180.11, which provides that "[a]n inmate shall comply with and follow the guidelines and instructions given by staff regarding facility correspondence procedures." See Farid III, 514 F.Supp.2d at 487.

Deputy Superintendent of Administration Thomas Miller, a defendant in this action, presided at an April 12, 2000 "Tier III" disciplinary hearing regarding the charges set forth in the April 8, 2000 IMR. See ...