Clarkson v. Coughlin

• Decision Date: 03 February 1992
• Docket Number: No. 91 Civ. 1792 (RWS).,91 Civ. 1792 (RWS).
• Citation: 783 F. Supp. 789
• Parties: Doris CLARKSON, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. Thomas A. COUGHLIN, III, individually and in his capacity as Commissioner of the State of New York, Department of Correctional Services, Robert Greifinger, individually and in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Marion Borum, individually and in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Program Services of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Elaine A. Lord, individually and in her capacity as Superintendent of the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, and Raul Russi, individually and in his capacity as Chair of the New York State Board of Parole and Head of the New York Division of Parole, Defendants. Rodney THOMAS, Larry Randall, Janice Whan, Scott Cameron Phelps, and James White, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Proposed-Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. Victor HERBERT, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Collins Correctional Facility, Walter Kelly, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Attica Correctional Facility, Bridget Gladwin, individually and in her capacity as Superintendent of the Taconic Correctional Facility, Arthur Leonardo, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, Carl Berry, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Richard C. Surles, individually and in his capacity as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health, and Susan Butler, individually and in her capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Program Services of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Proposed-Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

783 F. Supp. 789

Doris CLARKSON, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. Thomas A. COUGHLIN, III, individually and in his capacity as Commissioner of the State of New York, Department of Correctional Services, Robert Greifinger, individually and in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Marion Borum, individually and in his capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Program Services of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Elaine A. Lord, individually and in her capacity as Superintendent of the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, and Raul Russi, individually and in his capacity as Chair of the New York State Board of Parole and Head of the New York Division of Parole, Defendants.

Rodney THOMAS, Larry Randall, Janice Whan, Scott Cameron Phelps, and James White, individually and on behalf of others similarly situated, Proposed-Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. Victor HERBERT, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Collins Correctional Facility, Walter Kelly, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Attica Correctional Facility, Bridget Gladwin, individually and in her capacity as Superintendent of the Taconic Correctional Facility, Arthur Leonardo, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Great Meadow Correctional Facility, Carl Berry, individually and in his capacity as Superintendent of the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Richard C. Surles, individually and in his capacity as Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health, and Susan Butler, individually and in her capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Program Services of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Proposed-Defendants.

No. 91 Civ. 1792 (RWS).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

February 3, 1992.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

The Legal Aid Society, Civil Appeals & Law Reform Unit, New York City (Kalman Finkel, Atty. in Charge, Janet E. Sabel, Jane E. Booth, Director of Litigation, of counsel), and Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, New York City (Teresa A. Curtin, of counsel), for plaintiffs.

Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. of State of N.Y., New York City (Frederic L. Lieberman, Rosalie J. Hronsky, Edward J. Curtis, Jr., Asst. Attys. Gen., of counsel), for defendants Coughlin, Greifinger, Lord and Russi.

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Defendants Thomas A. Coughlin, III ("Coughlin"), Robert Greifinger ("Greifinger"), Marion Borum ("Borum"), Elaine A. Lord ("Lord"), and Raul Russi ("Russi") (collectively the "Defendants") have moved to dismiss Plaintiff Doris Clarkson's ("Clarkson") complaint against them on the ground that the action is moot. Defendant Lord also has moved separately for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on the ground that she is not a proper defendant to this action. In the alternative, the Defendants seek to transfer this action to the Northern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a).

Rodney Thomas ("Thomas"), Larry Randall ("Randall"), Janice Whan ("Whan"), Scott Cameron Phelps ("Phelps"), and James White ("White") (collectively the "Intervenors") have moved to intervene as plaintiffs in this action pursuant to Rule 24(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and to join Victor Herbert ("Herbert"), Walter Kelly ("Kelly"), Bridget Gladwin ("Gladwin"), Arthur Leonardo ("Leonardo"), Carol Berry ("Berry"), Richard C. Surles ("Surles"), and Susan Butler ("Butler") (collectively the "Proposed Defendants") as defendants pursuant to Rule 19(a) or Rule 20(a). Additionally, the Intervenors seek class certification pursuant to Rule 23.

For the reasons set forth below, the Defendants' motion to dismiss the class complaint is denied. Clarkson's personal claims are dismissed as moot, while Whan's motion to intervene is granted. The other motions to intervene are denied at this time, with leave granted to renew. Surles, Butler, and Gladwin are joined as defendants pursuant to Rule 20(a). The motion to certify the proposed class is denied, with leave granted to renew the motion at a later date. Lord's motion for summary judgment and the motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of New York are denied.

The Parties

The Defendants and the Proposed Defendants are either officials of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS") or of State organizations providing corrections-related services. Coughlin is the Commissioner of DOCS, Greifinger is its Chief Medical Officer and a Deputy Commissioner, and Butler is the Deputy Commissioner of Program Services.¹ Lord, Herbert, Kelly, Gladwin, Leonardo, and Berry are Superintendents of DOCS facilities. Russi is the Chair of the New York State Board of Parole and Head of the New York State Division of Parole, and Surles is the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Mental Health. Relief is sought from each in their individual and official capacities.

Clarkson is deaf. Until recently, she was incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York State. She has been unable to hear since early childhood and "speaks" with others primarily through the American Sign Language. Clarkson can understand little, if any, Signed English, and apparently cannot lipread.² To communicate with people who can hear, Clarkson uses various auxiliary aids and assistive devices.

Clarkson's term of incarceration at Bedford Hills began in 1988. During her time there, she alleges that she never had access to an interpreter conversant in American Sign Language. Bedford Hills also lacks the basic assistive devices upon which hearing-impaired people often rely. These devices include telephone communication devices for the deaf ("TDD"), which allow hearing-impaired persons to communicate over the phone directly with others or through a third-party relay service; close-captioned devices, which provide subtitles for television or films; and visual alarms and signals. Clarkson was provided with hearing aids while at Bedford Hills. These aids were of limited efficacy, though, given the extent and duration of Clarkson's hearing loss.

Clarkson's experience at Bedford Hills can be described best as "a prison within a prison." Eastern New York Correctional Facility, Sensorially Disabled Unit Operations & Procedures Manual 1 (Sept.1989) hereinafter "SDU Manual". Rarely was she fully aware of what was going on around her. The record indicates, for example, that Clarkson underwent HIV testing without her knowledge and that she received and took medicine without knowing why. Her ability to participate in educational training programs was limited; she could not take advantage of group counseling; and she did not enjoy the same telephone and television privileges as did inmates who are not hearing-impaired. These and other alleged deprivations apparently were caused in part by the Defendants' failure to provide Clarkson with the communicative tools necessary for her to function fully in the prison environment (as required by law, see, e.g., N.Y.Correct.Law §§ 136-139; 7 N.Y.C.R.R. pts. 200, 700; 9 N.Y.C.R.R. § 7695.4).

Because of her hearing loss, Clarkson also alleges that she was deprived of her procedural due process rights. The rules and regulations of prison life were never properly conveyed to her at intake. Without a qualified interpreter, she was not capable of defending herself in disciplinary proceedings nor exercising her right to grievance, transfer, good time, and change of status procedures. Injunctive relief is sought to remedy these alleged deprivations pursuant to the Eight, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

DOCS does have a facility that would have provided Clarkson with the relief sought here. It is, however, located at DOCS's Eastern Correctional Facility and serves only male inmates. Known as the Sensorially Disabled Unit ("SDU"), this facility was established by DOCS to provide resources for hearing-impaired inmates that were unavailable previously. See SDU Manual, supra, at 6. The SDU apparently can handle only 30 hearing-impaired inmates at a time,³ and there may be male inmates within the DOCS system who are eligible for or desire a transfer to the SDU, but cannot be readily accommodated.

Like Clarkson, the Intervenors allege that they are all hearing-disabled. Thomas is incarcerated at the Auburn Correctional Facility. Allegedly deaf since birth, he cannot read or write English well and communicates primarily through American Sign Language. At the time of oral argument, he was scheduled to go to the SDU, but had not been transferred there yet. Thomas apparently was enrolled in the SDU previously, but was transferred out so that he could receive mental health treatment not available at the Eastern Facility.

Randall is incarcerated at the Attica Correctional Facility. His medical condition is vigorously contested. He allegedly suffers from a hereditary loss of hearing. As a result, he apparently needs two hearing aids, yet has none, and cannot read lips well nor understand either form of sign language. Randall currently is not participating in any educational or recreational programs offered at Attica. The Defendants contend that Randall is not cooperating with their efforts to evaluate his hearing ability.

Whan is incarcerated at the Taconic Correctional Facility. She allegedly suffers from congenital, degenerative hearing loss. On October 24, 1991, she apparently received a pair of hearing aids that she had requested in December 1990. She follows conversations primarily by reading lips, with some reliance placed on her limited hearing ability. Whan seeks tutoring in American Signed Language, a closed-caption television decoder, and an amplified telephone handset or TDD.

Phelps is incarcerated at...