Gaines v. Lane

Citation790 F.2d 1299
Decision Date06 May 1986
Docket Number85-1745,Nos. 85-1449,s. 85-1449
PartiesDickey GAINES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Michael P. LANE and James Thieret, Defendants-Appellees. Joe WOODS, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Michael P. LANE, Individually, and as Director, Illinois Department of Corrections, Michael O'Leary, Individually, and as Chief Administrative Officer, Stateville Correctional Center, and Willa Jean Aldworth, Individually, and as Mail Room Supervisor, Stateville Correctional Center, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)

Elaine G. Fishman, Isham, Lincoln & Beale, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellant.

Michael J. Hogan, Office of Ill. Atty. Gen., Chicago, Ill., for defendants-appellees.

Before COFFEY, FLAUM and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

This consolidated appeal presents two similar constitutional challenges to the new Illinois Department of Corrections' regulations governing the treatment of prisoner mail. In both instances, the district courts dismissed the complaints pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. 1 The appellants contend that dismissal at this stage of the litigation was error. We disagree. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments in both actions.

I. THE COMPLAINT

The appellants are individuals who have been committed to the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections (Department). As inmates, they are subject to the Department's regulations covering the handling of incoming and outgoing mail. Prior to August 1, 1984, these rules were codified as Regulation 823. However, on that date, the Department enacted new regulations, Rule 525.100 et seq. The appellants have alleged that these new mail regulations are harsher than the previous rules and constitutionally deficient in a number of ways.

The mail regulations apply to both privileged and non-privileged mail. In general, privileged mail is defined as mail which is either sent to or received from attorneys or specified governmental and judicial officers. Non-privileged mail is, accordingly, comprised of all mail which does not fall within that definition. The appellants have alleged that the regulations are unconstitutional as they affect both types of mail.

Non-Privileged Mail. The appellants allege that the regulations pertaining to non-privileged mail infringe on their first amendment right to substantially unrestricted speech. They first object to Rule 525.130 which, unlike its predecessor, requires all non-privileged outgoing mail to be unsealed when delivered to the mail room. That rule also permits prison employees to read all outgoing non-privileged mail and to inspect it for contraband. The regulations are objectionable, contend the appellants, because they do not specify 1) which prison employees may read the mail, or 2) what showing is necessary (i.e.: security, prisoner safety, etc.) to support such an intrusion. The appellants reiterate these same objections with respect to Rule 525.140 which subjects incoming non-privileged mail to the same inspection.

In addition, Rule 525.130(h) permits Department employees to censor, reproduce, or withhold from delivery non-privileged mail which they believe presents a threat to prison security or safety. (Rule 525.140(g) provides a similar regulation for incoming mail.) The rule continues by enumerating nine instances when such a threat exists. The appellants argue that this regulation is deficient in two respects. First, the regulation includes--as one of the nine potentially dangerous instances--letters which "solicit[ ] gifts, goods or money from other than family members." Rule 525.130(h)(6). The appellants allege that this provision cannot possibly promote prison security. Second, the appellants contend that the nine instances are merely illustrative of the types of situations in which mail restrictions are warranted. Since the list is not exhaustive, the appellants claim that the rules impermissibly give prison employees unfettered discretion to decide which items of mail present a threat to the prison.

Privileged Mail. The regulations do not specifically provide that incoming privileged mail may be read. However, Rule 525.140(b) does allow the mail to be inspected "to determine that nothing other than legal or official matter is enclosed." Further, Rule 525.110 does not include letters to and from the news media within the definition of privileged mail. The appellants contend that both of these provisions unnecessarily intrude upon their first amendment rights and, therefore, should be stricken unless the Department can demonstrate some justification for their necessity.

Other Alleged Violations. In addition to these substantive first amendment claims, the appellants also argue that the regulations are impermissibly vague. Specifically, the appellants point to the restrictions found in Rules 525.130(a) and (b). Those sections allow an inmate to mail--at state expense--the equivalent of three one-ounce, first-class letters each week. Prisoners may also send additional letters provided they have sufficient funds in their prison accounts. If a prisoner does not have sufficient funds, he may nonetheless "send reasonable amounts of legal mail at State expense." The appellants contend that, because the regulations define neither "reasonable" nor "legal," they are impermissibly vague.

Finally, the appellants claim that the Department's rules violate due process inasmuch as they do not afford expeditious review of decisions to withhold prisoner mail.

In sum, the appellants have alleged that the mail regulations infringe on first amendment interests, are impermissibly vague, and fail to provide adequate procedures for contesting adverse decisions. Faced with these challenges, the district courts in both cases dismissed the complaints for failure to state a claim. They believed that the regulations were consistent with the general guidelines set forth by the Supreme Court in Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974), and by the courts of appeals in subsequent cases. We now examine the correctness of these decisions.

II. DISCUSSION

It is well settled that a "complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Benson v. Cady, 761 F.2d 335, 338 (7th Cir.1985) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). While this standard is often difficult for the movant to meet--given the complexities of constitutional litigation--it is not insuperable. A litigant will not be able to bypass the strictures of Rule 12(b)(6) simply by alleging a constitutional challenge. If a complaint alleges that a state regulation, on its face, is inconsistent with a specific provision of the United States Constitution, that complaint will be dismissed where a thoughtful reading of the regulation convinces the district court that the regulation is plainly within the bounds of the Constitution. With this in mind, we now proceed to the appellants' claims.

We begin our analysis with the Supreme Court's opinion in Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974). In Procunier, the Court held that censorship of prisoner mail would be justified if the following criteria were met: "First, the regulation or practice in question must further an important or substantial governmental interest unrelated to the suppression of expression.... Second, the limitation of First Amendment freedoms must be no greater than is necessary or essential to the protection of the particular governmental interest involved." Id. at 413. However, the Procunier Court did not simply recite this two-part test. Rather, the Court continued by explaining the degree to which prison administrators must justify their regulations:

This does not mean, of course, that prison administrators may be required to show with certainty that adverse consequences would flow from the failure to censor a particular letter. Some latitude in anticipating the probable consequences of allowing certain speech in a prison environment is essential to the proper discharge of an administrator's duty. But any regulation or practice that restricts inmate correspondence must be generally necessary to protect one or more of the legitimate governmental interests identified above.

Id. at 414, 94 S.Ct. at 1811 (footnote omitted). In short, a regulation which generally advances a legitimate governmental interest of sufficient importance is not invalid simply because the government does not demonstrate that each and every application of that regulation necessarily furthers that interest.

Non-Privileged Mail
A

With respect to non-privileged mail, the regulations in this case provide that all incoming or outgoing mail may be inspected for contraband (Rules 525.130(g); 525.140(d)) and "spot check[ed] and read." Rules 525.130(h); 525.140(g). These regulations cannot be the basis of a valid constitutional challenge; this court has already determined that provisions of this type do not impermissibly intrude on first amendment rights. In Smith v. Shimp, 562 F.2d 423 (7th Cir.1977), we held that prison officials could read non-privileged mail, on a spot-check basis, in order to detect possible escape plans or other threats to jail security. At that time, we also held that it was entirely proper for prison officials to inspect mail for contraband. Since the same governmental justifications--jail security and the possibility of escape--are obviously present at the institutions managed by the Illinois Department of Corrections, we see no reason to part with our holding in Shimp.

B

Rules 525.130(h) and Rule 525.140(g) are also challenged because they allow incoming and outgoing non-privileged mail to be...

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