Inmates of Occoquan v. Barry

Decision Date12 April 1988
Docket Number87-5295,Nos. 87-5055,s. 87-5055
Citation269 U.S.App.D.C. 210,844 F.2d 828
Parties, 56 USLW 2631 INMATES OF OCCOQUAN, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, et al., v. Marion S. BARRY, Mayor, et al., Appellants (Two Cases).
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

Edward E. Schwab, Asst. Corp. Counsel, with whom Frederick D. Cooke, Jr., Acting Corp. Counsel and Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corp. Counsel, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellants.

Jere Krakoff, with whom Edward I. Koren, Amherst, N.Y., and Alexa P. Freeman, were on the brief, for appellees. Alvin J. Bronstein, Peter J. Nickles, Alan A. Pemberton and John F. Seymour, Washington, D.C., also entered appearances, for appellees.

Before STARR and SILBERMAN, Circuit Judges and HAROLD H. GREENE, Judge. *

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge STARR.

Dissenting Opinion filed by District Judge HAROLD H. GREENE.

STARR, Circuit Judge:

This case ushers us into the sensitive and difficult arena of prison-conditions litigation. In the wake of a prison riot, a number of inmates at the District of Columbia's facilities in Occoquan, Virginia, brought suit in federal district court, challenging their conditions of confinement as violative of the Eighth Amendment. The District Court sustained the challenge and entered a remedy imposing a population cap on the Occoquan facilities. For the reasons that follow, we are constrained to conclude that the District Court's analysis as to liability and its conclusions with respect to remedy failed to comport with governing Supreme Court precedent.

I
A

Seventeen inmates of Occoquan filed this class action under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 (1982), alleging that conditions at the prison violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The inmates promptly sought class certification and a preliminary injunction imposing a limit on the number of prisoners who could be housed at Occoquan. Nine days later, the District Court heard arguments and, at day's end, granted plaintiffs' motions for class certification and preliminary injunction. 1

After further skirmishing, the District Court granted the District's motion for a stay of the preliminary injunction and, during pendency of the stay, conducted a ten-day trial on the merits of plaintiffs' Eighth Amendment claims. On December 22, 1986, the District Court filed its opinion and accompanying order entering judgment in plaintiffs' favor. The principal feature of the order was its imposition of a population cap on each of the nineteen housing units within the Occoquan facility and its requirement that the District of Columbia reduce the total number of prisoners to no more than 1,281 by June 1, 1987. 2 The District was also directed to submit written reports no later than January 15, 1987 indicating its plans for complying with the population limits and for remedying the extensive "deficiencies" enumerated in the court's opinion. Finally, the court required the District to submit follow-up reports at 30-day intervals.

After further proceedings, including an eventually failed attempt to join the Attorney General in the proceedings, see Twelve John Does v. District of Columbia, 841 F.2d 1133 (D.C.Cir.1988), the District Court in July 1987 issued an order disallowing further stays of the population caps pending appeal. In the meantime, inmate population levels had continued to grow to approximately 1,950 prisoners. 3 The court directed that the inmate population be reduced by no less than 100 inmates per month until the court-mandated limit of 1,281 inmates was reached.

B

The District Court's opinion is reported at 650 F.Supp. 619 (D.D.C.1986). We are nonetheless constrained to canvass the District Court's findings of fact extensively, inasmuch as those findings, as well as the court's analytical approach to the case, are essential to understanding and resolving the issues on appeal.

The District Court's findings were set forth in five parts: (1) environmental conditions (broadly defined); (2) fire safety; (3) medical services; (4) mental health services; and (5) the cumulative impact of the conditions found "deficient."

The District Court analyzed "environmental conditions" by examining six specific areas: housing, food service, classification of inmates, programs for inmates, inmate supervision, and punitive segregation.

Housing. In its discussion of housing, the District Court pointed to a number of "deficiencies." It began by observing that both parties' public health experts agreed that the American Public Health Association ("APHA") standard, which prescribes 95 square feet per inmate, is "acceptable as a minimum standard." 4 Id. at 620. Applying the APHA standard, the court concluded that "the Occoquan Facilities do not provide adequate living space for inmates." Id. at 621. Noise levels in the dormitories were found to be "excessive" (under standards promulgated by the American Correctional Association ("ACA") and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and lighting to be "inadequate" (using a 30-foot-candle minimum, the APHA's recommended standard, as a benchmark). Id. at 621. 5

General sanitation conditions in the dormitories were below "acceptable" environmental standards. Id. Here, the court pointed to several specific problems: (a) dormitory windows lacked screens, resulting in a fly infestation problem aggravated by a shortage of disinfectant for use in toilet and shower areas; (b) failure to clean or sanitize mattresses used by inmates between users and failure to supply mattress covers; and (c) torn and damaged mattresses.

The cumulative effect of these conditions, the court found, created serious health risks for inmates. The court pointed to testimony that "[c]onfining excessive numbers of people in limited spaces significantly increases the risk of transmission of airborne diseases." Id. Moreover, "sustained excessive noise levels increase stress levels and pose a significant risk to inmates' physical and mental health." Id. Inadequate lighting could lead to accidents and inhibit work, reading, and recreational activities. Damaged and soiled mattresses could become a vehicle for transmission of disease. These risks were compounded by "inadequate" ventilation in the dormitories and "inadequate" medical screening of inmates entering the prison. 6 See infra p. 833.

Conditions in three dormitories were viewed as particularly troublesome. Dormitories J-1, J-2, and 5 were warehouses hastily converted into housing. Dormitory 5 was situated in the basement of the Occoquan gymnasium. All three facilities suffered from the inadequacies observed above, but these facilities, the District Court found, were particularly cramped and poorly ventilated. Poor ventilation at the J-1 and J-2 dormitories was exacerbated by acrid fumes from a nearby coal pile.

Food Services. The court observed that "neither [side's] expert felt that the conditions in the kitchen posed any imminent threat of harm to the inmates." Id. at 622. Nevertheless, the court faulted Occoquan's food facilities because they failed to conform to APHA standards with respect to kitchen space. Although APHA recommends seven to nine square feet of kitchen space per inmate, Occoquan's facilities were, under that standard, adequate for only 696 inmates (rather than the 1637 then in residence, id. at 620).

The District Court additionally made a number of highly specific observations. First, it expressed concern about the adequacy of the contractual arrangements with an outside food service vendor to provide meals. 7 Second, the court found that food storage areas were "filled beyond capacity" with "insufficient space in the refrigerated areas to thaw frozen meat in a safe manner." Id. at 622. Third, the court observed that although prison authorities had recently undertaken an "aggressive vermin control program," they nonetheless "acknowledged the existence of a prior infestation." Id. at 623. Finally, the court found fault with the lack of a preventative maintenance program for the kitchen facilities, as evidenced by missing window screens and broken freezer gaskets. The want of such a program, the court concluded, "has serious adverse health and safety implications that are only compounded by greater numbers of inmates using these facilities." Id. 8

Inmate Classification. The District Court was also critical of Occoquan's inmate classification system. The court cited ACA standards and other testimony discouraging the use of dormitory housing save for minimum security prisoners classified for group living. As a result of court-ordered population caps on other District of Columbia prison facilities, Occoquan was forced to house maximum security inmates together with the general prison population that included misdemeanants. In the court's view, it was important that violent inmates and those in need of psychiatric care be identified, so that they could be segregated from the remainder of the prison population. The court believed Occoquan's staff inadequate to the task and observed that the classification system at Occoquan appeared "dangerously overtaxed." Id.

Programs. The District Court decried Occoquan's lack of adequate activities and programs for inmates. Penologists, the court noted, uniformly agree that "inmates should be engaged in some productive enterprise, properly supervised." Id. Furthermore, "[b]oth parties agreed that Occoquan needs to develop a prison industries program and provide more space for programmed activities." Id. at 624. 9 Occoquan failed to provide "meaningful program opportunities." Id. at 623. As a result, "enforced idleness presents a major problem" that could potentially lead to "heightened tension, frustration, and violence." Id.

Security and Supervision. The District Court was critical of the level of supervision exercised by prison...

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