Young v. Lynch, s. 87-6116
| Citation | 846 F.2d 960 |
| Decision Date | 20 May 1988 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 87-6116,87-6139,s. 87-6116 |
| Parties | Roger D. YOUNG, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Grady B. LYNCH; Sgt. Benthall; H.R. Daughtry; Officer Newell; G.T. Cousins; John Doe, Correctional Officer, Defendants-Appellants (Two Cases). |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit) |
Sylvia Thibaut, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lucien Capone, III, Sp. Deputy Atty. Gen. (Lacy H. Thornburg, Atty. Gen., on brief), for defendants-appellants.
Marvin Sparrow, N.C. Prisoner Legal Services for plaintiff-appellee.
Before RUSSELL and WILKINS, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge.
Roger Young, an inmate at the Caledonia Correctional Institution, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 alleging that members of the prison disciplinary committee violated his fundamental due process rights at a disciplinary hearing. The committee moved for summary judgment both on the ground of qualified immunity and on the merits. The district court denied these motions and the committee appealed the order denying qualified immunity. The district court then certified the denial of summary judgment on the merits for interlocutory review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b). We reverse the denial of qualified immunity, affirm the denial of summary judgment on the merits, and remand for further proceedings.
On December 12, 1983, Officer Nowell of the Caledonia Correctional Institution smelled what he thought was marijuana coming from a prison dormitory. Nowell and Officer Benthall entered the dormitory to investigate. Nowell observed inmate Young throw a cigarette onto the floor. Nowell picked up the butt, examined it, and concluded that it was marijuana. Young was searched but no contraband was found. Nowell placed the butt in an envelope marked for identification and placed it in the prison safe pending investigation.
Young was charged with a major disciplinary infraction for possession of a controlled substance. At his disciplinary hearing, Young told the disciplinary committee that the cigarette contained only Carter-Hall rolling tobacco and asked the committee to produce the butt. The committee refused and found Young guilty based on the statements of Nowell, Benthall, and Crumpler, another investigating officer who apparently did not examine the butt. Young received one to fifteen days disciplinary segregation and lost his private cell as a result.
Young then filed this suit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 seeking compensatory and punitive damages and injunctive relief. He sought to have the infraction removed from his records and to be considered for custody promotion, housing, work assignments, and parole eligibility as if no infraction had been found. He alleged that the committee members deprived him of due process of law by failing to produce the butt as requested at the disciplinary hearing. The committee members claimed that they were entitled to qualified immunity and that they had afforded Young the minimum due process to which a prisoner is entitled.
Young moved to dismiss the disciplinary committee members' appeal of the order denying them qualified immunity. He asserts that because he seeks both damages and injunctive relief, the court lacks jurisdiction to decide the issue of qualified immunity on an interlocutory appeal. He relies on England v. Rockefeller, 739 F.2d 140, 143 (4th Cir.1984), and Bever v. Gilbertson, 724 F.2d 1083, 1086-88 (4th Cir.1984), in which we held, one judge dissenting, that a district court's denial of qualified immunity is not immediately appealable when there also exists a claim for injunctive relief that will have to be tried in any event.
After we decided England and Bever, the Supreme Court held in Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2817, 866 Ed.2d 411 (1985), that "a district court's denial of a claim of qualified immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is an appealable 'final decision' within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 notwithstanding the absence of a final judgment." Mitchell, however, did not involve a claim for injunctive relief, and the Supreme Court expressly reserved the question of the vitality of England and Bever. 472 U.S. at 519 n. 5, 105 S.Ct. at 2812 n. 5.
In Bever, 724 F.2d at 1086, we observed that the propriety of interlocutory appeals from denials of qualified immunity was questionable. This issue--on which the circuits had split, see Mitchell, 472 U.S. at 519 n. 5, 105 S.Ct. at 2812 n. 5--is now behind us. The remaining issue is whether the rationale of Mitchell for allowing interlocutory appeals applies when claims for damages and equitable relief are pressed. In concert with every other court of appeals that has decided the question, we believe that the rationale of Mitchell authorizes appeals of the denial of qualified immunity even though the complaint seeks equitable relief as well as damages. See, e.g., Drake v. Scott, 812 F.2d 395, 398 (8th Cir.1987); Scott v. Lacy, 811 F.2d 1153, 1153-54 (7th Cir.1987); Bolden v. Alston, 810 F.2d 353, 356 (2d Cir.1987); Kennedy v. City of Cleveland, 797 F.2d 297, 306 (6th Cir.1986); De Abadia v. Izquierdo Mora, 792 F.2d 1187, 1190 (1st Cir.1986).
In Mitchell, the Court noted that the denial of a claim for absolute immunity is appealable immediately because the essence of the claim is "its possessor's entitlement not to have to answer for his conduct in a civil damages action." 472 U.S. at 525, 105 S.Ct. at 2815. The Court then stated: "At the heart of the issue before us is the question whether qualified immunity shares this essential attribute of absolute immunity...." 472 U.S. at 525, 105 S.Ct. at 2815. The Court concluded that qualified immunity also provides immunity from suit which would be lost if the case goes to trial. See 472 U.S. at 526-27, 105 S.Ct. at 2815-16. The Court also reiterated that an interlocutory appeal must satisfy two additional criteria. The appeal must " 'conclusively determine the disputed question' ... and that question must involve a 'clai[m] of right separable from, and collateral to, rights asserted in the action.' " 472 U.S. at 527, 105 S.Ct. at 2816. The Court held that a claim of qualified immunity also satisfied these criteria.
We believe that the criteria for interlocutory appeal are satisfied even though the issue of equitable relief may remain if qualified immunity from liability for damages is granted. The interlocutory appeal to resolve the question of qualified immunity conclusively determines whether the official's conduct violated clearly established law and therefore whether the official must defend against a claim for damages. As Mitchell recognizes, an immunity claim is "conceptually distinct from the merits of the plaintiff's claim that his rights have been violated." 472 U.S. at 527-28, 105 S.Ct. at 2816. To this extent the claim for immunity from damages is separable from and collateral to the equitable rights that are asserted.
To be sure, an official who is granted qualified immunity from liability for damages probably will remain in the case as trial proceeds on the equitable issues. But there are considerable differences in both time and expense in defending a case that involves both damages and equitable relief as contrasted to a case that involves equitable relief alone. Resolution of the claim for damages may require a jury. Elimination of the claim may enable the court to decide the equitable issues without a jury. Although there may be some overlap in evidence, the standards for determining compensatory and punitive damages are quite different from the standards for granting or denying equitable relief. Issues about the extent of the plaintiff's injury and entitlement to compensatory and punitive damages need not be litigated if immunity is granted. This will often relieve the official of the necessity of defending charges of wanton, reckless, or intentional harm. Frequently, the question of damages will depend on the retroactive application of a newly announced principle of law. A great deal of time and effort must...
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