McCord v. Maggio
| Decision Date | 07 September 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-3205,88-3205 |
| Citation | 910 F.2d 1248 |
| Parties | Clarence Bill McCORD, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ross MAGGIO, Jr., Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Clarence Bill McCord, Angola, La., pro se.
Joseph Kopsa, Dept. of Justice, Adair D. Jones, J. Marvin Montgomery, Asst. Attys. Gen., Baton Rouge, La., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Before BROWN, JOLLY, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
The plaintiff-appellant, Clarence McCord, a prisoner at Louisiana State Penitentiary, appeals from the Magistrate's denial of relief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 for initial and ongoing incarceration in extended administrative lockdown ("CCR") and violations of the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights relative to medical care and the conditions under which the prisoner was held in CCR. Because findings of fact necessary to the determination of whether the conditions of extended administrative lockdown violated the prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights, we REMAND this case to the District Court and the Magistrate for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
McCord arrived at Louisiana State Penitentiary on January 20, 1982 after being sentenced to life imprisonment. He was immediately placed in single cell confinement in the area designated as "Closed-Cell Restriction" ("CCR") pending assignment by the prison's classification board (the "Board"). 1 One week later, McCord appeared before the Board and was assigned to placement in CCR. The Board reviewed McCord's assignment to CCR every three months and determined that ongoing placement in CCR would be maintained.
On appeal, McCord contends that (1) the conditions existing in CCR during his confinement in CCR constitute cruel and unusual punishment, (2) his initial classification to CCR and his continual incarceration to that assigned cellblock was a denial of due process, and (3) he was denied access to medical care during his confinement, also in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights.
The Magistrate found that physical conditions in CCR were generally poor with the building and fixtures requiring constant repair by prison crews working almost daily on these conditions. He also found that Parish Health officials inspected CCR at least three times in 1982-83 and never condemned it as unfit for human habitation, although numerous deficiencies were noted. Mag. Op. 14-15.
McCord contends on appeal that certain conditions existing in CCR during 1982-1984 2 establish his claim against Warden Maggio for cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The conditions complained of include confinement for 23 hours a day in an unlighted, windowless cell with only a hole cut in the steel door for outside access, while water and human waste sometimes up to ankle high seeped into the cell from frequently broken fixtures and pipes. McCord also complains that he was provided with a mattress, but no bed at night, requiring him to choose between sleeping on the mattress lain on the wet floor or to stand all night. This testimony was confirmed by three other inmate witnesses and neither refuted nor confirmed by prison officials. As the Magistrate made no finding of facts concerning these contentions, we vacate and remand for these necessary findings and conclusions to adequately assess the merit of McCord's Eighth Amendment claim regarding prison conditions.
The Supreme Court has established a "minimum intrusion" policy into the decisions of state prison administration that provides these officials with wide discretion in the operation of prison facilities. Williams v. Edwards, 547 F.2d 1206 (5th Cir.1977); Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974). This judicial restraint, however, cannot involve the failure to recognize the validity of constitutional claims. Procunier, 416 U.S. at 405, 94 S.Ct. at 1807. Federal courts have a responsibility to scrutinize claims of cruel and unusual punishment. Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 101 S.Ct. 2392, 69 L.Ed.2d 59 (1981); Bienvenu v. Beauregard Parish Police Jury, 705 F.2d 1457, 1460 (5th Cir.1983).
In Bienvenu, an inmate who was intentionally subjected to a "cold, rainy, roach-infested facility and furnished ...with inoperative, scum-encrusted washing and toilet facilities sufficiently alleged a cause of action cognizable under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments." Bienvenu, 705 F.2d at 1460. Similarly, an inmate forced to sleep on a cold floor in solitary confinement while rats crawled over him has been held to be cruel and unusual punishment. Foulds v. Corley, 833 F.2d 52, 53 (5th Cir.1987).
Maggio argues that the CCR facilities were old and worn down, but prison officials did the best that they could given the conditions. Deficiencies noted by the Public Health Department were corrected and the cells cleaned every day. Maggio also contends that State Health and Safety Standards should be used to determine whether an Eighth Amendment violation exists based on the reasoning in Williams v. Edwards, 547 F.2d 1206 (5th Cir.1977).
The court in Williams approved the use of state fire and sanitation codes as a "valuable index into what levels of decency the public ... is prepared to pay for," but certainly does not stand for the proposition that such standards are the only index from which this court will assess Eighth Amendment claims. Williams, 547 F.2d at 1214. Conditions not condemned as unfit for human habitation in the prison setting have been held to still amount to a violation of a prisoner's Eighth Amendment rights. E.g., Jones v. Diamond, 636 F.2d 1364 (5th Cir.1981) (en banc) ().
Consistent with the Supreme Courts' pronouncement in Rhodes, Rhodes, 452 U.S. at 345, 101 S.Ct. at 2398, citing Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 171, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 2924, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976) (joint opinion). We confirm our earlier standard of review as set forth in Jones that the "totality of conditions" test prevails in this context and no definitive index exists confining an Eighth Amendment analysis. It is, therefore, essential that the Magistrate make factual findings that elucidate the conditions under which McCord was compelled to exist in order that the totality of conditions may be assessed.
McCord contends that his initial and ongoing assignment to CCR is a a denial of due process. The Magistrate found that there are no written criteria mandating classification to CCR or any other area of the prison, nor for release from these cellblocks. The Magistrate also found that the decisions are discretionary on the part of Louisiana State prison officials. Mag. Op. at 4.
The Magistrate concluded that McCord's initial and ongoing classification to CCR was reasonable and not arbitrary. We agree.
Classification of prisoners is a matter left to the discretion of prison officials. Wilkerson v. Maggio, 703 F.2d 909 (5th Cir.1983). As pointed out in Wilkerson, "[i]t is well settled that '[p]rison officials must have broad discretion, free from judicial intervention, in classifying prisoners in terms of their custodial status.' " Wilkerson, 703 F.2d at 911, citing McGruder v. Phelps, 608 F.2d 1023, 1026 (5th Cir.1979). Classification of inmates in Louisiana is the duty of the ...
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