Alberti v. Heard, Civ. A. No. 72-H-1094

• Decision Date: 18 December 1984
• Docket Number: H-78-1649.,Civ. A. No. 72-H-1094
• Citation: 600 F. Supp. 443
• Parties: Lawrence R. ALBERTI, et al. v. Jack HEARD, Sheriff of Harris County, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

600 F. Supp. 443

Lawrence R. ALBERTI, et al. v. Jack HEARD, Sheriff of Harris County, et al.

Civ. A. Nos. 72-H-1094, H-78-1649.

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Houston Division.

December 18, 1984.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James Oitzinger and Bruce Griffiths, Houston, Tex., for plaintiffs.

Ray Speece, Asst. Dist. Atty., Billy Lee, Asst. County Atty., Houston, Tex., for defendants.

ORDER

CARL O. BUE, Jr., District Judge.

A hearing was held in this case July 19, 1984, through July 27, 1984, to consider plaintiffs' motion for contempt. The hearing was re-opened for three days beginning September 26, 1984, to allow for the completion of the parties' respective presentations. Briefly stated, plaintiffs' motion alleges that the Sheriff has failed to comply with the Court's order of May 20, 1983 ("the May 1983 Order") in which the Court adopted at defendants' request the ratio of one (1) guard for each forty-five (45) inmates as was required by the Minimum Jail Standards of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. In response to the plaintiffs' contempt motion, the Sheriff all but stipulates that he has never technically complied with the May 1983 Order. (Post Trial Stipulations Concerning Number of Security Personnel). Instead, the Sheriff now urges the Court to abandon the rigid one-to-forty-five ratio previously adopted by the Court in favor of the Sheriff's new, more flexible staffing plan based on post assignments which is currently in operation. The defendant Commissioners Court has consistently maintained throughout these proceedings that it is merely a bystander as the plaintiffs' contempt motion does not allege any wrongdoing on its part. Counsel for Commissioners Court maintained a passive posture at the hearing and did not participate in the examination of witnesses or the solicitation of proof.

The evidence elicited at the hearing reveals glaringly that regardless of which of the two minimum staffing requirement plans the Court is ultimately persuaded to sanction (i.e., one-to-forty-five or post assignment), the actual staffing is still drastically below constitutionally acceptable minimum levels. Indeed, even the Sheriff's penological expert concedes that an additional sixty-five (65) positions are required to bring the Sheriff's post staffing plan to a constitutionally acceptable level.¹ (See Defendant's Exhibit No. 44 at p. 44.) Overall, the totality of the conditions at the Harris County jails as they now exist indicates that the jail staff includes too few deputies and sergeants to protect the inmates from one another through effective supervision. These conditions exist in contravention of the Eighth Amendment mandate for the eradication of cruel and unusual punishment. Accordingly, for the reasons stated below, the Court adopts the theory of the defendants' newly proposed post staffing plan and post orders with certain upward adjustments in the number of posts necessary to meet the constitutional staffing minimums. Additionally, consideration of the plaintiffs' motion for contempt is deferred pending expiration of defendants' grace period for compliance with this detailed current order on staffing.

THE PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The procedural history of this litigation is well known to all of the parties in this case, and, accordingly, it would serve no useful purpose to present a detailed account of all of the events which have transpired since the filing of this suit in 1972. However, in order to place the precise staffing issues presently under consideration into proper perspective for both this Court and any subsequent reviewing court, a brief recapitulation of certain events is in order.

The Old Central Jail

Plaintiffs filed suit in this Court on August 14, 1972, against members of the Harris County Commissioners Court and the Harris County Sheriff's Department, alleging, inter alia, numerous violations of their constitutional and statutory rights as the result of defendants' operation and maintenance of county prison facilities. On February 4, 1975, a Consent Judgment was entered into whereby the defendants promised to bring then-existing facilities and operations into compliance with federal and state standards. Specifically, the Commissioners Court agreed to "provide jail guards/staff sufficient for security for jail facilities without the use of inmate assistance," and the Sheriff and his assistants agreed to use "diligent good faith efforts" to "employ a sufficient and adequately trained staff, guards and deputies to assure the protection of persons incarcerated in the Harris County jails." The Court retained exclusive jurisdiction to issue any and all interim orders necessary for immediate relief until such time as the terms within the Consent Judgment were complied with by the Commissioners Court as well as the Sheriff. Alberti v. Sheriff of Harris County, Texas, No. 72-H-1094, slip op. at 3 (S.D.Tex. Feb. 4, 1975).

Shortly after the entry of the Consent Judgment, defendants' compliance therewith was questioned and hearings lasting seven days were held. In December of 1975, as a result of said hearings, the Court issued a sweeping remedial order which addressed, inter alia, the issue of adequate staffing for the then-existing facilities. Alberti v. Sheriff of Harris County, Texas, 406 F.Supp. 649, 678, 691 (S.D.Tex. 1975). The Court found that despite the entry of the Consent Judgment, the jails continued to be unsafe and understaffed. Id. at 669. Consequently, defendants were ordered to provide for the hiring of a sufficient jail staff based upon a ratio of one jailer for every twenty (20) inmates. It was further ordered that inmates were not to act in a supervisory or administrative capacity nor administer disciplinary action over other inmates. Id. at 678. That order was never appealed.

New Jail Planning and Design

Although the ubiquitous issue of adequate minimum staffing levels has surfaced several times since the Court's 1975 Order, the next relevant instance arose in 1978 in the context of the hearings leading to the Court's approval of the new central jail facility. During these hearings, the plaintiffs raised serious questions concerning the efficacy of that facility. They were concerned particularly about the large percentage of multiple occupancy dormitory housing units, their experts contending that such a structural design might well lead to a need for increased staffing and administrative costs.

Also testifying during these 1978 proceedings was Robert O. Viterna, chairman of the newly created Texas Commission on Jail Standards ("Commission"). It was the Commission's unqualified view that the proposed design of the new facility fully comported with its recently promulgated standards. Accordingly, although alerted to the potential need for increased staffing, the Court, relying heavily upon the testimony and expertise of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and desiring to leave to the Sheriff's professional judgment and experience the decisions regarding the administration of the facility, concluded that the cell configuration then under consideration by defendants was not unconstitutional.

In its order of approval, replete with reservations and conditioned upon the fulfillment by defendants of certain continuing staffing obligations, the Court rearticulated the potential hazards of difficult and costly administration of the facility and possible future obsolescence resulting from higher evolving constitutional standards. Alberti, slip op. at 13-16 (S.D.Tex. September 14, 1978).

Staffing of the New Central Jail

Hearings were held again in late 1982 and in early 1983 to determine the appropriate staffing plan for both the new facility and the detention center. The Sheriff was directed to file a complete staffing plan covering both facilities, setting forth the number and job description of all personnel, the floor and shift to which each person was to be assigned, and the duties and responsibilities of each supervisor. Because the Court was concerned with its adequacy, the Sheriff was ordered to submit the plan to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for review. The Commission, in turn, was directed to tour the facilities and to be prepared to express its opinion as to the adequacy of the plan in the context of state standards and existing law. Alberti, slip op. at 8 (S.D.Tex. June 14, 1982) and slip op. at 2, 3 (S.D.Tex. July 7, 1982).

While the proposed plan did meet ultimately with the approval of the Commission and the Court, the crucial question presented at the hearings in February and March of 1983, was not so much the adequacy of the plan, but whether the defendants had enough security guards actually on the housing floors in fulfillment of the plan. Alberti, slip op. at 1, 2 (S.D.Tex. May 20, 1983). The evidence revealed, and the defendants admitted, that both the new jail and the detention center were critically understaffed on the housing floors and that the "one-to-forty-five" ratio was not being satisfied.² However, defendants assured the Court that they would be in compliance with the state law by the end of June, 1983, by having a total staff of 574, including both security guards and clerical or civilian personnel, fully trained and on duty. Id. at 3.

Thus, the Court, at the vigorous insistence of the defendants, adopted the one-to-forty-five minimum staffing ratio that they now ask it to abandon. Specifically, the Court ordered:

The defendants Sheriff and Commissioners' Court shall by June 30, 1983, staff the housing floors of both detention facilities with one (1) guard for each forty-five (45) inmates on the floor and adhere in all respects to the requirements of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The guards assigned to the floors shall actually be deployed there continuously, except for brief periods to transport inmates but to return promptly to the assigned floor. The guard in the floor control center (picket) may

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