Allah v. Kiser
| Decision Date | 29 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 7:19-CV-00633 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia |
| Parties | ASIATIC ROYALPRINCE ALLAH, a.k.a. VERNON LEE BROOKS, JR., Plaintiff, v. JEFFREY KISER, et al., Defendants. |
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Asiatic Royalprince Allah, a.k.a. Vernon Lee Brooks, Jr., currently incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison (ROSP) and proceeding pro se, complains that Defendants violated his constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and also under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1 et seq. All of the Defendants—ROSP Warden Jeffrey Kiser, Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC) Western Regional Administrator Marcus Elam, VDOC Western Regional Ombudsman R.H. Bivens, VDOC Chief of Corrections Operations A. David Robinson, VDOC Director Harold Clarke, ROSP Correctional Lieutenant James Lambert, ROSP Chaplain C. Cauthorne, ROSP Grievance Coordinator G.D. Adams, ROSP Grievance Coordinator J.B. Messer, ROSP Unit Manager Walter Swiney, and ROSP Property Officer J. Owens—have filed a motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 25. Allah responded to the motion for summary judgment, making this matter ripe for disposition. For the reasons set forth below, the motion for summary judgment is GRANTED and all claims against the Defendants are DISMISSED.
Allah claims that Defendants violated his rights under the First Amendment, RLUIPA, and his right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. Allah is a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE), a religion that was previously designated as a security threat group (STG) within VDOC, but is now treated as a religious group. His First Amendment and RLUIPA claims allege that Defendants (1) denied him access to NGE congregate services; (2) denied him a Commissary Special Order Form ("Commissary Form") to purchase pre-approved religious items, including a Universal Flag, a crown, and a medallion; (3) classified him as part of an STG and refused to remove the gang-affiliated charges from his disciplinary record; and (4) repeatedly disapproved his NGE newspapers called The Five Percenter, erroneously concluding that they violated VDOC's publication policy. He also alleges that Defendant Swiney confiscated his identification card with his legally adopted cultural name and replaced it with the name under which he was convicted and sentenced, Vernon Brooks. His equal protection claim under the Fourteenth Amendment is based on the same alleged actions.1
The following facts, which are taken from the pleadings and attached exhibits, are construed in the light most favorable to Allah. Allah is a follower of the NGE. Also known asthe Five Percenters, NGE was founded in the 1960s by Clarence 13X Smith. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 5. Members of NGE believe that "male members of the group are 'Gods,' while females are called 'Earths.'" Id. Further, members of NGE believe that the world's population has three categories: "the Five Percent, the ten percent, and the eighty-five percent." Id. "[T]he ten percent teach the eighty-five percent to believe in the existence of a 'Mystery God' and thereby keep[] the eighty-five percent enslave[d] by having them worship something that they cannot see[,]" while the remaining five percent are the "poor, righteous teachers who do not believe in the teachings of the ten percent and instead teach the identity of the true and living God, as well as freedom, justice, and equality to all human families of the planet earth." Id.
NGE members study a religious text known as the 120 Degrees and utilize the Supreme Alphabet and the Supreme Mathematics to "understand[] man's relationship to the universe and Islam, as well as to understand[] and interpret[] the 120 [D]egrees." Id. at 6 (internal quotations omitted). Monthly, NGE members receive The Five Percenter, a newspaper that includes information about current events and activities, editorials, and lessons from the 120 Degrees, the Supreme Mathematics, and the Supreme Alphabet. Id. Members also attend gatherings, including civilization classes, parliaments, rallies, and honor days. Id. NGE's official symbol is the Universal Flag, which is on NGE literature and crowns. Id. at 7. NGE crowns "are similar to a Kufi worn by Muslims, except that they often have tassels on them symbolizing the planet and the moon, with the person representing the sun." Id.
Allah was, at all times relevant to this lawsuit, housed at ROSP as a security level "S" offender.2 ECF No. 26 at 3. Even though level "S" offenders live in restrictive housing unitsaway from the general prison population, level "S" offenders are "afforded access to religious guidance" and may request visits from spiritual leaders. Affidavit of David Robinson, ECF No. 26-4, ¶ 8. In October 2017, Allah began requesting NGE programming. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 8. Allah alleges that after he made these requests, Defendant Swiney "began coming to [P]laintiff['s] cell door in D-building restrictive housing, taunting him about his belief in the teaching of the Nation of Gods and Earths[,] as well as his legally adopted cultural name, Asiatic Royalprince Allah, which was on [P]laintiff's prison I.D. card at the time." Id. Defendant Swiney allegedly threatened to move Allah to a different building if Allah continued to request access to NGE programming. Id.
Allah alleges that Defendant Swiney then confiscated Allah's prison I.D. card and replaced it with a different I.D. card that listed his name as Vernon Brooks—the name under which Allah was incarcerated. Id. Defendant Swiney also allegedly changed Allah's name back to Vernon Brooks in his institutional record. Id. Allah states that his "I.D. card and his institutional record reflected his legally adopted name, Asiatic Royalprince Allah, for 7 years prior to [D]efendant Swiney vindictively chang[ing] it." Id.
On February 6, 2018, Allah received an institutional charge for drawing a picture of a knife on the metal table in his cell and was found guilty of this charge. Id. at 9. On February 16, 2018, Defendant Swiney approved an institutional classification authority hearingrecommendation to regress Allah to C-building restrictive housing for privilege level IM-0 inmates.3 Id. Allah alleges that he was falsely given the institutional charge and that the institutional classification authority hearing was a "sham." Id. Nevertheless, Allah was transferred and regressed to a privilege level of IM-0.
After moving to C-building restrictive housing, Allah was not allowed to congregate with other NGE members. Id. at 10. Allah was allowed to study his religion on his own through the use of his copies of the 120 Degrees, the Supreme Mathematics, and the Supreme Alphabet. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 10. He also could request a visit from the institutional chaplain or from a civilian spiritual leader. Robinson Aff., ECF No. 26-4, ¶ 8. Allah submitted a request to Defendant Chaplain Cauthorne to attend NGE services, but Allah's request was denied. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 10.
Level "S" offenders do not have televisions in the common area outside of their cells. Robinson Aff., ECF No. 26-4, ¶ 5. However, all level "S" offenders, except for those designated "IM-0" or "SM-0," can have personal televisions in their cells and can participate in religious services via closed-circuit television. Robinson Aff., ECF No. 26-4, ¶¶ 12, 13; Operating Procedure ("OP") 841.3, ECF No. 26-4 at 30. Allah submitted multiple request forms to Defendant Cauthorne to receive accommodation for NGE programming on theROSP closed-circuit institutional religious channel. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 10. Defendant Cauthorne replied to Allah's request by saying that he has no funds to purchase religious videos and that no NGE DVDs had been donated to ROSP, so Cauthorne had no way to play NGE services.4 Compl., ECF No. 1 at 10, 12. Allah appealed Defendant Cauthorne's decision to prison authorities, but all of his appeals were denied. Id. at 12-13.
Offenders at VDOC facilities can purchase religious faith items that are approved for offender possession under OP 841.3. See List of Approved Religious Items, ECF No. 26-4 at 49-51, 64. Religious items are not regularly stocked at the commissary but are available to offenders through a special ordering process. Id. at 64. Offenders must give a completed Commissary Form to the Facility Unit Head or other designated official for review. Id. The NGE medallion and crown are approved by VDOC for offender possession. Id. at 49. The Universal Flag is approved by VDOC for communal use only, and when not in use, it must be stored in the chaplain's office. Id. at 51.
Allah alleges that he repeatedly asked officials at ROSP for a Commissary Form. ECF No. 35 at 15. Allah submitted request forms to ROSP's commissary department requesting the Commissary Form so that he could order a Universal Flag, a crown, and a medallion. Compl., ECF No. 1 at 12. An ROSP Commissary Officer, R. Mullins, who is not a named defendant, twice declined to give Allah a Commissary Form and responded to Allah's requestby saying that the items he requested were not approved by VDOC. Id.; Offender Request form, ECF No. 35-2 at 51-54.
On February 24, 2019, Allah filed an informal complaint regarding the commissary's denial of "his right to order approved religious items of the Nation of Gods and Earths." Compl., ECF No.1 at 13. Defendant Owens responded and told Allah to speak with someone at the commissary about the form. Id. Allah appealed this response to Defendant Kiser using a regular grievance, but Defendant Adams denied the grievance at intake and told Allah to write to the commissary for the form. Id. Allah then appealed this response to Defendant Bivens, who upheld the decision. Id. On ...
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