Allen v. Cuomo
| Decision Date | 07 November 1996 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 324,325,D,s. 324 |
| Citation | 100 F.3d 253 |
| Parties | Jimmie Lee ALLEN, Jeffrey Davis, Gary Vann, Leroy William, on behalf of themselves and a class constituting of all similarly situated individuals, Plaintiffs-Appellants, Albert Woods, Jonathan Cureton, on Behalf of Themselves and A Class Constituting of all Similarly Situated Individuals, Plaintiffs, v. Mario M. CUOMO, Governor of the State of New York, Robert Abrams, Attorney General of the State of New York, Thomas A. Coughlin III, Commissioner of New York State Department of Correctional Services, Charles J. Scully, Superintendent of Green Haven Correctional Facility, Wallace Oldham, Deputy Superintendent of Security Services of Green Haven Correctional Services, Jointly, Severally and Individually, Respectively, Patrick J. Bulgaro; Cyril Coefield, Captain, Christopher Artuz, Defendants-Appellees. ockets 96-2255, 96-2257. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Joseph W. Rand, New York City (Robert N. Shwartz, Debevoise & Plimpton, of counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Barbara K. Hathaway, Assistant Attorney General, State of New York, New York City (Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General of the State of New York, Thomas D. Hughes, Assistant Solicitor General, State of New York, of counsel), for Defendants-Appellees.
Before: MESKILL and KEARSE, Circuit Judges. *
Plaintiffs, who are inmates of New York State's Green Haven Correctional Facility (Green Haven), brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenging the constitutionality of two changes in the regulations of the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) pertaining to a mandatory five dollar disciplinary surcharge imposed on inmates found guilty of violating certain prison rules and a one time three week pay lag of inmate wages. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Kram, J., adopted the Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge Katz and granted defendants-appellees' motion for summary judgment, dismissing the action. Rudolph v. Cuomo, 916 F.Supp. 1308 (S.D.N.Y.1996). The inmates contend that the mandatory surcharge is unconstitutional under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution because it violates (1) the inmates' procedural due process rights to an unbiased adjudicator, (2) their substantive due process rights in that it was enacted without express statutory authorization, and (3) the Equal Protection Clause due to the absence of an express hardship waiver for indigent inmates, where waivers are available for other mandatory surcharges. With regard to the pay lag, the inmates contend that it violates (1) their due
process rights because they have a property interest in the timely payment of wages, (2) the Takings Clause because there is no just compensation for the deprivation of a vested property right, and (3) the Contracts Clause because the state has substantially interfered with the implied contractual relationship between the inmates and the DOCS. Finding no merit in any of the contentions, we affirm.
Disciplinary matters in the New York state correctional system are handled in the following manner. New York DOCS employees issue misbehavior reports to any inmate alleged to have violated prison rules and regulations. A report is forwarded to a reviewing supervisor and the charge is either dismissed or designated as a Tier I, Tier II or Tier III violation. The tier level is determined by several factors, such as the frequency of the inmate's misbehavior and the severity of the conduct. Tier I violations, which are the least severe, are subject to adjudication by a prison sergeant. Tier II hearings are presided over by a lieutenant and Tier III hearings are adjudicated by either a captain, deputy superintendent, senior counselor, steward or education director. DOCS employees having prior involvement in the incident are barred from serving as hearing officers. Inmates found guilty of Tier II or III violations are entitled to judicial review in state court through a proceeding under N.Y. C.P.L.R. 7801 et seq. (McKinney 1994 & Supp.1996).
In December 1991, Thomas A. Coughlin III, Commissioner of DOCS, promulgated an amendment to N.Y. Comp.Codes R. & Regs. tit. VII, §§ 253.7, 254.7 requiring inmates convicted at Tier II and III hearings to pay a five dollar disciplinary surcharge. Funds collected from the surcharge are deposited in the state general fund and not specifically allocated to the DOCS budget.
The policy was promulgated about the time that New York was experiencing severe budgetary problems. Between October 1990 and October 1991, over 1,400 DOCS employees were laid off. Green Haven's staff was reduced by over 100 employees during this period. Several statements attributed to Commissioner Coughlin and DOCS spokesman James Flateau appeared in various newspapers and other publications linking the policy changes to the DOCS budget cuts. One article, although not directly quoting Flateau, stated that the DOCS plan, which included several other revenue-raising policy changes as well, would save enough money to prevent laying off as many as 70 correction officers. The inmates contend, inter alia, that because of the linking in the press of the surcharge to preventing further layoffs, DOCS employees at all levels of the disciplinary process have an improper pecuniary and personal incentive to issue more Tier II and III reports and guilty verdicts, thus introducing bias into the disciplinary system.
All able bodied inmates at Green Haven are required to accept work assignments during their period of incarceration. Inmates may request a particular assignment which may or may not be granted. Since the turn of the century, the State of New York has compensated inmates for work performed. See generally N.Y. Correct. Law § 187 (McKinney 1987 & Supp.1996). The rate of compensation ranges from sixty cents per day to two dollars per day, depending on the particular assignment. Inmates' earnings are placed in a prison account and may be withdrawn for purposes such as sending money home to family members, making purchases from the prison commissary or outside vendors, and paying for organizational memberships. Inmates also use their compensation to obtain photocopies and tapes of disciplinary hearing transcripts. The commissioner has discretion to control when an inmate may have access to wages during imprisonment or to hold an inmate's earnings in trust until release. See N.Y. Correct. Law §§ 187(3), 189(1) (McKinney 1987 & Supp.1996).
Effective January 1, 1992, twenty percent of inmates' weekly wages was withheld over a period of fifteen weeks until a full three weeks' pay was withheld. This new policy provides that the "lagged" wages will be paid
to inmates upon their release from DOCS custody.
In 1992 and 1993, a number of actions were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, challenging the constitutionality of the two policies. On May 10, 1993, four actions were consolidated and certified as a class action pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2). The class includes all inmates incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility from January 1, 1992 through the present, who were subject to either of the two policies. At the close of discovery, inmates moved for summary judgment, seeking both declaratory relief and restoration of money withheld under the regulations. Defendants filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Katz for pretrial supervision and reports and recommendations on substantive motions, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B).
On May 23, 1995, Magistrate Judge Katz issued a report recommending that the inmates' motion for summary judgment be denied and defendants' motion for summary judgment be granted and the inmates' action be dismissed in its entirety. See Rudolph v. Cuomo, 916 F.Supp. 1308 (S.D.N.Y.1996) (opinion of Kram, J., adopting the report). With respect to the mandatory surcharge, the magistrate judge concluded there was no due process violation or bias in the disciplinary system. The report stated that inmates are afforded procedural protection under state law, including judicial review, and that no evidence was presented to show that any hearing officer believed that finding an inmate guilty would help save DOCS jobs. The magistrate judge next rejected the claim that there is no statutory authority for the surcharge, noting that the scope of authority of a state agency is a question of state law not within the district court's jurisdiction. Finally, the equal protection claim was rejected because inmates are not similarly situated to those entitled to hardship waivers for other surcharges under state law. The magistrate judge also found the surcharge rationally related to a legitimate penological interest.
Turning to the pay lag policy, the magistrate judge concluded that inmates have a property interest in their wages earned but not in the prompt payment of such. The Takings Clause and Contracts Clause claims were rejected because inmates have no investment-backed expectation in prompt payment of wages nor does any contract providing for prompt payment exist.
The inmates filed timely objections to the magistrate judge's report but the district court adopted the report by opinion and order dated February 21, 1996 and judgment was entered dismissing the case. This appeal followed.
We review the grant of summary judgment de novo. Gummo v. Village of Depew, 75 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1678, 134 L.Ed.2d 780 (1996). A motion for summary judgment may not be granted unless the court determines that there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Ramsey v. Goord
...Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires that all persons similarly situated be treated in the same manner." Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 260 (2d Cir.1996) (citing City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, 473 U.S. 432, 439, 105 S.Ct. 3249, 87 L.Ed.2d 313 (1985)). Inmates are not, how......
-
Sattar v. Johnson, 12 Civ. 7828(GWG).
...with enough evidence to create a genuine factual issue to be tried with respect to an element essential to its case." Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 258 (2d Cir.1996) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247–48, 106 S.Ct. 2505 ).III. DISCRIMINATION CLAIM BASED ON NON–SELECTIONA. Governing Law ADEA ......
-
McDuffie v. Wilner
...with enough evidence to create a genuine factual issue to be tried with respect to an element essential to its case." Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 258 (2d Cir.1996) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. II. DISCUSSION A. Liability McDuffie's personal injury suit is before the Cou......
-
Bunting v. Nagy
...inmate subject to a disciplinary hearing is entitled to an impartial hearing officer who does not prejudge the evidence, Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 259 (2d Cir.1996) (quqting Patterson v. Coughlin, 905 F.2d 564, 569-70 (2d Cir. 1990)), and there must be "some evidence to support the find......
-
Going, Going, Gone: Takings Clause Challenges to the Cdc's Eviction Moratorium
...bought their property in reliance on a state of affairs that did not include the challenged regulatory regime" (quoting Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 262 (2d Cir. 1996))), appeal dismissed sub nom. 36 Apartment Assocs., LLC v. Cuomo, 869 F. App'x 215 (2d Cir. 2021).208. Id.209. See id. at 1......
-
The Eleventh Circuit's Misguided "arm-of-the-state" Analysis in Pellitteri v. Prine
...§ 3524.6. E.g., Royal Caribbean Corp. v. P.R. Ports Auth., 973 F.2d 8, 9 (1st Cir. 1992) (Puerto Rico Ports Authority); Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 260 (2d Cir. 1996) (state department of corrections); Christy v. Pa. Tpk. Comm'n, 54 F.3d 1140, 1143 (3d Cir. 1995) (turnpike commission); Gr......