Astorga v. Leavenworth County Sheriff
| Decision Date | 06 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | 387,122 |
| Parties | Matthew E. Astorga, Appellant, v. Leavenworth County Sheriff, Appellee. |
| Court | Kansas Court of Appeals |
NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION
Appeal from Leavenworth District Court; Michael D. Gibbens, judge.
Chadler E. Colgan and Burlon Davis, legal intern, of Colgan Law Firm LLC, of Kansas City, for appellant.
Mollie R. Hill, general counsel, Leavenworth County Sheriff's Office, for appellee.
Before Warner, P.J., Standridge and Gardner, JJ.
A jury convicted Matthew E. Astorga of premeditated murder, but the United States Supreme Court overturned his hard 50 sentence. While waiting in the Leavenworth County Jail to be resentenced, Astorga filed a K.S.A. 60-1501 petition alleging his administrative segregation violated his constitutional rights. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court denied his petition.
On appeal, Astorga raises three issues: that keeping him in administrative segregation indefinitely violated his protected liberty interest; that various other acts deprived him of his constitutional rights; and that the district court improperly required expert testimony. We agree in part.
Matthew E. Astorga has been incarcerated since December 2008. A Leavenworth County jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder, and the district court sentenced him to a hard 50 life sentence. See State v. Astorga, 295 Kan. 339, 284 P.3d 279 (2012), cert. granted judgment vacated, 570 U.S. 913, 133 S.Ct. 2877, 186 L.Ed.2d 902 (2013). The United States Supreme Court granted Astorga's petition for writ of certiorari, vacated the judgment, and remanded the case to the Kansas Supreme Court for further consideration. In 2014, on remand from the United States Supreme Court, the Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Astorga's conviction but held that his sentence had violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. See Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 133 S.Ct 2151, 186 L.Ed.2d 314 (2013). It vacated his sentence and remanded the case for resentencing. State v Astorga, 299 Kan. 395, 396, 324 P.3d 1046 (2014). Astorga is still awaiting resentencing.
In August 2018, Astorga was transferred from Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility to the Leavenworth County Jail. In November 2018, he filed a pro se K.S.A. 60-1501 petition, alleging the Leavenworth County Jail had subjected him to unlawful, unnecessary, and inhumane restrictions. That petition listed 12 complaints about his living conditions, his medical treatment, and his administrative segregation. Astorga's counsel followed up with a memorandum of law in support of Astorga's pro se petition. The jail responded, disputing each claim.
In February 2019, the district court held an evidentiary hearing. We summarize the testimony below.
Astorga's testimony
Astorga testified that the jail had placed him in solitary confinement upon his arrival in August 2018. His "max custody" status subjected him to solitary confinement, placement in a special jail pod (G-Pod), lockdown for 23 hours per day, and denial of canteen privileges. The jail staff told him he would remain in max custody until he left the jail, and he had not had a 30-day review for his behavior.
Astorga complained that the jail was retaliating, as it had no reason to place him in segregation. Although he had been in max custody in the Kansas Department of Corrections (KDOC) for eight and a half years, Larned had recently placed him in the general population. Yet the jail placed him in max custody. Astorga felt that this was in retaliation for several past incidents. According to Astorga, Mark Metcalf, the commander over the jail division for the Leavenworth Sheriff's Office, "pretty much agreed with [him]" when Astorga said his max custody must be punishment for all his past incidents. Astorga had only one write-up in his 10 years at the jail: assault of a staffer in November 2018. But later he admitted that Larned staff had caught him with a knife, that he had multiple disciplinary reports at KDOC, and that several other incidents at the jail had been dismissed.
The jail did not treat him any differently than any other inmate housed in G-Pod, and it allowed him special video visits with his daughter.
Astorga also complained about specific living conditions. First, he complained that the jail, after tasing him during the November 2018 incident, put him in a cell with no light for 30 days. Although he was currently in a lighted cell, he was afraid the jail would put him back as punishment. Astorga also admitted that he had broken the light in his cell in the past.
Second, for a time the jail did not allow him cleaning supplies. Instead, the staff would clean his cell. But, Astorga complained, things would go missing. He admitted that the jail allowed him cleaning supplies after he had filed his petition.
Third, Astorga complained G-Pod would flood. He had filed two grievances about the flooding. After that, the jail cleaned the pod and he had no more complaints about its cleanliness.
Fourth, the jail had opened a piece of his legal mail when he first arrived from Larned. But his main complaint was that the jail delayed giving him his personal mail.
Finally, Astorga said he had worn his religious medallions during his previous visits, but this time the jail would not allow them. The jail staff told him he could not have his possessions because of his prior incidents.
As to his medical issues, Astorga suffered from anxiety and arthritis. He wanted high doses of Tylenol for his pain, but the jail allowed Tylenol only twice a month. Although Astorga admitted he had hepatitis, he said that Tylenol does not complicate hepatitis patients' health. Astorga testified that a judge had once ordered him to take diazepam, and he wanted it again to help with his anxiety. But to receive both more Tylenol and diazepam, the jail told him he would have to make a medical request, which costs $5. Astorga also said the jail gave him Synthroid for his thyroid and Zyprexa. But he refused the Zyprexa because he had a bad reaction to it. He characterized his mental health as "bad."
Wardrop's testimony
Melissa Wardrop had been Astorga's nurse at the jail for seven years. She would check on Astorga whenever he had been tasered or had been in an altercation, which was "too many to count." She also administered Astorga's medication and maintained his medical transfer sheets. When he arrived in August 2018, she received both his Larned and KDOC transfer sheets. Neither sheet showed a prescription for diazepam or any other prescription for anxiety. The only prescriptions were Synthroid for his thyroid and Zyprexa for his psychosis.
Wardrop stated the jail has rules about distributing Tylenol, as it could create problems in patients with liver problems, like hepatitis C. For an inmate to receive any more than two packets of Tylenol a month, they must have a medical justification.
A nurse visit costs $5. But Wardrop testified an inmate could still see her if they did not have enough money. She also said she explained to Astorga the procedure for receiving medication. And Astorga had never talked to her about other medication, never complained about arthritis or chronic pain, and never placed a sick call during his recent stay.
Metcalf's testimony
Metcalf was commander over the jail division for the Leavenworth Sheriff's Office. When Astorga arrived at the jail in August 2018, they placed him in G-Pod for security reasons because of his repeated behavior. Astorga had assaulted jail staff and a jail inmate in the past and had an extensive history of violence at KDOC. Metcalf noted that Astorga's max custody placement was neither retaliatory nor disciplinary, but was based "upon his actions, his threat level, and other instances that have occurred within the jail, multiple attacks against officers being one of those." Astorga had received a 30-day review, but Astorga would not get out of max custody during his stay at the jail.
When Astorga first arrived, they placed him in a special cell designed for him. In the past, Astorga would destroy his cell's light fixture and attached sprinkler head, which would flood the pod. This new cell had a special sprinkler system and did not have an artificial light. The jail housed Astorga in this cell until around daylight savings time, at which point they moved him into a cell with an artificial light.
G-Pod's inmates are subject to certain restrictions, and the jail does not allow them most personal items or canteen. But the jail provides basic hygiene items, legal paperwork, paper, pen, and phone calls. Although the jail does not allow other segregated inmates to have video calls, it allowed Astorga video calls with his daughter. The jail does not allow inmates to wear jewelry, so they had denied Astorga's request to wear his religious medals. But inmates could have pictures of their religious items. The jail allows only soft-sided books, and it provides donated Gideon Bibles. But if an inmate wants another type of soft-sided Bible, he would have to purchase it through a manufacturer or distributor.
Metcalf also addressed the cleaning-supplies issue. At first, the staff cleaned Astorga's cell. The jail did not allow Astorga cleaning supplies because he could have used them as a weapon. Yet the jail now allowed him to clean his own cell.
The district court's decision
The district court denied Astorga's petition. It found that the jail had placed Astorga in administrative segregation and that the sheriff had the right to make administrative decisions without interference from the courts, unless those decisions interfered with Astorga's constitutional rights. And the...
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