Baldwin v. Smith
| Citation | 316 F. Supp. 670 |
| Decision Date | 19 June 1970 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 5752. |
| Parties | Charles H. BALDWIN v. Robert G. SMITH, Warden, Vermont State Prison. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Vermont |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
John A. Dooley, III, and Richard C. Blum, Vermont Legal Aid, Inc., Burlington, Vt., for plaintiff.
Jon C. Stahl, Asst. Atty. Gen., State of Vermont, Montpelier, Vt., for defendant.
Plaintiff is an inmate of the Vermont State Prison in Windsor, Vermont. On November 26, 1969, he filed a complaint in this court asking that part of the provisions contained in 28 V.S.A. § 252 (Supp.1969) be declared unconstitutional. Section 252 specifies among other rewards for good behavior, that a person confined in a state correctional facility shall be given a five day reduction in sentence for each month of approved work without compensation. The plaintiff alleges, that because only those who work without pay are given work-time reductions, the section creates a de facto classification of inmates into two categories. Those prisoners with independent outside income who are able to work without compensation and at the same time maintain reasonable economic freedom within the prison social structure make up one class. Those prisoners who do not have access to outside funds and must choose between reasonable economic freedom on the one hand and time off for work on the other make up the second class. It is the plaintiff's contention that the de facto discrimination created by section 252 is unjustified and unconstitutional because the carving out of this second class of inmates, for relatively disadvantageous treatment, is based solely on considerations of wealth.
On February 9, 1970, a hearing was held in this cause at which the following facts were found:
The plaintiff, Charles H. Baldwin, was convicted of a felony in the Essex County Court and was sentenced to hard labor in the State Prison, Windsor, Vermont, for a term of not less than four and one-half years or more than five years. Plaintiff was committed to the State Prison on January 6, 1967.
The Prison provides the bare elements for subsistence including food, clothing, shelter, medical care and limited recreational and library facilities. It also operates a canteen in which crackers, coffee, cookies, cigarettes and candy are available. Paper, envelopes and postage for five letters per week are also provided by the regulations.
The plaintiff was employed in the Prison plate shop from January 12, 1967, to August 7, 1969; in the sawmill from August 7, 1969, to August 18, 1969; in the plate shop from August 18, 1969, to October 24, 1969; in the sawmill from October 24, 1969, to December 10, 1969, and back in the plate shop from December 10, 1969, to the date of the hearing.
The only property owned by the plaintiff at the time of commitment was $6.00 in money and a half acre of land in Warren, New Hampshire, which was subject to a support lien in the amount of $3,600.00 and against which taxes in the amount of $7.00 are assessed annually. Shortly after commitment, the plaintiff received a few dollars from his wife.
Solely because of his financial condition, the plaintiff chose to receive compensation for the above described work at the Prison. The original rate was 5¢ per hour for a 40 hour week and 8¢ per hour for overtime. The plaintiff's financial condition has improved to the extent that he now receives 10¢ per hour for a 40 hour week and 15¢ per hour for overtime. The Prison records indicate that plaintiff has performed his work in a satisfactory manner. He uses the money received for buying candy at the canteen, postage, books, magazines and a law correspondence course, as a result of which he graduated from the Blackstone Law School. The plaintiff always had a fascination for law and felt that a knowledge of the subject would help him upon his release from prison.
As of February 5, 1970, there were a maximum number of 50 compensable jobs available and on that date, 36 inmates were employed, of which 20 were receiving pay. The wage scale was promulgated by agreement between the office of the Warden, the Commissioner of Corrections and representatives of industries.
Because the plaintiff chose to accept compensation for his work, he did not receive the work-time sentence reduction provided for by Section 252, Title 28 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated. If he had refused compensation, he would be entitled to a deduction from his sentence of five days for each month that he was employed.
No evidence was introduced to show that the compensation or work-time alternative had any relationship to prison discipline or any other purpose connected with the proper administration of the prison.
The facts raise four legal issues for decision, three of which involve preliminary procedural questions.
(I) Can the plaintiff establish jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.A. § 1343(3) (1962) without regard to the amount in controversy?
(II) Does the request for declaratory relief demand the empanelling of a three-judge court?
(III) Is this a proper case to apply one form or another of the abstention doctrine?
(IV) On the merits, does section 252, Title 28 of the Vermont Statutes violate the petitioner's fourteenth amendment right to equal protection of the law?
The object of the constitutional deprivation in this case is the plaintiff's freedom for approximately seven months. In the strongest sense, the plaintiff's damage involves personal liberty which cannot be given a monetary value. Roberge v. Philbrook, 313 F.Supp. 608 (D. Vt. 1970). See Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496, 59 S.Ct. 954, 83 L.Ed. 1423 (1939); Gold v. Lomenzo, 425 F.2d 959 (2d Cir. 1970); Eisen v. Eastman, 421 F.2d 560, 563-565 (2d Cir. 1969). Jurisdiction is conferred by section 1343 (3) without regard to the amount in controversy.
Section 2281, Title 28 of the United States Code requires that injunctive restraint against the enforcement of a state statute, when based upon constitutional grounds, can only be ordered by a three-judge district court. However, when the constitutionality of a state statute is directly attacked but the prayer is for declaratory relief only a three-judge court is not required. Roberge v. Philbrook, 313 F.Supp. 608 (D.Vt. 1970). See Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144, 83 S.Ct. 554, 9 L.Ed.2d 644 (1963). See also American Law Institute, Study of Division of Jurisdiction Between State and Federal Courts, 245-246 (Ten. Draft No. 6, 1968).
Three distinct types of the abstention doctrine are urged on the court by the defendant. First is the so-called "hands-off doctrine". The second variation is related to the policy underlining the Three Judge Court Act, 28 U.S.C.A. § 2281 (1965), above; and the third is the exhaustion of state administrative remedies.
The civil remedy section of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (1965) extends a right of action to every person who is deprived of a right, privilege or immunity secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States. While the statute does not limit the scope of the remedy to exclude those in penal institutions, the early cases effectively foreclosed the inmates' civil action for constitutional infringement by invoking the "hands-off doctrine". Justification for the doctrine usually took two forms: (1) a judicial reluctance to interfere in matters of prison administration and discipline and (2) a desire not to resolve important conflicts between state law and federal constitutional law until the state courts have had an opportunity to construe their own statutes.
The reasons underlying both these variations of the "hands-off doctrine" have been severely criticized, see, C. Wright, Federal Courts § 52 (2d ed. 1970); Note, Prisoner's Rights Under Section 1983, 57 Geo.L.J. 1270 (1969); and the application of the doctrine has been either expressly or impliedly rejected by the recent federal cases. Sensitivity to the problem of prison administration no longer prevents intervention when the constitutional rights of inmates are involved. Lee v. Washington, 390 U.S. 333, 88 S.Ct. 994, 19 L.Ed.2d 1212 (1968); Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546, 84 S.Ct. 1733, 12 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1964); Wright v. McMann, 387 F.2d 519, 522-523 (2d Cir. 1967) and Rodriguez v. McGinnis, 307 F.Supp. 627 (N.D.N.Y.1969).
The second variation of the abstention doctrine urged by the defendant is closely connected with the Three-Judge Court Act discussed above. Defendant contends that this Court ought to refrain from taking jurisdiction over a constitutional claim for declaratory relief when injunctive relief based on the same allegation would require the empanelling of a three-judge court. A similar rule was invoked in Arrow Lakes Dairy, Inc. v. Gill, 200 F.Supp. 729 (D.Conn.1961). In Arrow Lakes, Judge Blumenfeld was bothered by the similarity in practical effect between declaratory and injunctive relief. He concluded that to take jurisdiction as a single judge would be an abuse of discretion under the Declaratory Judgment Act. 28 U.S.C.A. § 2201 (1964). Two years after Arrow Lakes, however, the Supreme Court clearly distinguished declaratory relief from injunctive relief in the context of the Three-Judge Court Act. Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez, 372 U.S. 144, 83 S.Ct. 554, 9 L.Ed.2d 644 (1963). Mendoza-Martinez placed declaratory relief outside the operation of 28 U.S.C.A. § 2282 (1965) and by implication section 2281. See Roberge v. Philbrook, 313 F.Supp. 608 at 616-617 (D.Vt. 1970). Because of the pressure on district court calendars, the Supreme Court has recently cautioned against the use of a three-judge panel when it is not expressly required. Rosado v. Wyman, 397 U.S. 397, 403, 90 S.Ct. 1207, 25 L.Ed.2d 442 (1970). See also C. Wright, Federal Courts § 52 at 206-208 (2d ed. 1970).
To continue reading
Request your trial