Birrell v. Brown
| Decision Date | 13 February 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 87-1371,87-1371 |
| Parties | Joseph E. BIRRELL, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert BROWN, Director, Michigan Dept. of Corrections, et al., Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Susan A. Harris (argued), Asst. Atty. Gen., Lansing, Mich., for defendants-appellants.
Paul Robinson (argued), Jaffe, Synder, Raitt & Heuer, Detroit, Mich., for plaintiff-appellee.
Before WELLFORD, BOGGS, and NORRIS, Circuit Judges.
This interlocutory appeal arises out of an ongoing civil rights action challenging the plaintiff's conditions of confinement in a Michigan state prison. The sole issue for our consideration is whether it was error to deny the defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity as prison officials. 1
Plaintiff sued Robert Brown, the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections, E. Baylor, superintendent of the facility in controversy, and the Michigan Department of Corrections. We are concerned here with the constitutional claims raised relating to eighth amendment violations, but plaintiff also asserts that the defendants violated Michigan Department of Correction policy regulations in a number of aspects.
We must address a jurisdictional problem in respect to this appeal, although this matter was not mentioned by either party. The notice of appeal was filed beyond the thirty-day period under Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(1). The district court permitted an enlargement of time, however, for defendants to file a motion for reconsideration of its order, and this may be considered to toll the appeals period. Fed.R.App.P. 4(a)(4). We conclude that defendants' reliance on this action by the district court excuses the failure to file a notice of appeal in a timely fashion, but we concede that the question is not free from doubt. See Higginson v. United States, 384 F.2d 504, 511 (6th Cir.1967) (Peck, J., concurring), cert. denied, 390 U.S. 947, 88 S.Ct. 1034, 19 L.Ed.2d 1137 (1968).
Mr. Birrell has sued the Department and several prison officials because he contends that conditions at Michigan's Western Wayne Correctional Facility are so offensive that they violate the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. There is no dispute that the Michigan prison system, like many other prison systems in this country, is overcrowded and underfunded. Prisons are simply not high on the "pecking order" for use of tax revenues. The record shows that in 1985 the state purchased an old prison in an attempt to handle the growing prison population in Michigan. The property purchased was originally built by the city of Detroit in 1927, and was known as the Detroit House of Corrections or "DeHoCo." It was also known to be in poor condition: a statement issued by the Department of Corrections in 1985 shows the state made some changes in lighting and fire prevention systems to bring the facility up to minimum health and safety standards. Following its opening, however, the Michigan Department of Corrections program called for preexistent buildings to be extensively renovated or demolished and replaced with new buildings at the prison now known as Western Wayne Correctional Facility (Western Wayne). On November 11, 1985, plaintiff was transferred to Western Wayne before any of the planned improvements had been instituted.
The complaint pictures a facility that is in serious need of repair. Birrell has made a number of allegations which assert that Western Wayne is both an unsanitary and a dangerous place to live as a prisoner. Some of Birrell's specific contentions are that the buildings are a fire and asbestos hazard and that inadequate fire safety facilities exist; that the roof of the dining hall leaks and water often falls on the prisoners as they eat; that only one shower is provided to serve the needs of forty-five prisoners in his unit; that lighting is poor and electrical lines do not meet code requirements; that there is denial of access to legal materials and to the courts; that insects and other vermin are prevalent; and that dangerous conditions (stabbings and violence) exist due to inadequate staffing. Defendants do not deny all these allegations. The plaintiff has alleged that these conditions and others constitute an inhumane and unconstitutional environment, and he has asked for both injunctive and monetary relief. The defendants answered these charges by asserting that the conditions were not as bad as stated by Birrell, and by insisting that conditions were improving and will continue to improve. The individual defendants moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, and also claimed as a matter of law that no eighth amendment violation exists.
Upon reference, the magistrate reviewed the plaintiff's allegations and reported in a twenty page recommendation that the defendants could not establish qualified immunity to insulate themselves under the circumstances. While recognizing the plaintiff had to point to particular conditions as violative of the eighth amendment, the magistrate concluded that the complaint was sufficiently particularized to survive defendants' motion for summary judgment and reported and recommended that more evidence of conditions in the prison be produced. The magistrate did recommend, however, dismissal of Michigan Department of Corrections as a defendant, and dismissal of the plaintiff's demand for injunctive relief because Birrell was no longer a resident of Western Wayne. The magistrate's recommendations were adopted by the district court and this interlocutory appeal followed with respect to the immunity issue.
Resolution of this case requires us to decide whether a triable issue of fact relating to an eighth amendment violation exists based on the complaint and the showings of the parties. We must also determine whether the qualified immunity claim by the prison officials will frustrate any legitimate constitutional claims of the plaintiff and whether qualified immunity should be granted under the circumstances. We reverse the decision of the district court.
Dealing with claims of an eighth amendment violation in the prison context is not easy because of the necessarily vague standards generally utilized to judge prison conditions. Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 101 S.Ct. 2392, 69 L.Ed.2d 59 (1981), establishes that prison conditions falling below a certain level of decency can violate the Constitution. Although no inflexible standard in this regard may be set, the Court stated that conditions which fall below our "evolving standards of decency" will be considered cruel and unusual for purposes of the eighth amendment. Id. at 346, 101 S.Ct. at 2398. Our circuit requires evidence of at least one specific condition to prove a violation of the eighth amendment; a general allegation of indecent general circumstances usually is not sufficient. Walker v. Mintzes, 771 F.2d 920, 925 (6th Cir.1985).
In addition to producing evidence of seriously inadequate and indecent surroundings, a plaintiff must also establish that the conditions are the result of recklessness by prison officials and not mere negligence or oversight:
It is obduracy and wantonness, not inadvertence or error in good faith, that characterize the conduct prohibited by the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, whether that conduct occurs in connection with establishing conditions of confinement, supplying medical needs, or restoring official control over a tumultuous cellblock.
Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312, 319, 106 S.Ct. 1078, 1084, 89 L.Ed.2d 251 (1986). Any court passing judgment on prison conditions must be tempered by the recognition that prison officials are in the best position to operate the prison or penal system being challenged. Rhodes, 452 U.S. at 351, 101 S.Ct. at 2401. The Supreme Court has also indicated that a professional, sued in his individual capacity, will not be liable for damages if he was unable to satisfy his normal professional standards because of budgetary constraints. "[I]n such a situation" stated the Court, "good-faith immunity would bar liability." Youngberg v. Romeo, 457 U.S. 307, 323, 102 S.Ct. 2452, 2462, 73 L.Ed.2d 28 (1982).
Because we believe that both defendants are protected by qualified immunity, we will not discuss the eighth amendment aspects of this case. A prison official's motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity should be denied...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Davie v. Wingard, Civil Action No. C-2-95-513.
...3038-39, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987); Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982); Birrell v. Brown, 867 F.2d 956, 958 (6th Cir.1989)). Once the defendant has raised the issue of qualified immunity, the burden is on the plaintiff to show that the defendant......
-
Browning v. Pennerton, 7:08-CV-88-KKC.
...liable, a plaintiff must allege that the supervisor condoned, encouraged or participated in the alleged misconduct. Birrell v. Brown, 867 F.2d 956, 959 (6th Cir.1989); Leach v. Shelby Co. Sheriff, 891 F.2d 1241 (6th Cir. 1989), cert. denied, 495 U.S. 932, 110 S.Ct. 2173, 109 L.Ed.2d 502 (19......
-
Gawloski v. Dallman
...953 F.2d 1036, 1043 (6th Cir. 1992) (internal quotations and citations omitted); see also Haynes, 887 F.2d at 703; Birrell v. Brown, 867 F.2d 956, 958-59 (6th Cir.1989); Poe v. Haydon, 853 F.2d 418, 423-26 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1007, 109 S.Ct. 788, 102 L.Ed.2d 780 (1989). A......
-
Resch v. Lambart
...administrative officials were not liable for overseeing and second-guessing care given by medical officials) (citing Birrell v. Brown, 867 F.2d 956, 959 (6th Cir. 1989)). Plaintiff's allegations, therefore, do not state Eighth Amendment claims against Defendants Edlinger and Keck. 3. First ......