Blanton v. State University of New York

• Decision Date: 19 November 1973
• Docket Number: 20,73-1259.,No. 19,Dockets 73-1088,19
• Citation: 489 F.2d 377
• Parties: Sheila BLANTON et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

489 F.2d 377 (1973)

Sheila BLANTON et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK et al., Defendants-Appellees.

Nos. 19, 20, Dockets 73-1088, 73-1259.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued October 9, 1973.

Decided November 19, 1973.

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David C. Leven, Rochester, N. Y. (Michael J. Nelson, Joseph B. Stulberg, Marcia Boyd, and Monroe County Legal Assistance Corp., Rochester, N. Y., of counsel), for plaintiffs-appellants.

Grace K. Banoff, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Louis J. Lefkowitz, Atty. Gen. of the State of New York, and Ruth Kessler Toch, Sol. Gen., Albany, N. Y., of counsel), for defendants-appellees.

Before FRIENDLY, ANDERSON and MULLIGAN, Circuit Judges.

FRIENDLY, Circuit Judge:

In this action under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and its jurisdictional implementation, 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3), five students who had been suspended for a semester from the College of Arts and Science at Geneseo, a part of the State University of New York, sued the University and Robert W. MacVittie, President of the College, for damages and an injunction. The District Court for the Western District of New York granted defendants' motion for summary judgment and this appeal followed.

I.

The dispute had its background in a demand by the Geneseo Afro-American Student Society that the College assign all black male students to one dormitory on campus and all black female students to an adjacent dormitory. A meeting between representatives of the black student group and College President MacVittie to discuss this had been scheduled for December 3, 1970. Apparently to underscore their demand, a group of black students planned a "sleep-in" or series of "sleep-ins" in a lounge of Wyoming Hall, one of the college dormitories, beginning on the evening of Wednesday, December 2. That night, six black female students, apparently nonresidents of Wyoming Hall, went to that dormitory and joined nine black female residents. They placed blankets and pillows on the floor of the dormitory lounge and prepared to sleep there. At some point during the evening Assistant Dean Ruth M. Stahl granted special permission to the students to remain in the lounge for that night. She later indicated that the "sleep-in" was in violation of college housing regulations, but that she had granted permission for that particular night because she did not want to risk upsetting the meeting next morning between President MacVittie and the black students. The next night, Thursday, December 3, a group of students returned to Wyoming Hall to stage a second sleep-in.¹ Shortly after midnight, Resident Advisor Mary Lucas asked the nonresident students to leave. Subsequently Assistant Dean Stahl arrived in the lounge area and reiterated this request; the nonresident students, however, still refused to depart. She later stated that she had also instructed the residents of Wyoming Hall to return to their rooms, but that no one had complied. She said that she had then asked those students whom she did not know to give her their names, but that this third request was also ignored. Assistant Dean Suzanne Keller, who was with Dean Stahl, corroborated her account, indicating that Dean Stahl had instructed both nonresidents and residents to leave the area. Plaintiffs Marshall, Smith and Barrow, who were residents of Wyoming Hall, contend that either Dean Stahl did not tell them to return to their rooms or that they did not hear her make that request. However, all the plaintiffs admit that she instructed the nonresidents to leave the building, and that there was no response to that order. They likewise do not contradict the refusal of some students to identify themselves.

The sleep-in was repeated for a third time the next evening, Friday, December 4, and the night passed without incident. Late the next morning, while some of the protesters were still sleeping on the lounge floor, one of the white female residents of the dormitory apparently stepped or tripped over one of the plaintiffs, Sheila Blanton. Miss Blanton allegedly cursed and kicked the girl, who hurried into her suite.

Late Friday, twelve white residents of Wyoming Hall sent a memorandum to the administration protesting the series of sleep-ins. They claimed that the nightly sessions, accompanied by noise and disputes over the turning on and off of lights, had disrupted life in the dormitory² and that some of the residents "were subjected to abusive language and verbal intimidation." They indicated that an atmosphere of fear had developed in Wyoming Hall as a result of the disruptions of the prior two evenings. On Saturday afternoon, a number of the white residents of the dormitory met with Leo Salters, the College's Dean of Student Life, in further protest against the continuing sleep-ins. When it became evident that Saturday would bring another all-night session in the lounge, Dean Salters decided to attempt to resolve the situation. At 3:30 A.M. on Sunday, Dean Salters and a group of administration officials went to Wyoming Hall in an effort to get the group of about 20 black students to disperse.³ He instructed all nonresidents to leave the building at that time. None of the students left. Asked to identify themselves, many of the students refused or gave fictitious names, according to Dean Salters' report. After the administration officials left, the group of black students broke up.

On December 5, plaintiffs Marshall, Barrow and Smith, among others, received notices from the administration that they had been reported for unauthorized use of residence hall facilities, verbal intimidation, a refusal to identify themselves, and failure to comply with a legitimate request by a college official. The request referred to was Dean Stahl's order on the morning of December 4 that they return to their rooms in Wyoming Hall. Plaintiff Blanton, a nonresident, received a similar notice, which added a reference to her refusal to leave the building upon being ordered to do so. On December 8, Dean Salters sent a second round of notices to various participants in the Sunday morning incident. Plaintiffs Porter and Blanton were cited for failing to comply with a legitimate request of a college official and for being in a group some of whom had failed to identify themselves upon request.

Hearings on both sets of notices were set before the Discipline Hearing Committee for Friday, December 18.⁴ Two days before the hearing, Vice President David A. Young wrote each of the twenty students who had received hearing notices, including the five plaintiffs. He informed them that they could have copies of the reports that had been filed in connection with the sleep-in incidents. His letter indicated that the committee would seek to answer "two fundamental questions":

(1) Did you knowingly fail to obey the instructions of a College official to return to your room (if a Wyoming resident) or to leave the building (if a nonresident)?

(2) If so, should the College permit you to remain a student?

This eliminated the probably objectionable charge of belonging to a group some of whom had refused to identify themselves. The letter added that the committee would meet with one student at a time and that each student would be given five minutes to make an opening statement.⁵ Following that, the letter noted, "Committee members will have the opportunity to ask questions. As in all hearings, any advisor accompanying a student will speak only to the student and will not address the Committee directly."

At the hearing, which Dean Salters attended, several of the students took the opportunity to make opening statements, and each was questioned about his or her part in the sleep-in incidents. At the end of each student's hearing, the committee asked whether there was anything further the student would like to say, and each answered in the negative. None requested the opportunity to confront or cross-examine those who had filed reports containing accounts of their alleged misconduct.

On December 22, Vice President Young again wrote to each of the plaintiffs, this time informing them that the committee had decided to suspend them for a semester.⁶ He added that the students could take an appeal to the President of the College within two days of their receipt of his letter. According to Young, the President would then "make an appointment for an interview if your letter shows that you have good reason to believe that the Committee erred in (1) concluding that you did disobey a College official, (2) following established disciplinary procedures, or (3) taking action consistent with your past conduct and expressed attitude about future conduct." Apparently only plaintiff Blanton appealed her suspension.

A week later, President MacVittie wrote to each of the plaintiffs. He said he had reviewed the recommendation of the disciplinary hearing committee and had decided to uphold the committee's decision in each case. The letter informed each plaintiff that he or she was suspended, effective immediately, but made clear that they would all be eligible to return in the summer or fall terms.

Three weeks later, the plaintiffs filed the instant suit against the University and President MacVittie, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as well as money damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs alleged that the college officials had illegally suspended them, and that the suspensions were unconstitutional for three reasons: their conduct was protected under the First Amendment, the disciplinary procedures used by the Disciplinary Hearing Committee violated their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights, and the suspensions constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. After having denied a temporary injunction, the district court later granted a motion by defendants for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

II.

In the first instance the defendants ask us to affirm the...