Bolton v. Goord, 95CV3768 (SHS).
| Decision Date | 23 January 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 95CV3768 (SHS).,95CV3768 (SHS). |
| Citation | 992 F.Supp. 604 |
| Parties | Nashawin BOLTON, Jerome Waldo, and Dwight Clark, and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Glenn GOORD, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Philip Coombe and John P. Keane, Superintendent, Woodbourne Correctional Facility, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Alexander R. Sussman, Fried, Frank, Harris, Scriver & Jacobsen, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.
Stephen M. Jacoby, Dennis C. Vacco, Atty. Gen., New York, NY, for Defendants.
OPINION, FINDINGS OF FACT & CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
This civil rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 challenges the New York State practice of "double-celling" — housing two inmates in a prison cell previously used to house one inmate — at Woodbourne Correctional Facility ("Woodbourne") as violative of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs claim that the conditions of confinement for double-celled inmates constitute cruel and unusual punishment proscribed by the Eight Amendment and that double-celling violated plaintiffs' due process rights secured by the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief against all defendants and monetary damages against one individual defendant, Philip Coombe. The action was tried to this Court without a jury over the course of three weeks in May 1997; testimony was adduced from thirty-nine witnesses and in excess of 150 exhibits were introduced into evidence. After careful consideration of all the evidence, this Court concludes that plaintiffs have not prevailed.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits punishments that "involve the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain" or are "grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime." Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 346, 101 S.Ct. 2392, 2399, 69 L.Ed.2d 59 (1981). Only conditions of confinement which constitute or cause the "serious deprivation of basic human needs," which are the "minimal civilized measure of life's necessities," constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Id. Although double-celling can amount to an Eighth Amendment violation if combined with other adverse conditions, this Court finds that double-celling at Woodbourne, under the conditions set forth at trial, does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment as proscribed by the Eighth Amendment.
Plaintiffs' due process claim fails as well. Plaintiffs have failed to show that they suffered an "atypical and significant hardship . . . in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life," see Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 484, 115 S.Ct. 2293, 2300, 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995), or that New York State has granted its inmates, by regulation or statute, a protected liberty interest in being free from being placed in a double cell. Indeed, far from being atypical, most state prison systems as well as the federal prisons had adopted a policy of some double-celling of inmates by 1995.
Plaintiffs Nashawin Bolton, Jerome Waldo and Dwight Clark are inmates who were at one point in time double-celled at Woodbourne. Mr. Bolton was double-celled from April 1995 until June 1995 (Tr. at 789-91, 804-05 (Bolton)),1 Mr. Clark from April 1995 until July 1995 (Tr. at 835-37 (Clark)), and Mr. Waldo from approximately April 1995 until June 1995. Tr. at 135-36, 140-42 (Waldo). Defendant Glenn Goord is the current Commissioner of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS"). Defendant Philip Coombe was the acting Commissioner of DOCS from approximately August 1994 to April 1996. Defendant John Keane is the current Superintendent of Woodbourne. Plaintiffs bring claims against Goord and Keane in their representative capacity and against Coombe in his individual capacity and seek money damages solely from Coombe.
1. At the time of trial, there were approximately 70,000 inmates in the DOCS system. Tr. at 1496 (Alexander). In 1989, in order to house what was an increasing number of prisoners, DOCS began to double-bunk inmates in dormitories in certain of its facilities, including Woodbourne. Tr. at 636-37 (Coombe). "Double-bunking" is the practice of having two inmates sleep one above the other in bunk beds. This initially was accomplished by converting gymnasiums into dormitories. Id. Each of these converted gymnasiums housed approximately two hundred inmates in double bunks. Id. Double-bunking inmates was intended to be a temporary solution to the problem of increasing prison populations. Tr. 639 (Coombe).
2. Former DOCS Commissioner Coombe sought to avoid double-celling inmates as long as possible. Tr. 754 (Coombe). Due to a number of factors, he was forced to address double-celling as a potential housing solution. In April of 1994, the state legislature instituted a change in New York State's work release program, which increased the amount of time that inmates who had committed homicides or sexual offenses had to serve before being permitted to go out on work release. Tr. 756 (Coombe). In addition to an increase in the inmate population, the composition of the population was shifting toward an increase in violent felons as opposed to the trend in the 1980's in which many inmates had been sentenced to jail as a result of "nonviolent," drug related crimes. Tr. 746 (Coombe). Because of this change, Coombe believed that DOCS should stop creating dormitory housing. Tr. 755 (Coombe). He believed that the shortage of living quarters needed to be resolved by keeping more prisoners in cells, as opposed to open dormitory spaces. Tr. 758 (Coombe).
3. DOCS was also under numerous court orders requiring it to receive inmates into state custody in a timely manner. Tr. 761-62 (Coombe). Moreover, DOCS needed to make significant budget cuts. Tr. 755 (Coombe). Double-celling was regarded as a cost-neutral way of absorbing the additional population and accounting for the change in the composition of the prison population. Tr. 755 (Coombe).
4. Prior to implementing double-celling, Coombe formed a team of superintendents and deputy commissioners and directed them to visit facilities in other states that utilized double-celling to research their double-celling procedures and problems. Tr. 765 (Coombe).
5. The committee researched double-celling in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida. P-2, 3, 4 & 5.2
6. Thereafter, discussions were held between members of the committee and personnel from a variety of New York state correctional facilities, including representatives from DOCS Division of Health Services regarding health and safety considerations. The resulting guidelines precluded the following categories of inmates from being double celled: the mentally disturbed, the physically disabled, victim prone, those who exhibit aggressive behavior and those with communicable diseases. Tr. 658 (Coombe); P-241.
7. The initial planning for double-celling at Woodbourne involved team meetings, conversations with the inmate population, and feedback from facility staff. The heads of each of the areas that would be most affected by double-celling — security, programs, medical, and administration — was involved in the planning process, which was completed under the direction of then Superintendent Robert Hanslmaier. Tr. 933-34 (Krom).
8. In late February or early March 1995, Superintendent Hanslmaier informed the executive staff of Woodbourne that they would be receiving additional inmates and should finalize the double-celling plans. Formal meetings were held with the inmate liaison committee (ILC), as well as discussions with inmates informally, to determine the best way to implement double-celling. Team members also spoke to corrections sergeants, lieutenants, and various unions at Woodbourne. Tr. 934-935 (Krom), Tr. 1036-1037 (Jones), Tr. 1047 (Jones). As a result of meetings with the ILC, Woodbourne decided to double cell inmates based on seniority on each gallery. Tr. 937-938 (Krom).
9. The New York State Commission of Correction ("SCOC") is an oversight body, separate and independent from DOCS, which assists the Governor in developing policies, plans and programs for improving the administration of both state and local correctional facilities. The SCOC has the power to promulgate rules and regulations establishing minimum standards for the care and custody of persons confined in correctional facilities. Tr.1960 (Wutzer Stip).
10. In late 1994 or early 1995, the SCOC began to consider promulgating a regulation authorizing double-celling in New York. Tr.1960-61 (Wutzer Stip.). Thomas Harig, of SCOC's Office of Program & Policy Analysis, spoke with officials from other jurisdictions and reported on his findings to the SCOC. He found that the majority of federal facilities were double celled. Low and minimum security facilities were completely double-celled, medium security facilities were 50% double-celled, and maximum security facilities were 25% double-celled. The average size of the double cells in older facilities was 60 square feet. P-6, p. 2.
11. An SCOC emergency regulation which provided that DOCS "may establish double occupancy housing units" with the approval of SCOC was published in the New York State Register on May 17, 1995. Tr.1962 (Wutzer Stip.). The regulation required certain equipment, furniture and fixtures, and provided for a screening and risk assessment of inmates prior to housing them in a double cell. N.Y. State Register, May 17, 1995, p. 1; see also N.Y. State Register, August 9, 1995, p. 6 & October 4, 1995, p. 1.
12. At a meeting on April 26, 1995, the SCOC approved double-celling at Woodbourne. D-60.
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