Booker v. Griffin, 16-CV-00072 (NSR)
| Decision Date | 31 March 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 16-CV-00072 (NSR),16-CV-00072 (NSR) |
| Parties | AMIN DOSHAWN BOOKER, Plaintiff, v. THOMAS GRIFFIN, Superintendent of Green Haven Facility; E. DEMO, DOCCS Investigator; Paul Chappius, Jr., Superintendent Elmira Facility; G. KELLER, Captain at Elmira; M. KIRKPATRICK, Superintendent of Clinton; John Doe #1, Confidential Informant; JOHN DOES #2-3., Correction Officers at Green Haven; SGT. ISAACS, LT. SCRANTON; CORRECTION OFFICER SEARS; KAREN BELLAMY, Central Office Committee Director; DONAL VENNETTOZZI, Director of SHU, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Plaintiff Amin Doshawn Booker commenced this pro se action pursuant 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging, inter alia, violations of his First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights in connection with his incarceration at Green Haven and Elmira Correctional Facilities. (See Compl., ECF No. 2.) Specifically, Plaintiff raises various challenges to his placement in administrative segregation, the suspension of his visitation privileges with his fiancé, and the denial of appropriate medical care during certain period of his incarceration.
Presently before the Court is Defendants' motion dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, and to sever and transfer any remaining claims arising out of Plaintiff's incarceration at Elmira Correctional Facility to the Western District of New York. (Mem. of Law in Supp. of Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss the Compl. ( ) at 1, ECF No. 47.) Additionally, Defendants move under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for this Court refrain from adjudicating Plaintiff's due process claims relating to his administrative segregation, pursuant to the doctrine espoused in Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). (Id.) Plaintiff opposes Defendants' motion and cross-moves for summary judgment on his due process claims. (Pl.'s Mem. Of Law in Opp. to Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss and in Supp. of Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Opp."), ECF No. 52.)
For the reasons that follow, this Court finds abstention under Younger unwarranted and GRANTS Defendants' motion to dismiss in part and DENIES it in part. Defendants' motion to sever and transfer certain claims to the Western District of New York is DENIED. Finally, Plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment is also DENIED at this juncture.
Prior to April 22, 2015, Plaintiff was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility. At Green Haven, Plaintiff served as an active member of the Inmate Liaison Committee ("ILC"), a group dedicated to recording and addressing inmates' concerns and grievances within the facility. (Compl. ¶ 18-21.) In March 2015, the ILC requested a meeting with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ("DOCCS") Commissioner Anthony Annucci toaddress inmate complaints of inappropriate staff behavior and rumors that Defendant Griffin, a superintendent at the facility, was instructing other officers to harm inmates. (Id. ¶¶ 22-23.) Once Defendant Griffin became aware of the ILC's request, he confronted Plaintiff, telling him: "I run things here, you don't question my authority." (Id. ¶ 31.) Defendant Griffin further threatened to send Plaintiff to a facility in upstate New York, away from his family, and warned that he could have Plaintiff in the special housing unit ("SHU")2 "with a push of a button," adding that Plaintiff would "never get out." (Id. ¶ 33.)
The next day, on April 22, 2015, Plaintiff was abruptly transferred to Elmira Correctional Facility. (Id. ¶¶ 35-38.) Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff was served with an administrative segregation recommendation, authored by Defendant Demo in conjunction with Defendant Griffin, accusing Plaintiff of attempting to organize an inmate demonstration and being influential within the Blood organization. (Id. ¶¶ 52-54.)
On May 1, 2015, the Deputy Superintendent of Elmira Correctional Facility, Defendant Kirkpatrick, commenced an administrative segregation hearing against Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 55.) After Plaintiff objected to the recommendation drafted by Defendant Demo and Defendant Griffin, both Defendants testified via telephone on May 7, 2015 and May 12, 2015, respectively. (Id. ¶ 56.) The testimony of each Defendant was inconsistent with Defendants' written recommendation, prompting Plaintiff to request an adjournment of the hearing in order to obtain documents and interview witnesses. (Id. ¶ 58.)
On June 4, 2015, Plaintiff alleges he was "lured" by Defendant Scranton, a Lieutenant atElmira Correctional Facility, to a room with a telephone. (Id. ¶ 64.) Defendant Scranton dialed a number, asked for a "Commissioner Gore," and handed the receiver to Plaintiff. (Id.) The individual on the phone identified himself as "Commissioner Gore" and asked Plaintiff about his grievances against Defendant Griffin. (Id. ¶ 65.) Specifically, the individual sought information regarding who had informed Plaintiff that Defendant Griffin was authorizing officer assaults on inmates as well as information regarding Plaintiff's administrative segregation hearing. (Id. ¶ 66.) Plaintiff then discussed his grievances relating to the administrative hearing with the individual he believed to be "Commissioner Gore." (Id. ¶ 67.) Plaintiff later wrote to Commissioner Gore in Albany and learned that he had not actually spoken to Commissioner Gore over the phone. (Id.)
While the administrative segregation hearing was adjourned, Defendant Kirkpatrick was transferred to another DOCCS facility. (Id. ¶ 68.) The hearing was eventually reconvened on July 7, 2015, with Defendant Keller as the new hearing officer. (Id. ¶ 69.) The testimony given at the hearings before Defendant Kirkpatrick was thrown out. (Id.) Defendant Keller denied Plaintiff's request for documents, did not allow Plaintiff to question witnesses, and relied on the testimony of a confidential source, without making an independent assessment of the source's reliability. (Id. ¶ 70-73.) Defendants Griffin and Demo, who again testified at the hearing, provided testimony that was significantly different than their previous statements before Defendant Kirkpatrick. (Id. ¶ 69.) Defendant Keller eventually reached a disposition on August 21, 2015, agreeing with Defendant Demo's recommendation and sentencing Plaintiff to indefinite administrative segregation. (Id. ¶ 74.) Defendant Keller's determination was not based on any reliable evidence. (Id.)
Plaintiff repeatedly voiced his concern about possible due process violations in hissegregation hearing to Defendant Chappius, a Superintendent at Elmira. (Id. ¶ 82.) Defendant Chappius, however, did not address Plaintiff's concerns, telling him: (Id. ¶ 82.) Plaintiff then appealed the disposition of his administrative hearing to the DOCCS Director of Special Housing, Defendant Venettozzi, who affirmed the disposition on November 6, 2015. (Id. ¶ 83.)
After Plaintiff was transferred from Green Haven Correctional Facility to Elmira, Defendants failed to ensure the transfer of his medical records. (Id. ¶ 99-103.) Indeed, Plaintiff's medical records were not transferred until August 12, 2015. (Id. ¶ 99, 103.) Because he could not receive medical attention until his new facility acquired his records, Plaintiff's various ailments were left completely untreated for nearly three months (Id. ¶ 101-03.) During that time, Plaintiff suffered severe swollen glands, swollen eyes, nasal congestion, sneezing, nosebleeds, nose sores, blisters, and severe constipation as a result of his untreated allergies. (Id.) Moreover, Plaintiff began to experience dental complications, which also went untreated, leading to the deterioration and eventual dislodgement of one of his teeth. (Id.)
On May 29, 2015, Defendant Sears, a corrections officer at Elmira, confiscated and read Plaintiff's incoming legal mail. (Id. ¶ 105.) Plaintiff immediately notified the area sergeant and a lieutenant of Defendant Sears's actions. (Id.) Defendant Sears then threatened plaintiff, saying "I'm going to fix you Booker, you wanna be an ass-hole and cry to brass?" (Id.)
The next day, Defendant Sears and Sergeant Isaacs terminated Plaintiff's visit with his fiancé without any explanation. (Id. ¶ 106.) Subsequently, on June 1, 2015, Defendant Chappiussent Plaintiff a notice of a one-year termination of his fiancés visitation privileges. (Id. ¶ 107.) The notice falsely alleged that Plaintiff's fiancé had exposed her genitals to him on May 29, 2015. (Id.) Sometime after, Defendants Isaacs and Sears taunted plaintiff, saying "You don't cry to lieutenant around here, this is our house here, my officer was going to give your papers when he was good [and] ready, but since you wanna be an asshole, you have to feel the heat." (Id. ¶ 108.) Defendant Sears further threatened that if Plaintiff tried to go over his head again, he would lose all of his visiting privileges. (Id.)
Plaintiff commenced the present action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging, inter alia, various violations of his First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights by officials at Green Haven Correctional Facility and Elmira Correctional Facility. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint on January 06, 2017, arguing that the Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate Plaintiff's due process claims pursuant to Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971), and that Plaintiff had failed to state a claim for any other constitutional violation. (ECF No. 46.) Plaintiff opposed Defendants' motion to dismiss...
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