Boudin v. Thomas

• Decision Date: 07 January 1982
• Docket Number: No. 81 Civ. 7190 (KTD).,81 Civ. 7190 (KTD).
• Citation: 533 F. Supp. 786
• Parties: Kathie BOUDIN, Petitioner, v. Dale THOMAS, Warden of MCC, Norman Carlson, Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and John Martin, United States Attorney, Respondents.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

533 F. Supp. 786

Kathie BOUDIN, Petitioner, v. Dale THOMAS, Warden of MCC, Norman Carlson, Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and John Martin, United States Attorney, Respondents.

No. 81 Civ. 7190 (KTD).

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

January 7, 1982.

Frankfurt, Garbus, Klein & Selz, P. C., New York City, for petitioner Kathie Boudin; Martin Garbus, New York City, of counsel.

John S. Martin, Jr., U. S. Atty., S. D. N. Y., New York City, for respondents; Carolyn Simpson, Asst. U. S. Atty., New York City, of counsel.

OPINION AND ORDER

KEVIN THOMAS DUFFY, District Judge:

Liberty for all Americans, no matter to what philosophy they may adhere, is based upon reasonable restraints on individual action imposed for the common good. These restraints are embraced by Americans as a guarantee of their freedom and are found in our laws, rules and regulations. They are to be enforced in a totally nondiscriminatory manner. Adherence to these principles both by individuals and by government officials cannot be avoided because of mass hysteria over the alleged revolutionary ideas of an individual nor from the craven fear of criticism from the mass media. It is embarrassing for this court to have to remind the United States Department of Justice and its representatives of these fundamental principles; yet it appears necessary to do so in this matter.

Petitioner Kathie Boudin, a state court pre-trial detainee presently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center "MCC", brought on by Order to Show Cause a petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging the conditions of her confinement.¹ It is undeniable that these conditions of confinement are unique. It is my conclusion that they are also discriminating and in violation of the pertinent rules and regulations of the Bureau of Prisons. The celebrity surrounding petitioner and her alleged crime must be explained in order to understand the nature of the MCC's treatment of Ms. Boudin.

BACKGROUND

On or about October 20, 1981, Kathie Boudin was arrested in connection with the armed robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which one Brinks guard and two Nyack, New York police offers were killed. Ms. Boudin was arrested leaving the cab of a U-Haul van involved in the shootout. There are no allegations that Ms. Boudin was armed at any time during the crimes alleged.

Subsequent to her arrest, petitioner was taken to the Rockland County Jail. Rockland County District Attorney Kenneth Gribetz was concerned about the lack of adequate security measures available at the jail and agreed with United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John Martin, to transfer Ms. Boudin and a co-defendant Judith Clark to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons for safekeeping. (See Exhibit 1, Affidavit of Warden Thomas, November 23, 1981). Petitioner arrived at the MCC on October 26, 1981 "amidst unparalleled security." (Affidavit of Warden Thomas, November 23, 1981, ¶ 5). Upon her arrival, Ms. Boudin was immediately placed in administrative detention "because she was deemed to pose a high risk to the security of the institution and those within it." (Id., at ¶ 13). Petitioner has remained in this secluded detention since that time. The conditions of her confinement are as follows:

1. Visits with members of her immediate family are permitted two days a week for a two hour time period;

2. No contact visits are allowed, even with Ms. Boudin's infant child;

3. Attorney visits are permitted any time between 8:00 a. m. and 8:30 p. m. Joint counsel visits are also permitted.²

4. Petitioner is confined to her cell, except for the visits described above, for the rest of the day. One hour of recreation per day, consisting of solitary admission to the hall adjoining her cell, is provided;

5. Petitioner has been separated from her co-defendant Ms. Clark since her arrival at the MCC; and

6. Meals are served in her cell.

Petitioner asserts that the continuation of administrative detention and denial of contact visits is in violation of her constitutional and statutory rights. She requests immediate relief from the restrictive conditions of her confinement.

DISCUSSION

The challenging of prison conditions imposed after studied consideration by the respondents causes this court great concern. I must heed the recent admonitions of the Supreme Court:

Prison administrators therefore should be accorded wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline and to maintain institutional security.

. . . . .

But judicial deference is accorded not merely because the administrator ordinarily will, as a matter of fact in a particular case, have a better grasp of his domain than the reviewing judge, but also because the operation of our correctional facilities is peculiarly the province of the Legislative and Executive Branches of our Government, not the Judicial.

Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 547-48, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 1878, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). The Supreme Court decision in Wolfish does not mandate that I automatically defer all challenges of prison policy to the institution's administration, but it does mean that the infringement upon constitutional rights must be severe before the judiciary is authorized to intervene. The test enunciated in Wolfish is twofold: first, the court must determine if the condition is specifically imposed for the purposes of punishment or for a legitimate governmental purpose, Wolfish, supra, at 538, 99 S.Ct. at 1873; secondly, if evidence of punishment is lacking, this court must determine if the restriction is "reasonably related" to a legitimate objective or constitutes an exaggerated response. Id. If a reasonable relationship can be established, punishment is not present and the Due Process clause is not violated.³

The question before me is not whether the MCC has chosen the best possible methods for diminishing risks attendant to the incarceration of Ms. Boudin, but rather, whether the means utilized amount to punishment. See Wolfish, supra, at 554, 99 S.Ct. at 1882; Valentine v. Englehardt, 474 F.Supp. 294, 301 (D.N.J.1979). This question is answered by balancing the security risk posed by the petitioners against their constitutional rights. I cannot simply defer to the Warden and abandon my duty to uphold the constitution. "There is no iron curtain drawn between the Constitution and the prisoners of this country." Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 555-56, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2974, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974); Wolfish, supra, 441 U.S. at 520, 99 S.Ct. at 1861; Jones v. Diamond, 636 F.2d 1364, 1368 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 959, 101 S.Ct. 3106, 69 L.Ed.2d 970 (1981). For the reasons stated herein, I am constrained to order the immediate suspension of administrative detention and the initiation of contact visits between petitioner and all approved visitors.

I. Administrative Detention

Although the facts presented by both sides differ on the exact hours per day Ms. Boudin is locked up in her cell, it is not disputed that her detention effectively segregates her from Ms. Clark and the general prison population. Such restrictive incarceration is permissably imposed only under certain circumstances. The relevant federal regulations binding the Bureau of Prisons are as follows:

§ 541.20 Administrative detention.

Administrative detention is the status of confinement of an inmate in a special housing unit in a cell either by himself or with other inmates which serves to remove the inmate from the general population.

. . . . .

The Warden may place an inmate in administrative detention when the inmate is in holdover status (i.e., en route to a designated institution) during transfer, or is a new commitment pending classification. The Warden may also place an inmate in administrative detention when his continued presence in the general population poses a serious threat to life, property, self, staff, other inmates or to the security or orderly running of the institution and when the inmate:

(1) Is pending a hearing for a violation of institution regulations;

(2) Is pending investigation of a violation of institution regulations;

(3) Is pending investigation, or trial for a criminal act;

. . . . .

(b) Memorandum Detailing Reasons for Placement. The Warden shall prepare a memorandum detailing the reasons for placing an inmate in administrative detention, with a copy given to the inmate, provided institutional security is not compromised thereby. Staff shall deliver this memorandum to the inmate within 24 hours of his placement in administrative detention, unless this delivery is precluded by exceptional circumstances.

(c) Review of Inmates Housed in Administrative Detention.... The reviewing authority shall hold a hearing and formally review the status of each inmate who spends seven continuous days in administrative detention, and thereafter shall review these cases on the record (in the inmate's absence) each week, and shall hold a hearing and review these cases formally at least every 30 days. The inmate appears before the reviewing authority at the hearing unless the inmate waives the right to appear. Staff shall conduct a psychiatric or psychological assessment, including a personal interview, when administrative detention continues beyond 30 days. The assessment, submitted to the reviewing authority in a written report, should address the inmate's adjustment to his surroundings and the threat the inmate poses to self, staff and other inmates. Staff shall conduct a similar psychiatric or psychological assessment and report at subsequent one-month intervals should detention continue for this extended period. Administrative detention is to be used only for short periods of time except where an inmate needs long-term protection (see § 541.21). An inmate may be kept in administrative detention for longer term

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