Chandler v. James
| Decision Date | 04 May 2011 |
| Parties | JOHNNY RAY CHANDLER, SR., Plaintiff, v. CHARLES JAMES, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
This matter is before the Court on the motion of the United States, the United States Parole Commission ("USPC"), the Court Services and Offender Agency ("CSOSA"), Charles James, and Linwood A. Williams (together, "the federal defendants") to dismiss the plaintiff's claims against them or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. Also pending are a total of seventeen motions filed by the plaintiff, consisting of ten motions to amend or supplement the complaint; a motion "to produce evidence" that is, in effect, another motion to amend the complaint; two motions to stay the case; one motion to lift the (nonexistent) stay; two motions for judgment on the pleadings; and a motion for summary judgment.1 Because theplaintiff's original claims may have some merit, although not as to all defendants, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the federal defendants' motion to dismiss or for summary judgment and will appoint counsel for the plaintiff, who currently proceeds pro se. The plaintiffs many motions are generally frivolous and so will be denied, in almost all instances with prejudice.
Plaintiff Johnny Ray Chandler, Sr. is currently incarcerated in federal prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, having been convicted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia of attempted robbery, robbery, armed robbery, and assault with a dangerous weapon. See Compl. at 3; Notice of Change of Address, Docket No. 73, at 1; MTD SMF ¶ 1. Since he initially began serving his sentence in 1991, see MTD SMF ¶ 1, Mr. Chandler has become a veteran pro se litigant. He has sued, among many others, his parole officer, for "'malicious breach of contract, '" Chandler v. Kiely, 539 F. Supp. 2d 220, 221 (D.D.C. 2008); the Bureau of Prisons, for taking various disciplinary actions against him, see Chandler v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, Civil Action No. 09-1902, 2010 WL 364325, at *1 (W.D. La. Feb. 1, 2010); several prison officials, for placing him in administrative segrgation, see Chandler v. Henderson, No.95-7243, 1996 WL 587648, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 16, 1996); various other prison officials, for threatening his life or failing to take action when he claimed his life had been threatened, see Chandler v. D.C. Dep't of Corr., 145 F.3d 1355, 1357 (D.C. Cir. 1998); his former employer, for allegedly discriminating against him, see Chandler v. W.E. Welch & Assocs., Inc., 533 F. Supp. 2d 94, 98 (D.D.C. 2008); and the District of Columbia, for failing to provide a ladder for Mr. Chandler to use when climbing into the bunk bed in his prison cell. See Chandler v. District of Columbia, 578 F. Supp. 2d 73, 75 (D.D.C. 2008). He has also filed numerous unsuccessful petitions for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus. See, e.g., In re: Johnny Ray Chandler, No. 03-5147, 2003 WL 22097947, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 27, 2003); Chandler v. Young, Civil Action No. 09-1810, 2010 WL 2464837, at *1 (W.D. La. May 19, 2010); Chandler v. Keffer, Civil Action No. 09-0415, 2009 WL 4718871, at *1 (W.D. La. Dec. 7, 2009).
Mr. Chandler's legal complaints have been so numerous and so lacking in merit that he is now barred, except in extraordinary circumstances, from filing new lawsuits while in prison without first paying the full amount of any administrative filing fee. See In re: Johnny Ray Chandler, No. 02-5093, 2002 WL 1876999, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 14, 2002) (). Indeed, Mr. Chandler's abuse of the court system has been so systematic that he may not file any civil action in this Court without first obtaining permission. See Chandler v. D.C. Dep't of Corr., Civil Action No. 95-2366, Memorandum Order (D.D.C. Mar. 11, 1996).
Perhaps because of the continuing sanctions imposed upon him in this Court, Mr. Chandler filed the instant case first in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. His complaint named as defendants the District of Columbia — which has since been dismissed from the case with Mr. Chandler's consent — the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, an agency of the federal government; Charles James, Mr. Chandler's community supervision officer; Linwood A. Williams, Mr. James' supervisor; and Phyllis Brodie, a clinical psychologist. See Compl. at 1. Mr. Chandler alleges that while on parole in August 2005, he was ordered by Mr. James to meet with Dr. Brodie for an assessment of his mental health. Id. at 2. After that evaluation by Dr. Brodie, Mr. Chandler was told by Mr. James in December 2005 that he would be required to consent to the transfer of his parole supervision to "the District of Columbia's[] Sex Offenders Unit," and to submit to GPS monitoring. Id. Mr. Chandler understood that if he did not agree to be supervised by the Sex Offenders Unit and to GPS monitoring, his parole would be revoked. Id. These requirements were imposed on Mr. Chandler even though he had never been convicted of a sex offense. Id. at 3. Mr. Chandler asserts in his complaint that the defendants are liable for libel, slander, defamation, and "false accusation" (because they falsely "label[ed him] as a Sex Offender"); for coercion and harassment (because Mr. Chandler had to agree to supervision by the Sex Offender Unit if he wished to prevent his parole from being revoked); for "conspiracy"; and for violations of the Fifth, Fourteenth, and Eighth Amendments. Compl. at 1-2, 4.
After the filing of the plaintiff's original (and still only operative) complaint, the United States certified that Mr. James and Mr. Williams had been "acting within the scope oftheir employment as employees of the United States at the time of the" events alleged in the complaint, substituted itself as a defendant, and removed the litigation to this Court. See Notice of Removal, Ex. B, and at 2-3. Soon afterward Mr. Chandler filed a slew of motions to amend or supplement his complaint. Only the first of those motions — along with the third, which appears to be an exact duplicate of the first — contains allegations related to Mr. Chandler's original claim. In addition, several documents related to that original claim are appended to the motion. Taken together, those documents and Mr. Chandler's statements may be read to allege that Dr. Brodie conducted a "Psychosexual Risk Assessment" of Mr. Chandler. 1st Mot. Am., Attachment 3 (marked as Exhibit C). Based on that assessment, Mr. Chandler's parole officer recommended to the United States Parole Commission on December 20, 2005, that Mr. Chandler be "placed under supervision with the Sex Offender Unit for a more comprehensive focus and placed on GPS monitoring." Id., Attachment 1 (marked as Exhibit A). Mr. Chandler, told that his parole would be subject to revocation if he did not consent to the change in his conditions of parole, signed a form indicating that he waived the right to "object or comment to the Commission" and agreed to the modification. See id.; Compl. at 2.
On January 18, 2006, the Parole Commission ordered that Mr. Chandler "be subject to the Special Sex Offender Aftercare Condition," and that he "participate in an in-patient or out-patient mental health program..., with special emphasis on long-term sex offender testing and treatment." 1st Mot. Am., Attachment 2 (marked as Exhibit C). Mr. Chandler was further instructed: "You are expected to acknowledge your need for treatment and to participatein good faith in achieving the program goals that will be established for you." Id. He would "be subject to the Global Positioning Systems monitoring inclusive of a curfew and/or exclusion zones." Id.
After the issuance of the Parole Commission's order of January 18, 2006, Mr. Chandler was required to sign a document entitled a "Treatment Contract & Attendance Policy." See 1st Mot. Am., Attachment 4 (marked as Exhibit A). The treatment contract, by its own description, "outlines the expectations for participating and the potentional consequences of not appropriately participating in Phase 1 of the sex offender treatment program at the Center for Clinical and Forensic Services, Inc." Id. at 1. According to the contract, in order to avoid expulsion from the treatment program and possible parole revocation, Mr. Chandler would be required to, among other things, waive his right to doctor-patient confidentiality, id. ¶ 2; "discuss[ his] crime of conviction and [his] sexual history," id. ¶ 4; "pass[]... offense specific and/or sexual history polygraphs on these areas," id.; avoid "look[ing] at sexually explicit material or 'erotica' in magazines, videos, or on the Internet," id. ¶ 7; and attend all treatment sessions, with limited exceptions. Id. ¶¶ 12-13.
Mr. Chandler protested when told that he would be required to sign the treatment contract, even going so far as to write a letter of protest to one of the parole commissioners. See 1st Mot. Am., Ex. 3 (marked as Exhibit C). He was told in response, in a letter from a hearing examiner dated February 1, 2006, that it was "necessary" for him to "comply with all conditions of [his] release," including "the special sex offender aftercare condition," which had been imposed "as a precautionary measure." Id.
Based on this set of allegations, Mr. Chandler seeks to add as defendants the United States Parole Commission and the Center for Clinical and and Forensic Services, Inc., the institution that runs the sex offender treatment program in which Mr. Chandler was ordered to take part. See 1st Mot. Am. at 2; id., Attachment 4 (labeled Exhibit A). He also seeks to amend his complaint to include a claim for violation of his "Freedom of Choice under the First Amendment,"...
To continue reading
Request your trial