Cooper v. Gammon
| Citation | 943 S.W.2d 699 |
| Decision Date | 25 February 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. WD,WD |
| Parties | In re William COOPER, Petitioner, v. James A. GAMMON, Respondent. 52891. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Missouri (US) |
William Cooper, Moberly, pro se.
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Michael Prichett, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for respondent.
HANNA, Judge.
William Cooper is currently serving a life sentence for a 1981 conviction of second degree murder. The facts are simple and straight forward. On May 13, 1996, Cooper was ordered to provide a blood sample for DNA profiling analysis pursuant to §§ 650.050 to 650.057, RSMo 1994. 1 Cooper refused to comply and was given a conduct violation report for disobeying an order. He was placed in temporary administrative segregation. Two days later, he was found guilty of the conduct violation and assigned to disciplinary segregation. On June 13, 1996, Cooper was released from disciplinary segregation and assigned to administrative segregation until he agreed to submit a blood sample for DNA testing. He continues to defy the order to submit to a blood test and remains in administrative segregation, subject to periodic hearings.
DNA profiling and analysis is found in Section 650.055, which states as follows:
Every individual convicted in a Missouri circuit court of a felony, defined as a violent offense under chapter 565, RSMo, or as a sex offense under chapter 566, RSMo, excluding sections 566.010 and 566.020, RSMo, shall have a blood sample drawn for purposes of DNA profiling analysis before release from, or transfer to, a state correctional institution, county jail or detention facility. Any blood sample taken shall be used solely for the purpose of providing DNA or other blood grouping lists for profiling analysis and prosecution of a violent offense or a sex offense.
On June 21, 1996, Cooper filed his petition for writ of habeas corpus arguing that the prison official's order keeping him indefinitely in solitary confinement is a violation of his constitutional rights, state statutes, and the prison rules.
The state initially argues that Cooper's writ of habeas corpus is improper because he is challenging only his present confinement to administrative segregation and not the legality of his incarceration, which is not in dispute. A person restrained of liberty may petition for a writ of habeas corpus to inquire into the cause of the restraint. Rule 91.01; State ex rel. Haley v. Groose, 873 S.W.2d 221, 222 (Mo. banc 1994). A Rule 91 proceeding is "limited to determining the facial validity of confinement." State ex rel. Simmons v. White, 866 S.W.2d 443, 445 (Mo. banc 1993). However, prisoners may obtain habeas corpus review of prison conditions that constitute cruel and unusual punishment, even though the detention is legal, McIntosh v. Haynes, 545 S.W.2d 647, 652 (Mo. banc 1977); Haley, 873 S.W.2d at 223, because a prisoner has a fundamental right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
U.S. CONST. amend. VIII; MO. CONST. art. I, § 21.
Cooper does not challenge the legality of his incarceration for second degree murder. Instead, his complaint is directed at his confinement in administrative segregation. In McIntosh, the court cautioned that the department of corrections was under the responsibility of the executive branch of government, not the judicial branch, and "that courts will not interfere with the conduct, management, and disciplinary control of this type of institution except in extreme cases." McIntosh, 545 S.W.2d at 652-53.
In Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 346, 101 S.Ct. 2392, 2399, 69 L.Ed.2d 59 (1981), the court described confinement in a prison to be violative of Eighth Amendment rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment if the conditions involve wanton and unnecessary infliction of pain or are grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime warranting imprisonment. There must be "[e]xtreme deprivations" to make out a condition of confinement claim. "[T]he deprivation alleged must be, objectively, 'sufficiently serious;' ... a prison official's act or omission must result in the denial of 'the minimal civilized measure of life's necessities.' " Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 834, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 1977, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994) (citations omitted). Also, the prisoner must show a culpable state of mind on the part of the prison officials. Id. He must prove that the prison official acted with deliberate indifference to the inmate's health or safety. Id.
While Cooper alleges that his confinement in solitary constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, his complaint is truly directed at § 650.055, the statute requiring him to submit to a DNA profiling analysis. The substance of the requested relief goes to the legality of the state's right to take a blood sample. Cooper's petition for writ of habeas corpus falls short of a claim that his confinement in administrative confinement constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. His petition, on its face, shows that his confinement is the result of his refusal to obey an official's order, based on a state statute, which is presumptively constitutionally valid. See Herndon v. Tuhey, 857 S.W.2d 203, 207 (Mo. banc 1993). Therefore, habeas is not the appropriate remedy. Haley, 873 S.W.2d at 223.
However, a broad reading of the petition shows a cause of action calling for review of the allegations. In Haley, the Missouri Supreme Court treated Haley's petition for habeas corpus as a petition for mandamus. Id. Review of Cooper's claim, whether in mandamus or prohibition, should not be denied because the petition has been mislabeled. The circumstances presented by the petition are such that the interests of justice would not be served by dismissal of this action. State ex rel Todd v. Romines, 806 S.W.2d 690, 691 (Mo.App.1991). Consequently, we will treat Cooper's petition as one attempting to prohibit both the prison officials from proceeding with the DNA testing and Cooper's confinement in administrative segregation.
Section 650.055 refers to individuals convicted of a felony defined as a violent offense under chapter 565, RSMo (and as a sex offense under chapter 566, RSMo). Chapter 565 was amended effective July 1, 1984, which, as we understand Cooper's argument, exempts him from the requirement of providing a DNA sample. Cooper argues that his 1981 conviction was under § 565.004, RSMo 1978, which was common law second degree murder, and therefore, the statute requiring the taking of a blood sample for DNA profiling analysis is not applicable to him. Cooper argues that the statute directing the taking of blood samples, § 650.055, applies only to persons convicted pursuant to the current chapter 565, which would include those crimes of second degree murder committed after July 1, 1984. Thus, Cooper contends that the application of § 650.055 to his conviction would be in violation of the ex post facto clause. U.S. CONST. art. I, § 10 and MO. CONST. art. I, § 13.
First, § 650.055 provides for DNA testing on those individuals convicted of violent offenses and draws no distinction between the Cooper was convicted of second degree murder in 1981 under § 565.004, RSMo 1978. Second degree murder is a violent offense under the current chapter 565 and likewise was inherently a violent offense under the pre-1984 chapter 565. See § 565.021, RSMo 1994 and § 565.004, RSMo 1978. While the 1984 amendments to chapter 565 govern "the construction and procedures for charging, trial, punishment and appellate review" for the specified offenses, the drawing of a blood sample for DNA profiling analysis under § 650.055 does not implicate these procedures. Second degree murder is a violent offense by definition of either statute. Because Cooper was convicted of a violent offense under chapter 565 and § 650.055 does not involve a procedure affected by the 1984 amendments to chapter 565, he is not exempt from the requirements of providing a DNA blood sample.
original or amended provisions of the statute. Section 565.001 states that the provisions of chapter 565 govern "the construction and procedures for charging, trial, punishment and appellate review of any offense defined in this chapter and committed after July 1, 1984," while the former law governs these matters for offenses committed before that date. Sections 565.001(1) and (2), RSMo 1994.
Finally, § 650.055 does not violate prohibitions against ex post facto laws when applied to those convicted before its effective date. The clear purpose of the statute is to identify those individuals that have a higher incident to commit crimes, see Rise v. Oregon, 59 F.3d 1556, 1561 (9th Cir.1995), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 1554, 134 L.Ed.2d 656 (1996), and not to punish individuals convicted of violent crimes.
III. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SECTION 650.055
Cooper argues that requiring a blood sample to be drawn for use in DNA profiling analysis impermissibly infringes on his Fourth Amendment rights. He maintains that taking his blood amounts to an unreasonable search and seizure without the requisite probable cause or judicial warrant to justify the intrusion.
Taking a blood sample implicates the Fourth Amendment. The relevant test "is whether the [blood] sample gathering is a reasonable search under the circumstances." Vanderlinden v. Kansas, 874 F.Supp. 1210, 1214 (D.Kan.1995). "The reasonableness of surgical intrusions beneath the skin depends on a case-by-case approach, in which the individual's interests in privacy and security are weighed against society's interests in conducting the procedure." Winston v. Lee, 470 U.S. 753, 760, 105 S.Ct. 1611, 1616, 84 L.Ed.2d 662 (1985). "[T]he state may interfere with an individual's Fourth Amendment interests with less...
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