Cornwell v. Dahlberg

• Citation: 963 F.2d 912
• Decision Date: 12 May 1992
• Docket Number: 91-3580,Nos. 91-3532,s. 91-3532
• Parties: Michael R. CORNWELL, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Eric G. DAHLBERG, Dennis R. Baker, Sgt. Tony Wilson, Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 912

963 F.2d 912

Michael R. CORNWELL, Plaintiff-Appellee, Cross-Appellant, v. Eric G. DAHLBERG, Dennis R. Baker, Sgt. Tony Wilson Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees.

Nos. 91-3532, 91-3580.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued March 30, 1992.

Decided May 12, 1992.

Thomas Kelley (argued), and Armbruster, Kelley, McKenna & Modugno (briefed), Akron, Ohio, for plaintiff-appellant cross-appellee.

Samuel N. Lillard (argued), Asst. Atty. Gen., Columbus, Ohio, for defendants-appellees cross-appellants.

Before: MILBURN and SUHRHEINRICH, Circuit Judges; and TIMBERS, ^* Senior Circuit Judge.

TIMBERS, Senior Circuit Judge.

Appellants Warden Eric G. Dahlberg and two correctional officers, Dennis R. Baker and Tony Wilson (collectively "Dahlberg"), appeal from that part of a judgment entered in the Northern District of Ohio, David D. Dowd, District Judge, pursuant to a jury verdict against them for Fourth Amendment and Eighth Amendment violations arising from the detention and subsequent strip search of a prisoner, Michael R. Cornwell, following a prison uprising. Cornwell commenced this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988).

Dahlberg asserts that the district court erred as a matter of law in submitting to the jury claims alleging the use of excessive force raised under the Fourth Amendment. He contends that Cornwell's exclusive remedy for use of excessive force is the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment provision. With respect to the Fourth Amendment claim arising from the strip search, Dahlberg asserts in his brief that the court improperly charged the jury by allowing consideration of "the availability of alternate locations" for the strip search. At oral argument, Dahlberg suggested that the charge was inadequate because, among other things, it failed to accord due deference to the correction officers' decision to order the strip search. Dahlberg also challenges the district court's subsequent award of attorney's fees to Cornwell, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (1988).

Cross-appellant Cornwell challenges that portion of the judgment entered pursuant to the jury verdict against him for Eighth Amendment violations arising from the same detention and subsequent strip search. He contends primarily that the court erroneously instructed the jury according to the wrong standard under the Eighth Amendment. He says that the proper standard to be applied to such claims is that of "deliberate indifference" of prison officials. He also challenges the district court's reduction in his requested attorney's fees.

For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the judgment against Dahlberg individually on the Fourth Amendment claim pertaining to Cornwell's detention, and against Dahlberg and the correction officers on the Fourth Amendment privacy claims pertaining to the strip search, but we remand for a new trial on the privacy claims. With respect to Cornwell's cross-appeal, we affirm the judgment in favor of Dahlberg on the Eighth Amendment claims. Since we reverse the Fourth Amendment judgments, we do not reach the issue of attorney's fees.

I.

We shall summarize only those facts and prior proceedings believed necessary to an understanding of the issues raised on appeal.

In February 1987, Cornwell was incarcerated at the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) at Mansfield, Ohio. OSR is a correctional facility housing 2,400 inmates. The inmates are housed in two six-story cell blocks. The East Block houses maximum security prisoners, including Cornwell. The West Block houses medium security prisoners. OSR employs approximately 55-60 prison guards. In February 1987, OSR Warden Dahlberg responded to increasing assaults and thefts among the inmates of the two cell blocks by cutting back on the outdoor recreation time for East Block prisoners. This measure was intended to segregate the prisoners of the two cell blocks during the recreation period in order to minimize the number of disruptive incidents.

On February 22, 1987, between 11:00 a.m. and 12:23 p.m., Cornwell and 76 other inmates from the East Block assembled on the bleachers of the outdoor recreation area. They intended to protest the new prison policy by staging a sit-in on the bleachers. At 12:30 p.m., when duty officer Baker signalled the end of the East Block recreation period, Cornwell and his fellow inmates refused to return to their cell block, despite orders to do so from Baker.

At approximately 1:00 p.m., Warden Dahlberg was contacted at his home and advised of the sit-in. Dahlberg arrived on the scene at approximately 1:30 p.m. He ordered that all non-participating inmates be "locked down" in their cells in order to prevent the 77 protesting inmates from reentering the cell blocks and mingling with the other inmates to create a riot. He halted all normal prison operations. In response to their growing excitement over the possibility of a confrontation outside, the non-participating inmates made increasingly loud noises. Several inmates set small fires with toilet paper in their cells. This added to the mounting tension in the prison. Soon after Dahlberg's arrival, the inmates involved in the sit-in issued a demand letter complaining about the new prison policy.

At some point between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., Dahlberg contacted officials at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to inform them of the situation. At that time, it was decided that the sit-in was to be terminated by force if necessary. All protesting inmates were to be immediately transferred to Lima Correctional Facility, which was equipped for riot control. During this period, Baker made contact with the protesters twice, ordering them to return to their cells. At 2:00 p.m., when the protesters had linked arms in resistance, corrections officers approached the inmates to remove them physically from the bleachers. Several inmates ran in an attempt to dodge the guards. A tower guard responded by firing two warning shots, causing many inmates to fall to the ground until guards apprehended them. Several inmates fled from the outdoor recreation area, reentering the East Block and causing what Warden Dahlberg called a "potential crisis" by mingling with the other inmates. Without event, the mingling inmates were recaptured.

Ultimately, all 77 inmates were rounded up and divided into two groups. One group was placed in a triangular fenced area in front of the West Block. The other group, which included Cornwell, was placed in a similar area in front of the East Block. All of the inmates in the east area were searched for contraband and were handcuffed. All of the inmates were forced to lie face-down with their eyes closed in a cold, muddy area. The temperature on that day was between 40 and 44 degrees. Cornwell was ordered to remove his shoes, which were not returned to him. Female correctional officers monitoring the area collected identification badges from each of the inmates. The inmates were taken to a gymnasium between 30 and 100 feet from the area, where they were checked by medical personnel for injuries. The inmates then were returned to the outdoor area where they again were forced to lie face-down in the mud.

At approximately 3:35 p.m., Wilson, a sergeant at the Marion Correctional Institute (MCI), arrived at OSR with seven correctional officers, a bus, a van and a "chase vehicle". These officers were ordered to transport the protesters to the Lima facility. Wilson positioned the vehicles to form a more private area for strip searches prior to transport. The heaters in the vehicles were turned on to warm them for the inmates. Wilson says he ordered all female correctional officers out of the area. He placed an old sweatshirt on the ground for each of the inmates to stand on during the strip search. Each inmate was required to remove all clothing during the search. The searches were conducted before the seven correctional officers, the other protesting inmates, and any OSR correctional officers who happened to pass through the designated area. Some female officers from OSR did observe the strip searches. Once each inmate had been checked again for injuries, strip searched, and reclothed, each was placed on the bus. At 5:18 p.m., the bus took the inmates to the Lima facility.

More than two years later--on July 11, 1989--Cornwell filed his Second Amended Complaint in which he alleged, among other things, violations of his Fourth Amendment and Eighth Amendment rights as a result of (1) the detention on the cold, wet ground, and (2) the strip search in front of female correctional officers. The case was submitted to the jury on September 20, 1990 with a set of interrogatories requiring the jury specifically to determine each Fourth and Eighth Amendment issue arising from the detention and the strip search. On September 21, the jury returned its verdict by answering the interrogatories. On all Eighth Amendment claims regarding both the detention and the strip search, the jury returned verdicts in favor of Dahlberg and the two correctional officers, Baker and Wilson. On all Fourth Amendment claims alleging a violation of Cornwell's right to privacy specifically during the strip search, the jury returned verdicts for Cornwell. On the Fourth Amendment claim specifically against Dahlberg and arising solely from his order of detention, the jury found in favor of Cornwell; on the identical Fourth Amendment claim against correctional officer Baker, the jury found in favor of Baker. Cornwell's request for attorney's fees was reduced by the court to $17,169.60. After denial of a motion for judgment n.o.v., the instant appeals followed.

II.

With this summary of the facts and prior proceedings in mind, we turn first to Dahlberg's contention that the district court erred as a matter of law in instructing the jury to consider whether the conditions of Cornwell's detention in the outdoor area violated his Fourth Amendment rights. In considering this...