Duvalt v. Sonnen

• Decision Date: 13 June 2002
• Docket Number: No. 28021.,28021.
• Parties: Scott R. DUVALT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Pam SONNEN; Idaho Department Of Correction; and Idaho Parole Commission, Respondents.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

50 P.3d 1043

137 Idaho 548

Scott R. DUVALT, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Pam SONNEN; Idaho Department Of Correction; and Idaho Parole Commission, Respondents.

No. 28021.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

June 13, 2002.

Scott R. Duvalt, Boise, pro se appellant.

Hon. Alan G. Lance, Attorney General; Timothy D. Wilson, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

PERRY, Chief Judge.

Scott R. Duvalt appeals from the district court's order dismissing Duvalt's petition for writ of habeas corpus. We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Duvalt was serving, at the South Idaho Correctional Institution (SICI), a unified term of seven years, with a minimum period of confinement of one and one-half years, for delivery of a controlled substance, with an enhancement for being a subsequent violator. Duvalt filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging that his right to be free from cruel and unusual conditions of confinement under the Eighth Amendment was being violated because he was not receiving adequate treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition, Duvalt asserted that his right to due process was violated because the Commission of Pardons and Parole refused to consider him for parole until he had been incarcerated at SICI for at least six months, despite Duvalt being parole-eligible prior to that time. The state filed a response to Duvalt's petition and a motion to dismiss.

Without holding an evidentiary hearing, the district court granted the motion to dismiss Duvalt's petition. In its memorandum opinion and order, the district court held that Duvalt had received medical care while incarcerated at SICI and that he had not shown a deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. Additionally, the district court held that Duvalt did not have a constitutional right to a parole hearing within a specific time and that the district court was not in a position to grant the relief sought by Duvalt in that regard. Duvalt appeals.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The decision to issue a writ of habeas corpus is a matter within the discretion of the trial court. Hays v. State, 132 Idaho 516, 518, 975 P.2d 1181, 1183 (Ct.App.1999). When we review an exercise of discretion in a habeas corpus proceeding, we conduct a three-tiered inquiry to determine whether the lower court rightly perceived the issue as one of discretion, acted within the boundaries of such discretion, and reached its decision by an exercise of reason. Id. If a petitioner is not entitled to relief on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the decision by the petitioned court to dismiss the petition without an evidentiary hearing will be upheld. Id., at 518-19, 975 P.2d at 1183-84.

In the case before us, the district court considered affidavits filed by Duvalt, a matter outside the pleadings, when it granted the motion to dismiss Duvalt's petition for habeas corpus relief. When a court considers matters outside the pleadings, such motion must be treated as a motion for summary judgment. Hellickson v. Jenkins, 118 Idaho 273, 276, 796 P.2d 150, 153 (Ct.App. 1990). Summary judgment under I.R.C.P. 56(c) is proper only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. On appeal, we exercise free review in determining whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Edwards v. Conchemco, Inc., 111 Idaho 851, 852, 727 P.2d 1279, 1280 (Ct.App.1986). When assessing a motion for summary judgment, all controverted facts are to be liberally construed in favor of the nonmoving party. Furthermore, the trial court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the party resisting the motion. G & M Farms v. Funk Irrigation Co., 119 Idaho 514, 517, 808 P.2d 851, 854 (1991); Sanders v. Kuna Joint School Dist., 125 Idaho 872, 874, 876 P.2d 154, 156 (Ct.App.1994).

III. ANALYSIS

A. Medical Treatment

1. Deliberate indifference

Duvalt was diagnosed as suffering from ADHD several years prior to being sentenced for the underlying offense and was prescribed Ritalin. In his habeas corpus petition, Duvalt asserted that the staff at SICI refused to supply him with Ritalin and that he was not receiving any treatment for his condition because the Department of Correction did not recognize such a condition as a serious medical need warranting treatment. The district court ruled that Duvalt was being treated for ADHD, albeit not with Ritalin, and that Duvalt's complaint involved a disagreement with SICI staff over the proper course of treatment for his condition.

The appropriate inquiry when an inmate alleges that prison officials failed to attend to serious medical need is whether the officials exhibited deliberate indifference. Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 5, 112 S.Ct. 995, 998, 117 L.Ed.2d 156, 165 (1992); Clemens v. State, 112 Idaho 638, 639, 733 P.2d 1263, 1264 (Ct.App.1987). A determination of deliberate indifference involves an examination of two elements: the seriousness of the prisoner's medical need and the nature of the prison's response to that need. See United States ex rel. Walker v. Fayette County, Pennsylvania, 599 F.2d 573, 575 (3d Cir.1979). Serious medical needs include those needs diagnosed by a physician as mandating treatment or those that are so obvious that even a lay person would easily recognize the necessity for a doctor's attention. Garnett v. Coyle, 33 P.3d 114, 121 (Wyo. 2001).

In assessing the nature of the prison's response to an inmate's serious medical need, there must be a purposeful act or failure to act on the part of prison officials. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 103-04, 97 S.Ct. 285, 290-91, 50 L.Ed.2d 251, 259-60 (1976). Although an inmate is not constitutionally guaranteed treatment at the level demanded by him or her, State v. Clay, 124 Idaho 329, 332, 859 P.2d 365, 368 (Ct.App.1993), the failure to respond to a known medical problem can constitute deliberate indifference. See Estelle, 429 U.S. at 103-04,97 S.Ct. at 290-91,50 L.Ed.2d at 259-60; Rogers v. Evans, 792 F.2d 1052, 1058 (11th Cir.1986). Deliberate indifference may also be manifested by an intentional delay in access to medical care or by intentionally interfering with a prisoner's treatment once prescribed. Estelle, 429 U.S. at 104-05,97 S.Ct. at 291,50 L.Ed.2d at 260. The deliberate indifference standard applies equally to psychiatric needs. Rogers, 792 F.2d at 1058. In order to establish deliberate indifference, however, a petitioner must demonstrate that his or her claim is based on more than a disagreement with the treating physician regarding the appropriateness of professional treatment received. Clemens, 112 Idaho at 639,733 P.2d at 1264.

With these principles in mind, we turn first to the seriousness of Duvalt's medical need. The record reflects that Duvalt has suffered for years from ADHD and related behavioral problems. Duvalt was officially diagnosed with the condition in 1992, although the examiner there noted that Duvalt likely suffered with the condition for several years prior to that time. A psychological evaluation performed in 2000 in anticipation of sentencing indicated that Duvalt suffered from ADHD and recommended that he be treated with Ritalin. The examiner noted that without treatment, Duvalt was prone to "cognitive rigidity," meaning that he was unable to formulate or accept alternative solutions to problems he encountered. In addition, the examiner noted that Duvalt had responded favorably to Ritalin in the past. Based on the evidence in the record, Duvalt has made a prima facie showing that his condition constituted a serious medical need and that treatment by SICI staff was warranted.

We thus examine the response by SICI staff to Duvalt's serious medical condition. In his habeas corpus petition, Duvalt claimed that he was denied Ritalin upon entering SICI on or about February 15, 2001. Duvalt averred that he was denied Ritalin due to the department's policy of not recognizing ADHD as a serious medical need and prohibiting the prescription of Ritalin. Duvalt further asserted that he was not given any alternative form of treatment and did not see a psychiatrist regarding his condition until March 26, at which time the psychiatrist examined Duvalt and prescribed Thorazine.¹ Duvalt refused to take the prescribed Thorazine, however, and insisted upon receiving Ritalin. The psychiatrist declined to prescribe Ritalin.

Accepting the truth of Duvalt's assertions as we must, we conclude that Duvalt has shown that SICI staff intentionally interfered with Duvalt's previously-prescribed treatment by leaving his condition untreated from the time Duvalt entered SICI until the time he was evaluated by the staff psychiatrist. However, by Duvalt's own admission, such interference terminated when Duvalt was examined by the psychiatrist and prescribed Thorazine. Although Duvalt was denied Ritalin, which was his preferred course of treatment, he was not denied treatment altogether. Duvalt was examined by a psychiatrist who prescribed an alternative form of medication to Ritalin. After that point, Duvalt's allegation that he was receiving inadequate medical care consisted of his disagreement with the course of treatment proposed by the staff psychiatrist. Duvalt's disagreement with and refusal to participate in such treatment was insufficient to establish a continuing Eighth Amendment violation. Because there was no genuine issue of material fact and Duvalt failed to establish a continuing Eighth Amendment violation, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing Duvalt's petition for writ of habeas corpus on the ground that Duvalt received constitutionally inadequate medical care.

2. Estoppel

While Duvalt was awaiting sentencing and confined at the Bonneville County jail, staff there refused to prescribe Ritalin to treat his condition pursuant to the jail's internal...