Griffin v. Coughlin

• Citation: 743 F. Supp. 1006
• Decision Date: 24 August 1990
• Docket Number: No. 83-CV-676.,83-CV-676.
• Parties: Joseph GRIFFIN, James Hauser, and Donald Orr, protective custody inmates of Clinton Correctional Facility, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Thomas A. COUGHLIN, III, Commissioner, New York State Department of Correctional Services, Charles Ward, Director of Special Housing and Inmate Discipline Programs, Eugene S. LeFevre, Superintendent, Clinton Correctional Facility, and Ramon Rodriguez, Chairman of the New York State Board of Parole, Defendants.
• Court: United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of New York

743 F. Supp. 1006

Joseph GRIFFIN, James Hauser, and Donald Orr, protective custody inmates of Clinton Correctional Facility, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Thomas A. COUGHLIN, III, Commissioner, New York State Department of Correctional Services, Charles Ward, Director of Special Housing and Inmate Discipline Programs, Eugene S. LeFevre, Superintendent, Clinton Correctional Facility, and Ramon Rodriguez, Chairman of the New York State Board of Parole, Defendants.

No. 83-CV-676.

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

August 24, 1990.

Prisoners' Legal Services of New York, Plattsburgh, N.Y., for plaintiffs; Robert F. Bensing, Steven Latimer, of counsel.

Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. of State of N.Y., Albany, N.Y., for defendants; Steven H. Schwartz, Associate Atty. Gen., Robert A. Siegfried, Asst. Atty. Gen., of counsel.

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER

MUNSON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this case are individuals who have been (since December of 1987, when a class was certified), are, or will be housed in the Protective Custody ("PC") unit of Clinton Correctional Facility ("Clinton"). This case was filed in 1983 and is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to remedy allegedly unconstitutional conditions at the Clinton PC.

The plaintiffs' second amended complaint states five causes of action. First, they allege that the conditions of confinement constitute violations of the eighth and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution. Specifically, plaintiffs contend that the following conditions exist and that they violate the eighth amendment: prolonged cell confinement and idleness; severely limited opportunities for recreation, exercise, education and work; seriously inadequate access to legal assistance, including the institutional law library; denial of either communal religious services, or private consultations with religious advisors; the pervasive fear of being harmed, because of defendants' failure to protect PC inmates; inadequate safety and screening procedures.

The second cause of action alleges an equal protection violation. Plaintiffs allege that the inmates at PC units in Green Haven, Great Meadow, Auburn and Attica are generally afforded greater recreational and programming opportunities than inmates in the Clinton PC. The third cause of action alleges that the defendants place an undue burden on the plaintiffs' assertion of their right to be free from harm and accordingly violate plaintiffs' eighth amendment rights. In essence plaintiffs allege that the conditions are so restrictive at Clinton PC that inmates will be discouraged from seeking protective custody.

In their fourth cause of action, plaintiffs allege that the defendants have failed to provide the PC inmates adequate protection from harm. This, too, plaintiffs contend constitutes a violation of their eighth amendment rights. Finally, the fifth cause of action alleges that the defendants violate plaintiffs' rights under the free exercise clause. As a basis for this claim, plaintiffs contend that they are denied access to regular and confidential religious counseling, sacraments, and services.

I. THE PARTIES' STIPULATIONS.

A non-jury trial on plaintiffs claims was held from September 19, 1988 through September 23, 1988 in Auburn, New York.¹ Prior to trial, the parties presented the court with 14 itemized stipulations of fact. These are reproduced below. (The footnotes to these stipulations are the court's additional explanations and are not part of the parties' stipulations.)

1. Protective custody at Clinton Correctional Facility is housed in that institution's E Block.

2. E Block is composed of seven companies², each containing 21 cells. Companies one through five are on the south side of the block, with one at the bottom and five at the top. Companies six and seven are on the north side of the block, directly across (respectively from four and five company).³

3. One and six companies have "flat" galleries, which run from the cell bars to the block walls. All other companies have "open" galleries, running only part of the way to the block walls (roughly four feet) from the cell bars.⁴

4. All cell blocks in Clinton contain open galleries on other than the lowest company blocks.

5. There are no meeting rooms or offices in E block. Aside from the company cells and galleries, the only other available space is the area known as the "landing," in front of each tier of cells.

6. PC is currently located on companies one through four of E block.⁵ Company four is involuntary PC, and the other three companies are voluntary.

7. Non-keeplocked PC inmates receive 2 hours daily recreation in the E block yard. Until September 5, 1988 they were receiving 1½ hours daily recreation. Voluntary PC and involuntary PC inmates are recreated separately.

8. PC inmates eat their meals in their cells.

9. PC inmates may obtain two legal books a day. This is done by filling out request slips to the facility law library.

10. PC inmates do not go to the law library, or meet with inmate law clerks. Photocopying is available, and inmates can make written requests to the law clerks for assistance.

11. PC has no congregate religious services. Inmates can make requests to meet with religious advisors; such meetings usually occur at the inmate's cell.

12. PC inmates are taken to the facility commissary every two weeks. They receive the same commissary privileges as general population inmates.

13. PC inmates are allowed daily visitation and participation in the family reunion program.

14. Employment for PC inmates consists of roughly half a dozen porter positions, one art instructor, one barber, one inmate tutor, and an inmate librarian.

From this point on, the court will address the facts which relate to each particular claim in the discussion which relates to that claim. In general, the court observes — and as the stipulation recited above illustrates—there was little dispute at trial regarding the conditions under which plaintiffs reside in Clinton PC. At the core of many of the disputes in the present action is a debate regarding the manner in which the resources available to the Clinton Correctional Facility should be allocated. Plaintiffs implicitly contend that they suffer to benefit other inmates at Clinton.

II. CONDITIONS AT CLINTON PC; EQUAL PROTECTION.

A facially appealing argument raised by plaintiffs at trial relates to denial of equal protection under the law. U.S. Const., amend. XIV. Plaintiffs contrasted their situation with those of inmates in other PC units in the state and with inmates in special programs at Clinton itself. Plaintiffs pointed to discrepancies and claimed that the corrections officials have no rational basis for continuing the discrepancies. At trial, the court received the distinct impression that PC inmates feel as though they are second class citizens. Certainly, plaintiffs' griping is well-founded in fact; the question is whether the disparity of treatment is unjustified, or rises to a level for which the court should order remedial action.

The protective custody unit at Clinton functions to protect inmates who cannot remain in the general prison population.⁶ Inmates housed in PC run the gamut from victims to the victimizers. Consequently, it is not surprising that some of the inmates at Clinton PC are placed in protective custody even though they do not request the placement. These inmates reside in, what is referred to as, Involuntary Protective Custody ("IPC"). Inmates are only transferred to IPC following a due process hearing.

As the stipulation recited above indicates, plaintiffs spend much time in their cells. They are accorded two hours of recreational time in the E Block yard, a yard which is only accessible through E Block. Meals are served to plaintiffs in their cells. They have no out-of-cell formal programming. For instance, plaintiffs have an in-cell study program, but not an out-of-cell study program. Plaintiffs may not leave E Block to participate in congregate religious services. PC inmates do not have access to a law library. They may order books from the facility's law library, but may only order two books a day. PC inmates may not order Shepards.

PC inmates are given certain privileges. They may visit the prison commissary twice a month. They can shower two or three times a week; naturally, that is outside the cell block. Furthermore, they may use prison telephones daily and have unlimited contact visits. PC inmates may view a TV in their yard when they are exercising in the yard. The yard also houses what might best be described as a book and game shack. Books are rotated in and out of the shack every two months. Games such as chess and checkers are kept there, as well as two baseball mitts, a football, a softball, and a basketball.

By way of contrast to the conditions of confinement in Clinton PC, plaintiffs (and defendants) introduced evidence regarding other specialized programs at Clinton. Clinton houses a program, state-wide in scope, known as the Assessment Program Preparedness Unit ("APPU"). APPU in many ways is similar in its goals to PC. In fact, one purpose of the APPU program is to provide an alternative to PC. In essence, APPU takes victim-prone inmates and attempts to prepare them for return to general prison population. APPU inmates may attend congregate religious services. APPU facilities and programs include a vocational handicraft shop, a general drafting shop, therapy sessions, counseling sessions, a small law library, and a number of educational services ranging from basic adult education to high school equivalency. Inmates who are enrolled in APPU may use the mess hall and the gym.

The testimony of William Burke, Supervisor of APPU, revealed that there is a waiting list of inmates who wish to participate in the APPU program. Furthermore, Burke...