Haff v. Cooke

Decision Date12 April 1996
Docket NumberCiv. A. No. 94-C-0332.
Citation923 F. Supp. 1104
PartiesWayne R. HAFF, Plaintiff, v. Marianne A. COOKE, Captain S. Haferman, Jeff Jaeger, and Scott Galligan, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin

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David P. Honan, Soffa & Devitt, Whitewater, WI, for Plaintiff.

David E. Hoel, Assistant Attorney General, Madison, WI, for defendants.

DECISION AND ORDER

REYNOLDS, District Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Lawyers are supposed to winnow and sift. When faced with a mass of facts, the attorney must locate the critical facts, develop the best claims or defenses, and then argue the theory to the judge or jury. Instead of the winnow and sift approach, both sides in this case have adopted the kitchen sink approach: no fact is too minute and no legal theory is too tenuous for submission to the court. At the same time, the parties have often ignored the legal background in which they argue their claims.1

As a result of the litigation strategies, the court has a summary judgment record that stands almost six inches high (excluding the exhibits of seized documents) with little organization. In reality, the case is quite simple. In December 1993, guards at the Kettle Moraine Correction Institution ("KMCI") seized Haff's Aryan Nation material. Captain Haferman reviewed the material and investigated Haff's activity, suspecting that Haff was recruiting for a white supremacist gang. The following March, Haff contacted a lawyer to help him get his seized materials returned. That day, Haff was placed in temporary lockup. Haferman issued a conduct report, and Haff was found guilty after a hearing. Haff lost good time credit and was placed in segregation. Mr. Haff alleges that Captain Haferman retaliated against him either for his Aryan Nation beliefs or for his decision to call a lawyer.

Rather than rest on this allegation, Haff argues that almost every action KMCI officials took between December 1993 and April 1994 violated the Constitution, claims which mostly clutter the case. Haff's claim that the seizure of his Aryan Nation materials violates the Religious Freedom Restitution Act ("RFRA") and the First Amendment, his claim that he was denied due process in his disciplinary hearing, his claim that being placed in temporary lockup violated due process, his claim that he was denied access to his counsel, and his claim that failing to receive notice of undelivered mail violated due process, all fail to survive summary judgment.

The court grants summary judgment on all claims except the retaliation claim. Further, the court grants defendant Haferman thirty days to file a motion and brief for summary judgment on the retaliation claim.

Although a court must tolerate acrimony between the parties, the parties do not have a license to monopolize the court's time or resources. At some point, the parties' excessive filings close the courthouse to other litigants who have legitimate disputes.

FACTS

While Haff's story begins and ends with the Columbia Correctional Institution ("CCI") (a maximum security prison), it takes place primarily in the KMCI and includes a digression into the relatively obscure religion known as Identity Christianity. For this decision, the court will assume, without deciding, that Identity Christianity is a religion.2 Haff was a prisoner in the Columbia Correctional Institution, serving a sentence for First Degree Sexual Assault. There, he practiced his religion: Church of Jesus Christ Christian, Aryan Nation ("CJCC"). Haff asserts that the Aryan Nation, like other Identity Christian groups, believes that the pre-Christian Angles, Saxons, Celts and Teutonic tribes were the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel. Based on that principle, Identity Christians believe that whites, as the descendants of the lost tribes, must remain racially pure. Some sects also espouse anti-black and anti-Semitic hatred.

In 1991, CCI officials seized some of Haff's materials, fearing that they were a threat to security. Later the warden allowed Haff to have his materials. (Haff Supp.Aff. ¶ 12.) On November 12, 1993, the Department of Corrections ("D.O.C.") transferred Haff to KMCI, a medium security facility. At the check-in, guards examined all the material that would eventually be confiscated; however, no one seized any of the material. (Id. ¶¶ 15-17.)

After Haff found out that Duane Hutter and Steven Isbel, two of Haff's dorm mates, were also Identity Christians, (Id. ¶ 22), the three decided to form an Identity Christian group. (Haff. Reply Aff.Ex. 1.) Haff began researching the procedures for obtaining approval for an Identity Christian group. Hutter, Isbel, and Haff met regularly to discuss their application. (Haff Supp. Aff. ¶ 2(b); Haff Reply Aff. ¶ 2(b).) The three never practiced their religion during these meetings or at any other group meeting. At no time did Haff try to recruit other inmates into his religion or into a prison gang. None of the meetings affected prison security or caused any disturbances among the participants or between the participants and either prison officials or other inmates. (Haff Supp.Aff. ¶ 32.)

Haff's troubles began on December 8, 1993, when incident 083378 occurred. Several inmates told Officer Galligan that Haff was recruiting people for the Aryan Brotherhood (a gang unrelated to the Aryan Nation). Because Galligan believed that Haff may have been engaged in unauthorized group or gang activity, he filed a conduct report. (Galligan Aff. ¶ 9.) Despite acting on the inmates' information, Galligan's report omitted the names of the inmates who told him about Haff's recruitment. (Defs.' Answer to Interrog. 5.) Galligan did report that Haff used a red, three-ring binder in trying to recruit the inmates. (Haferman Aff.Ex. C.)

As a result of Galligan's report, Officer Immel searched Haff's cell and possessions. Immel found four pamphlets, two letters, and three papers with the SS insignia. Immel also found a 3-ring binder entitled "Heraldry of the Aryan Nations Standards." Immel seized the material and, without examining it himself, gave it to Captain Haferman for review. (Haferman Aff.Ex. D.) Haferman decided to investigate whether Haff was violating prison rules. (Id. ¶ 16.) After the seizure, Haff talked with Lieutenant Schwandt, who had worked at CCI and knew that CCI had allowed the material. Lieutenant Schwandt told Haff that she would pass along that information to Haferman. (Haff Supp.Aff. ¶ 40.)

As part of his investigation, Haferman reviewed the disruptive group files and reviewed Haff's prison records. Haff had a prior disciplinary action for recruitment that occurred on October 2, 1991. (Haferman Aff. ¶ 9.) Haff had written anti-Semitic letters that referred to Hitler and the Aryan Nation. Haff wrote "I'm sick of this fucking Zion conspiracy," "fucking zionswine ways of life," and "jew boy." Haff gave addresses for receiving Aryan Nation literature. One of the letters was signed with a swastika and an SS symbol. (Id. Ex. B.)

Although Haferman took no statements from any inmate and relied on no information provided by other inmates, (Defs.' Answer to Interrog. 5.), he periodically observed Haff meeting with Hutter and Isbel in the library. (Haferman Supp.Aff. ¶ 12.) While Haferman was viewing one of these meetings on December 12, 1993, Haff approached Haferman and asked whether the review of his materials had been completed. Haferman told Haff that the material would not be returned because they were "Aryan Brotherhood." Haff said that the materials were Aryan Nation not Aryan Brotherhood. Haferman said "I don't care, not in this prison!" (Haff.Supp.Aff. ¶ 44(c).) Haff referred Haferman to an Iowa case, Nichols v. Nix, 810 F.Supp. 1448 (S.D.Iowa 1993), arguing that the case required the prison to allow Haff to keep the materials. Id. Haferman responded, "I don't care what the federal court says, case closed." Id. The library meetings continued at least through January 1993. Haff claimed that he and his compatriots were researching how to make a request to have a group recognized.

In January, both Haff and Haferman raised the stakes. Early in the month, Haff met with Chaplain Zoschke who said he would forward the request to start a Christian Identity group (otherwise known as Church of Jesus Christ Christian). (Haff.Supp.Aff. ¶ 30.) Whether or not Zoschke forwarded the request, Warden Cooke says she never received it.

On January 27th, Haferman told Lt. Schwandt to place a "G" on Haff's identification card to show that Haff's gang affiliation. Lt. Schwandt completed the "Disruptive Group Criteria/Validation Worksheet." In that worksheet, she listed Haff's affiliation as Aryan Brotherhood. The rest of the sheet is blank except for one criterion: written documentation. Under that category, Schwandt wrote that Haff had Aryan Nation documents.

The next day, Haff filed a complaint (KMCI 0152-94) asking for his material back because Haff feared that KMCI would destroy it. Investigator Jaeger handled the complaint. Jaeger had no authority to grant the request; he could only make a recommendation to the warden. (Jaeger Aff.Ex. S.)3 Haff also gave Jaeger a copy of Nichols v. Nix. At the end of the month, Haff sent a letter to Warden Cooke and the Secretary of the Department of Corrections, requesting recognition of his religious group. (Haff. Reply Aff. ¶ 2(a).) Although Warden Cooke said she never received the letter, (Cooke Supp.Aff. ¶ 3), the Secretary of the D.O.C. did.

In February, Haff's fortunes took a turn for the worse. First, Jaeger recommended dismissing complaints KMCI 0152-4 and 00214-94 because the material was Aryan Brotherhood and gang related. (Jaeger Aff. ¶ 6 and Ex. T.). After reviewing the recommendation, Warden Marianne Cooke accepted Jaeger's recommendations and dismissed the complaints on February 14, 1994. (Cooke Aff. ¶¶ 6 and 7.)

Then, on February 28th, as Haff was returning from prison...

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