Hallett v. Morgan
| Decision Date | 26 April 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-35098.,00-35098. |
| Citation | 296 F.3d 732 |
| Parties | Shannon HALLETT; Yvonne Wood; Gail Ray; Cindy Stewart; Rena Skilton, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Donna MORGAN, Health Care Manager, in her official and individual capacities, and Belinda Stewart, Superintendent, Washington Corrections Center for Women, in her official capacity, and their officers, agents, employees, and successors; and Alice Payne, in her individual capacity, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Patricia J. Arthur, Columbia Legal Services, Seattle, WA, for the plaintiffs-appellants.
Carol A. Murphy and Wm. Andrew Myers, Assistant Attorneys General, Olympia, WA, for the defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington; Franklin D. Burgess, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-93-05496-FDB.
Before: THOMAS, GRABER, and GOULD, Circuit Judges.
The opinion filed April 26, 2002, is amended as follows:
On slip opinion page 6360 , delete:
3. Permissible Sanctions on Remand
On remand, the district court may conclude that Defendants substantially complied with the medical services provisions of the Judgment at all times relevant to this action.10 However, should the court hold otherwise, it may order only retrospective relief. That is because the consent decree that is the subject of Plaintiffs' contempt motion expired on January 5, 2000, and is no longer in effect. See Imprisoned Citizens Union v. Ridge, 169 F.3d 178, 190 (3d Cir.1999) ().
10. Because the district court twice extended its jurisdiction over the Judgment, the medical services provisions were in effect until January 5, 2000, the date on which the court's final judgment was entered.
With this amendment, the panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc.
The full court has been advised of the petition for rehearing en banc and no judge of the court has requested a vote on it.
The petition for rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc are DENIED.
Plaintiffs, who are a class of prisoners at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (the Prison), brought this action in 1993 to challenge conditions of their confinement. Defendants, who are current and former prison officials, entered into a consent decree with Plaintiffs governing the quality and availability of medical, dental, and mental health services at the Prison. Under the terms of the parties' agreement, the decree was to expire on January 12, 1999, unless timely extended. In 1998, Plaintiffs moved to extend jurisdiction over the consent decree for an additional period of time. Plaintiffs also moved, twice, to have Defendants held in contempt for past violations of the consent decree and moved to compel discovery. The district court denied all of Plaintiffs' motions, and it granted a motion brought by Defendants to terminate the consent decree.
We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we hold: (a) The district court properly limited the scope of the evidentiary hearing to the dental and mental health provisions of the consent decree, because Plaintiffs failed to give timely notice of their intent to seek extension of any other provisions. (b) The prospective-relief provisions of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3626, apply to Plaintiffs' motion to extend the decree. (c) Based on the district court's findings of fact, which are not clearly erroneous, the conditions of confinement at the Prison do not violate the Eighth Amendment and, therefore, the PLRA mandates that the motion to extend the decree be denied. (d) In light of this ruling, Defendants' motion to terminate the consent decree is moot. (e) In response to Plaintiffs' first contempt motion, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Defendants had substantially complied with the dental and mental health provisions of the consent decree. However, the court improperly declined to consider whether Defendants had substantially complied with the other health care provisions, because the entire consent decree was still in effect when Plaintiffs filed their motion.1 (f) Plaintiffs are not entitled to a reversal based on the district court's denial of their discovery motion, because they suffered no prejudice.
This appeal represents the culmination of a long sequence of disputes and compromises between the parties. Plaintiffs filed this class action in 1993, alleging that health care at the Prison violated the Eighth Amendment. On January 12, 1995, the district court approved the parties' Stipulation and Judgment (Judgment), which resolved Plaintiffs' claims and required Defendants to implement a number of changes in the Prison's health care policies. The parties also agreed to a system of independent monitoring. Under the terms of the Judgment, the district court's jurisdiction was to terminate automatically on January 12, 1999. However, the Judgment also contained a procedure for extending the court's jurisdiction beyond that date.
As the expiration date of the Judgment approached, Plaintiffs sought to extend it for an additional four years. They alleged that Defendants had not substantially complied with the Judgment with respect to medical, dental, and mental health services. Defendants responded by arguing that Plaintiffs had not complied with the notice provisions of the Judgment and that any extension of the district court's jurisdiction would violate the prospective-relief provisions of the PLRA.
The district court provisionally changed the expiration date of the Judgment to February 12, 1999, anticipating that this extension would give the court enough time to review the merits of Plaintiffs' motion to extend jurisdiction. When it became apparent that more time was necessary, the court again extended jurisdiction over the Judgment until it could enter a final order resolving the parties' dispute.
On February 11, 1999, the district court granted Plaintiffs' motion for an evidentiary hearing, but it also held that the prospective-relief provisions of the PLRA would apply. The same day, Defendants filed a motion in the alternative for an order terminating the Judgment pursuant to § 3626(b) of the PLRA. Plaintiffs responded on February 22, 1999, with a motion for contempt alleging that Defendants had failed to substantially comply with the terms of the Judgment.
The court held a two-week evidentiary hearing on Plaintiffs' motion to extend jurisdiction. Because it found that Plaintiffs had complied with the Judgment's notice requirements only with respect to mental health and dental services, the court limited the scope of the hearing to those topics.
After weighing the voluminous record and the testimony offered at the hearing, the court concluded that Plaintiffs were not entitled to an extension of the Judgment. It held that Plaintiffs had not demonstrated that the quality and availability of mental health and dental care services at the Prison fell below Eighth Amendment standards and that, therefore, the prospective-relief provisions of the PLRA barred the court from granting Plaintiffs' motion. The court also denied Plaintiffs' motion for contempt and their motion to compel discovery. Finally, the court granted Defendants' motion to terminate the Judgment pursuant to § 3626(b) of the PLRA.
Plaintiffs filed a timely notice of appeal and a motion for injunctive relief. We granted the motion and issued an order reinstating the Judgment pending resolution of this appeal.
Plaintiffs then filed a second motion for contempt. The district court held that, pursuant to the orders issued by this court, it lacked jurisdiction to entertain Plaintiffs' motion.
The terms of the Judgment govern the timeliness of motions to extend the district court's jurisdiction. The proper scope of the evidentiary hearing on extension is therefore a question of law to be reviewed de novo. Gates v. Gomez, 60 F.3d 525, 530 (9th Cir.1995). However, we must also "`give deference to the district court's interpretation[of the Judgment] based on the court's extensive oversight of the decree from the commencement of the litigation to the current appeal.'" Id. (quoting Officers for Justice v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 934 F.2d 1092, 1094 (9th Cir.1991)). That principle applies here, where the same judge has overseen this litigation since 1994.
Under the terms of the Judgment, the district court's continuing jurisdiction was to expire on January 12, 1999, unless extended in the manner established by the Judgment itself:
This Court has continuing jurisdiction to enforce the terms of this Stipulation and Judgment for four years following the date of its entry by this Court. Except as provided below, at the conclusion of this period the Court's jurisdiction shall terminate, this Stipulation and Judgment shall be vacated, and this case shall be dismissed.
As noted, the date of entry of the Judgment was January 12, 1995. The procedure for extending the court's jurisdiction was specific:
1. By no later than three years following the date of entry of this Stipulation and Judgment, Plaintiffs shall serve upon Defendants written notice of their intent to seek an extension; and
2. In the written notice described in paragraph (1) above, Plaintiffs shall identify with particularity the areas in which they allege Defendants have not substantially complied with the conditions of this Stipulation and Judgment[.]
Thus, Plaintiffs had...
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