Hamm v. DeKalb County

• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
• Writing for the Court: Before RONEY and HILL; PITTMAN
• Citation: Hamm v. DeKalb County, 774 F.2d 1567 (11th Cir. 1985)
• Decision Date: 04 November 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-8783,84-8783
• Parties: George HAMM, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DeKALB COUNTY, and Pat Jarvis, Sheriff, Defendants-Appellees.

Page 1567

774 F.2d 1567

George HAMM, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. DeKALB COUNTY, and Pat Jarvis, Sheriff, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 84-8783.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

Nov. 4, 1985.

Stephen E. O'Day, M. Lee Cheney, Penelope B. Rundle, Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff-appellant.

George P. Dillard, Decatur, Ga., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before RONEY and HILL, Circuit Judges, and PITTMAN ^*, District Judge.

PITTMAN, District Judge:

The plaintiff-appellant George Hamm (Hamm) brought this action against defendants-appellees DeKalb County (County) and Pat Jarvis, Sheriff of DeKalb County (Sheriff), seeking damages for the allegedly unconstitutional conditions existing at the DeKalb County Jail during his incarceration there. He alleged that the jail was overcrowded, that the conditions were unsanitary, that the food service was unsanitary, and that the medical care was inadequate. A partial summary judgment was granted to the County. There followed a nonjury trial on the remaining issues. The district court found no constitutional deprivation and entered judgment in favor of both defendants. On appeal, Hamm contends that the district court applied incorrect rules of law to the merits of his claims, that its finding that he suffered no actual injury was clearly erroneous, that it erred in granting a partial summary judgment in favor of the County, and that it should have entered a default judgment against the Sheriff. Because this court finds no prejudicial error in the district court's decisions, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Hamm was incarcerated in the DeKalb County Jail for various periods during 1979 through 1982. The parties agree that the periods of incarceration pertinent to this appeal are February 11, 1980 to April 14, 1980 and September 23, 1980 to May 20, 1981. These periods of incarceration include periods both before and after Hamm's conviction.

The County provides funding for the jail and is involved in establishing the general policies, practices, and procedures under which the jail operates. The jail is supervised by the Sheriff and the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners. They set the general policies, practices, and procedures which were responsible for the conditions present at the jail during Hamm's incarceration, excepting Hamm's claims as to medical treatment.

During Hamm's incarceration there, the jail's population at times exceeded the facility's design capacity. As a result of the overpopulation, at times Hamm slept on an eating table or on a mattress placed on the floor. Often the floor and the linens provided were unsanitary.

The district court found that the food occasionally contained foreign objects and that the jail often failed to meet Georgia Department of Human Resources Food Preparation Standards. It nonetheless found that the jail met the inmates' nutritional needs by serving three meals a day, consisting of a total of 2,600 calories. It also found that the food service did not cause Hamm to become seriously ill.

Hamm also alleged that he received inadequate medical care while at the jail. He testified that although he signed the sick call list on numerous occasions in an effort to see a physician concerning various health problems, he never saw a doctor other than a psychiatrist. Other evidence indicates that he saw a doctor on at least one occasion. After signing the sick call list, Hamm ordinarily either saw a nurse or was sent unidentified medication by the nurse. He often received aspirin or medication containing aspirin even though he claims he had advised jail officials that he was allergic to aspirin. Hamm also testified that he became afflicted with a rash while incarcerated at the jail and that he was unable to obtain appropriate medical treatment of the rash.

Hamm claims he suffered from schizophrenia prior to his incarceration, and he continued to experience schizophrenia while in the County jail. He testified that before his incarceration he saw a psychiatrist once or twice a year, took thorazine and mellaril as prescribed by the psychiatrist, and attended group therapy. He testified that he saw a psychiatrist about nine days after entering the County jail and about every four months after that. The record shows that the County provided for a psychiatrist to visit the jail once a week to interview patients and potential patients as he deemed necessary. This visiting psychiatrist continued prescribed medications similar to that Hamm had taken prior to his incarceration. Hamm alleged that the conditions at the County jail aggravated his mental problems and caused him to suffer a mental breakdown.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Hamm filed this action against the County alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated as a result of the totality of the conditions at the County jail, including the overcrowding, the unsanitary manner in which the food was served, and the inadequacy of the medical care he received. He filed the suit pro se and in forma pauperis and sought damages under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. Hamm subsequently sought leave to amend his complaint to add Sheriff Jarvis as a defendant. His motion was granted, and the complaint was amended. After he failed properly to serve the complaint on the Sheriff, Hamm requested and received court appointed counsel. On October 25, 1982, Hamm's counsel served the Sheriff with several documents.

After the Sheriff failed to file responsive pleadings, Hamm on April 4, 1983 filed a motion for default judgment against the Sheriff. The Sheriff on April 21, 1983 responded to the motion, noting that he had not been served with a complaint. He also filed on that date a motion for leave to file defensive pleadings, attaching his answer and response to that motion. In an order dated June 8, 1983, the district court denied Hamm's motion for default judgment, granted the Sheriff's motion to file defensive pleadings, and gave the Sheriff fifteen days in which to respond to the complaint. The Sheriff did not file an additional response in order to comply with the court's order, and Hamm on September 9, 1983 filed a second motion for default judgment. The Sheriff filed a response to the motion noting that responsive pleadings had been attached to the motions he filed April 21, 1983. The district court denied the motion for default judgment and held that the pleadings filed April 21, 1983 constituted compliance with the court's order of June 8, 1983.

The district court then granted summary judgment in favor of the County on Hamm's medical care claims. In a lengthy discussion of the medical care Hamm received at the jail, the court implied that any deficiency in Hamm's medical treatment did not rise to constitutional proportions. Nonetheless, the court rested its grant of summary judgment on this issue on the absence of an official policy or custom through which the county might be liable for Hamm's grievances. See Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2037, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1977). The court denied the County's motion for summary judgment as it pertained to the issues of overcrowding and the adequacy of the jail's food service.

The case then went to trial with the claim of inadequate medical care pending against the Sheriff alone and the claims of overcrowding and inadequate food service pending against both the Sheriff and the County. Following a nonjury trial, the district court found from the bench and without written findings that Hamm failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the Sheriff was deliberately indifferent to Hamm's serious medical needs. The court subsequently entered written findings and conclusions on the other claims. It found that the jail population did exceed the jail's design capacity and that the jail's food service practices were somewhat deficient. The court found, however, that Hamm did not suffer any injury or illness as a result of these conditions. The court specifically found that the conditions at the jail "did not seriously aggravate the physical and mental problems [Hamm] suffered before being incarcerated." Hamm v. DeKalb County, Civil Action No. C81-1415A, slip op. at 3 (N.D.Ga. July 31, 1984). The court thus concluded that Hamm was not deprived of any constitutional rights and thus was not entitled to an award of damages under Sec. 1983. Hamm appealed.

III. ISSUES ON APPEAL

Hamm actually raises five issues on appeal, three of which concern the district court's ruling on the merits of the claims that were tried. First, he contends that the district court erred by failing to consider in combination the jail's overcrowding, its unsanitary food service, and its inadequate medical care to determine whether the totality of the conditions amounted to a constitutional deprivation. Second, he contends that the court erred in holding that proof of actual injury is a prerequisite to recovery under Sec. 1983. Third, even if proof of actual injury is required, Hamm argues, actual injury was shown, and the district court's finding to the contrary was clearly erroneous. The fourth issue raised by Hamm is whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the County on his medical care claims. Last, he contends that the district court abused its discretion when it denied his motions for default judgment against the Sheriff.

A. Conditions of Confinement

1. What Standard Applies?

In order to assess Hamm's contention that the district court erred in its evaluation of the conditions imposed on him at the County jail, this court must determine the proper constitutional standards to apply to those conditions. Although the Constitution does not and the court cannot dictate the general conditions that should exist in jails and prisons, the Constitution does require conditions of confinement...