Harris v. Bowser
| Decision Date | 27 March 2019 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 18-cv-768 (CKK) |
| Citation | 369 F.Supp.3d 93 |
| Parties | Warren HARRIS, Plaintiff v. Muriel E. BOWSER, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Geraldine E. Edens, Richard G.S. Lee, Vineeta Prakash Kamath, Christian John Mixter, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, Thomas Harman, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.
Michael A. Tilghman, Office of Attorney General, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
This suit arises from Plaintiff Warren Harris's request for relief on his alleged claims of: (1) unreasonable seizure in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution (Count I); deprivation of fundamental rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fifth Amendment (Count II); and deprivation of right to liberty without due process of law in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Fifth Amendment. Defendants in this case: (1) Muriel Bowser, in her official capacity as the Mayor of the District of Columbia ("the District"); (2) Tanya Royster, in her official capacity as the Director of the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health ("DBH"); (3) Mark Chastang, in his official capacity as Chief Executive Officer of St. Elizabeths Hospital ("St. Elizabeths"); and (4) Quincy L. Booth, in his official capacity as Director of the D.C. Department of Corrections ("DOC") have filed a [9] Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's [1] Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief and for Compensatory Damages, in its entirety.1 For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Plaintiff's claim for unreasonable seizure pursuant to the Fourth Amendment (Count I) is dismissed, while Plaintiff's claims for deprivation of his rights pursuant to the Fifth Amendment (Counts II and III) remain standing. Furthermore, Plaintiff has standing to seek injunctive relief, and the District of Columbia need not be substituted for the Defendants in this matter. A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
On September 22, 1981, Plaintiff Warren Harris ("Plaintiff" or "Mr. Harris") was "committed into the custody of St. Elizabeths Hospital pursuant to Title 24, Section 301(d)(1) of the District of Columbia Code [now D.C. Code §§ 24-501 (d)(1) ] until such time as (he) is ordered released," after being found guilty by reason of insanity on a misdemeanor charge of Possession of a Prohibited Weapon. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 2, 44; June 22, 2016 Consent Order for Limited Conditional Release ("June 22, 2016 Consent Order"), ECF No. 9-1, at 1. On that same date, Plaintiff pleaded guilty to a charge of Manslaughter While Armed, for which he was sentenced to a period of incarceration of 7 ½ to 25 years, of which he served 10 years. June 22, 2016 Consent Order, ECF No. 9-1, at 1. For most of the subsequent 36 years, Mr. Harris "receiv[ed] either inpatient care while residing within St. Elizabeths or outpatient care while living in the community[.]" Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 8. Plaintiff notes his classification as a "forensic" patient, which is terminology used by St. Elizabeths when an individual is "being treated by a mental health services facility for reasons related to his involvement in the criminal justice system." Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 9.
Mr. Harris has been granted several conditional releases since his commitment began, and he was returned to inpatient care most recently on October 15, 2014, following his conviction for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance (Cocaine) and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and his sentence of 36 months' incarceration, which was to be served in a facility operated by the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") and followed by five years of supervised release. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 46-50; June 22, 2016 Consent Order, ECF No. 9-1, at 1. Mr. Harris was "subsequently conditionally released pursuant to an order issued by Chief Judge Robert Morin of the D.C. Superior Court, on May 3, 2017, finding that Mr. Harris will not, in the reasonably foreseeable future, present a danger to himself or others because of mental illness if conditionally released[.]" Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 8; May 3, 2017 Consent Order for Conditional Release ("May 3 2017 Consent Order"), ECF No. 11-1, at 2.
Plaintiff filed his Complaint on April 4, 2018. Plaintiff's Complaint indicates that, on January 17, 2017, St. Elizabeths recommended that the Superior Court issue an order conditionally releasing Plaintiff to live in the community, on the basis that he would not pose a danger if released. Compl., ECF No.1, ¶¶ 3, 55. The D.C. Superior Court scheduled a hearing for April 5, 2017, to consider that recommendation. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 3, 56. On April 5, 2017, the DOC picked up Plaintiff at St. Elizabeths and transported him to and from the D.C. Superior Court. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 4, 61. Plaintiff alleges that "the DOC removed [his] shoelaces and belt and subjected him to five-point restraints" before he rode in a van "with Class "A" patients, seated on a bench facing a metal screen dividing male and female patients," and when he arrived at the Courthouse, he was "placed in a holding cell." Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 4, 63-65.2 Furthermore, "Mr. Harris' restraints remained in place and his belt and shoelaces were not provided to him" even when "appearing in court." Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 66. At that hearing, the court granted the Government's request for continuance and scheduled another appearance for May 3, 2017. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 68. Mr. Harris, through counsel, complained about the April 5, 2017 transport and requested that St. Elizabeths transport him to his May 3, 2017 hearing, but that request was denied. Compl, ECF No. 1, ¶ 69. Mr. Harris was conditionally released from St. Elizabeths on May 3, 2017. Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 8.
Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants in this case — the District, DBH, St. Elizabeths, and DOC — "subject[ ] patients under the care and custody of St. Elizabeths to unwarranted and unconstitutional restraint when transporting patients to and from St. Elizabeths and D. C. Superior Court to attend court hearings about the status of their commitment at St. Elizabeths." Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 1. In Count I, Plaintiff alleges that the practice whereby forensic patients are placed in restraints during transport and put in a holding cell while awaiting a court hearing constitutes "an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment[.]" Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 91. In Count II, Plaintiff alleges that the way in which he was transported by the DOC to and from the D.C. Superior Court, on April 5, 2017, and placed in a holding cell "violat[ed] [ ] his Fifth Amendment right to adequate medical care and to be free of unwarranted bodily restraint." Compl, ECF No. 1, ¶ 109. In Count III, Plaintiff alleges that the way in which he was transported by DOC to and from the D.C. Superior Court, on April 5, 2017, "constitute[s] a deprivation of liberty without due process of law in violation of the Fifth Amendment[.]" Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 117. Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief because he "remains subject to being returned to St. Elizabeths for mandatory treatment and has no other adequate remedy to prevent future injury ... "Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 92, 109, 118.
A court must dismiss a case pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(1) when it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. In determining whether there is jurisdiction, the Court may "consider the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court's resolution of disputed facts." Coalition for Underground Expansion v. Mineta , 333 F.3d 193, 198 (D.C. Cir. 2003) (citations omitted); see also Jerome Stevens Pharm., Inc. v. Food & Drug Admin. , 402 F.3d 1249, 1253 (D.C. Cir. 2005) ()
In reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), courts must accept as true all factual allegations in the complaint and construe the complaint liberally, granting plaintiff the benefit of all inferences that can be drawn from the facts alleged. See Leatherman v. Tarrant Cty. Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit , 507 U.S. 163, 164, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993) ; Koutny v. Martin , 530 F.Supp.2d 84, 87 (D.D.C. 2007) () (internal citations omitted). Despite the favorable inferences that a plaintiff receives on a motion to dismiss, it remains the plaintiff's burden to prove subject matter jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence. Am. Farm Bureau v. United States Envtl. Prot. Agency , 121 F.Supp.2d 84, 90 (D.D.C. 2000). "Although a court must accept as true all factual allegations contained in the complaint when reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), [a] plaintiff['s] factual allegations in the complaint... will bear closer scrutiny in resolving a 12(b)(1) motion than in resolving a 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim." Wright v. Foreign Serv. Grievance Bd. , 503 F.Supp.2d 163, 170 (D.D.C. 2007) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted), aff'd. , 2008 WL 4068606 (D.C. Cir. Mar. 17, 2008). A court need not accept as true "a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation" or an inference "unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint." Trudeau v. Fed. Trade Comm'n , 456 F.3d 178, 193 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (quoting Papasan v. Allain , 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986) ).
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