Hassine v. Jeffes

• Decision Date: 29 April 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-1369,87-1369
• Citation: 846 F.2d 169
• Parties: HASSINE, Victor, Fox, Aaron, Johnson, David, Appellants, v. JEFFES, Glenn, Commissioner of Corrections, Zimmerman, Charles, Superintendent of Graterford Prison, Stachelek, Thomas, Deputy Superintendent of Treatment, Vaughn, Donald, Deputy Superintendent of Security, Individually and in their official capacities.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 169

846 F.2d 169

10 Fed.R.Serv.3d 1380

HASSINE, Victor, Fox, Aaron, Johnson, David, Appellants, v. JEFFES, Glenn, Commissioner of Corrections, Zimmerman Charles, Superintendent of Graterford Prison, Stachelek Thomas, Deputy Superintendent of Treatment, Vaughn, Donald Deputy Superintendent of Security, Individually and in their official capacities.

No. 87-1369.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Dec. 3, 1987.

Decided April 29, 1988.

Angus R. Love (argued), Montgomery County Legal Aid, Norristown, Pa., for appellants.

David M. Donaldson (argued), Sr. Deputy Atty. Gen., Philadelphia, Pa., for appellees.

Before WEIS ^*, HIGGINBOTHAM and ROSENN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

A. LEON HIGGINBOTHAM, Jr., Circuit Judge.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the district court in an action, brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1983 and 1985 (1982), challenging the conditions of confinement at the State Correctional Institute at Graterford, Pennsylvania ("Graterford" or "the prison"). The district court found that the conditions at the prison did not result in a deprivation of basic needs in violation of the eighth amendment's proscription of cruel and unusual punishment. The district court, however, limited the scope of its factual findings to the individual claims of the plaintiff-appellants. It circumscribed its inquiry in this manner because it previously had determined that because the plaintiff-appellants had failed to satisfy the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23, certification of their suit as a class action was unwarranted. Accordingly, the district court did not adjudicate claims that the plaintiff-appellants had sought to raise on behalf of the class of Graterford inmates.

We will not disturb the district court's findings with regard to the individual claims of the appellants. We will, however, vacate its order denying appellants' motion for class certification. In our view, the appellants have demonstrated that the claims asserted on behalf of the class meet the requisites of Rule 23 and, for that reason, they are entitled to adjudication of those contentions. We therefore will remand this matter to the district court for entry of an order granting the motion for class certification, and adjudication of the class's claims.

I.

Appellants Victor Hassine, David Johnson and Aaron Fox ("the complainants") are inmates at Graterford prison. In February 1984, they filed an action against Glen Jeffes, Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Charles Zimmerman, Superintendent of Graterford, Thomas Stachelek, Deputy Superintendent at Graterford in charge of treatment services, and Donald Vaughn, Deputy Superintendent at Graterford in charge of security (collectively "Graterford Administration" or "the Administration").

The complainants sought relief from the deteriorated conditions at Graterford, which they attributed substantially to overcrowding at the facility. They asserted, without contravention, that in the five-year period between their arrivals at Graterford and the start of the trial on these complaints, there was a 63% increase in the prison's population. As the result of this increase, Graterford--which was built in 1933 and designed to accommodate 2,000 inmates--had an inmate population of 2,563. That population exceeded the facility's maximum design capacity by more than 25%. See Appendix to Appellants' Brief (Appellants' App.) at 287 (testimony of Deputy Superintendent Vaughn). The complainants asserted that, as the result of the overcrowding, inmates were subject to "double-bunking" for indeterminate durations, in cells that were designed for single occupancy, and that the close proximity of inmates that resulted from the overcrowding caused an increase in the occurrences of rapes and other violent assaults among the population. They noted that the increase in the Graterford population was not accompanied by any growth in the size of the staff and asserted that a significant lapse in security has been the result. Moreover, they asserted that the problems of inmate unrest and violence were aggravated by the fact that the Graterford staff was not adequately diverse and, as a result, not sufficiently sensitive to the circumstances of the inmates. They noted that while 80% of the inmate population at Graterford was black, only approximately 20% of the staff was black.

The complainants made further allegations regarding the condition of Graterford's physical plant. They complained that the facility's roof leaked and caused water seepage into the cells, flooding and persistent dampness. Further, they contended that the cells were improperly ventilated and that many of them had windows or transoms that were completely inoperable. They asserted that the combination of the dampness and the poor ventilation presented a significant health risk to the inmates because these conditions generated the growth of mold and bacteria that cause a variety of infectious illnesses. Appellants' App. at 538-40 (testimony of Dr. Robert Powitz).

The complainants charged that the aggregate of the conditions that they challenged caused a deprivation of the inmates' basic needs thereby constituting a violation of their eighth amendment rights.

At the conclusion of a bench trial, the district court found that the conditions in which the complainants were confined did not constitute cruel and unusual treatment. It noted that there were problems attributable to overcrowding at Graterford that resulted from "the state ... placing increasing numbers of persons who, by and large, have been committed to prison for violent anti-social behavior in proximity to each other[,]" Hassine v. Jeffes, No. 84-0696, at 2 (E.D.Pa. May 29, 1987) ("Opinion") reprinted in Appellants' App. at 1082, but concluded that "the individual facilities and services provided inmates at Graterford appears to meet and exceed the minimum needs of the inmates." Id. at 3, reprinted in Appellants' App. at 1083. The district court's opinion relied substantively upon the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law that had been submitted by the Graterford Administration. These findings, as adopted by the district court, reflected its view that, although the conditions at Graterford left much room for improvement, they did not result in the deprivation of the complainants' basic needs so as to constitute a violation of their constitutional rights. ¹

II.

We are aware that inmates at Graterford are required to live in sub-standard conditions, and we are not unsympathetic to the fact that those conditions have worsened as a result of the significant overcrowding of the facility. ² Indeed, after completing our "tour" of Graterford by way of the factual allegations of the complainants in this case, and the admissions by the Graterford Administration regarding the impositions that have been placed upon the inmates as a result of severe overcrowding, we are reminded of Coleridge's verse:

As he went through Cold-Bath Fields he saw

A solitary cell;

And the Devil was pleased, for it gave him a hint

For improving his prisons in Hell.

COLERIDGE, S.T., The Devil's Thoughts, in Poetical Works (E. Hartley ed. 1978).

Our review of the district court's conclusions, however, is limited to determining whether the district court's factual findings are clearly erroneous and, in light of those findings, whether the conditions of confinement violate the eighth amendment. Pursuant to this standard of review, we will not disturb factual findings "if the district court's account of the evidence is plausible in light of the record viewed in its entirety." Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 1511, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985). Upon our examination of the record in this appeal, we are not left with the "definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed." United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). Thus, we cannot conclude that the district court's factual findings are clearly erroneous.

We will not rehearse completely the litany of complaints that were raised. At oral argument, this Court requested that the complainants file a supplemental letter memorandum identifying with specific detail the four findings of fact that they assert as the most clearly erroneous. See Appellants' Letter Brief Supplementing Oral Argument (Dec. 10, 1987) ("Letter Brief"). In response, they cited the district court's finding regarding the ventilation in the cells, ("Cell Conditions"--Finding of Fact p 11, Opinion at 10, reprinted in Appellants' App. at 1090), its finding regarding the reporting of food service complaints, ("Food Service"--Finding of Fact p 15, Opinion at 5, reprinted in Appellants' App. at 1085), its finding regarding the provision of medical care ("Medical and Health Care Services"--Finding of Fact p 2, Opinion at 16, reprinted in Appellants' App. 1096) and its finding regarding the provision of mental health care. ("Mental Health"--Finding of Fact p 2, Opinion at 13, reprinted in Appellants' App. at 1093). See Letter Brief at 1.

We have reviewed each of these allegations in light of the record. We note that there was conflicting testimony as to these claims. Compare, e.g., Appellants' App. at 190, 322, 737 (appellants' testimony that cell ventilation was inadequate) and id. at 538-39 (appellants' expert testimony as to the lack of ventilation in the cells) with id. at 599 (testimony of A. Lefebvre, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent at Graterford, supervising the accreditation project, that skylights, windows and vent hoods in each cell provided sufficient airflow, and that airflow in each cell was measured and found to be in compliance with American Correctional Association standards). There also was evidence regarding the existence of conditions throughout Graterford that raised colorable claims of constitutional...