Hoitt v. Vitek

• Decision Date: 01 August 1973
• Docket Number: 73-67.,Civ. A. No. 73-55
• Citation: 361 F. Supp. 1238
• Parties: Carl B. HOITT, Jr., Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, et al. v. Joseph C. VITEK, Individually and in his official capacity as Warden, New Hampshire State Prison, et al., Jaan LAAMAN et al. v. Joseph C. VITEK, Individually and in his official capacity as Warden, New Hampshire State Prison, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Hampshire

361 F. Supp. 1238

Carl B. HOITT, Jr., Individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, et al. v. Joseph C. VITEK, Individually and in his official capacity as Warden, New Hampshire State Prison, et al., Jaan LAAMAN et al. v. Joseph C. VITEK, Individually and in his official capacity as Warden, New Hampshire State Prison, et al.

Civ. A. Nos. 73-55, 73-67.

United States District Court, D. New Hampshire.

August 1, 1973.

Kurt M. Swenson, Wiggin, Nourie, Sundeen, Pingree & Bigg, William H. Kelley, Manchester, N. H., and Richard Cotton, N. H. Legal Assistance, Concord, N. H., for plaintiffs.

David W. Hess, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Thomas D. Rath, Concord, N. H., for defendants.

OPINION

BOWNES, District Judge.

These are two civil rights class actions brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in which the plaintiffs seek declaratory relief under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, injunctive relief, and compensatory and punitive damages for the alleged deprivations, under color of State law, of rights secured to them by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3, 4).

These two cases were consolidated for purposes of discovery and trial. These cases present a class action maintainable under F.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2). The class consists of all the inmates at the New Hampshire State Prison (hereinafter (NHSP) who are serving sentences imposed after judgments of conviction by the courts of the State of New Hampshire except Richard W. Apostolos.¹

The defendants, all of whom are sued in their official capacities, consist of the Warden of NHSP, the Governor of the State of New Hampshire, the members of the New Hampshire Governor's Council, and the members of the Board of Trustees of NHSP. Joseph C. Vitek, Warden of NHSP, is also sued individually.

The following four issues, the first two of which allege numerous violations of plaintiffs' constitutional rights, are raised in the amended complaint:

First, it is alleged that the plaintiffs' rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States were violated by reason of a general prison lockup that started on March 6, 1973. Specifically, it is alleged that the inmates at NHSP were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment as a result of the lockup and were severely punished without due process of law during the lockup.

Second, it is alleged that the involuntary transfer of prison inmates to out-of-state penal institutions without prior notice and hearing, either during or absent an emergency situation, violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Third, it is alleged that the plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment rights were violated during the lockup when they were searched and their personal property was seized without a prior hearing, ex parte or otherwise, before an impartial party or tribunal and without a finding of probable cause.

Lastly, plaintiffs contend that any attempt by the defendants to impose disciplinary actions on the plaintiffs as a result of the disciplinary reports prepared during the lockup constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and double jeopardy in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction was denied on March 19, 1973. Plaintiffs' motion for an immediate end of the lockup was denied on May 1, 1973.

A court trial was held during the week of June 18, 1973.

I. THE LOCKUP

The following facts have been stipulated.

On March 6, 1973, substantially all of the inmates² at NHSP were confined to their cells by defendant Vitek without the advice, consent, or approval of the other defendants. Defendant Vitek telephonically advised defendant Governor Thomson on March 6, 1973, after the plaintiffs had been confined to their cells, of the action taken. On or about March 12, 1973, defendant Vitek met with the defendant Governor and the defendant Governor's Councilors and discussed the lockup, and on March 15, 1973, defendant Vitek met with the defendant Board of Trustees of NHSP and discussed it with them. The general prison lockup was put into effect without notice to plaintiffs, without plaintiffs being given the right to consult counsel, without a statement of reasons, without a hearing before an impartial party or tribunal, ex parte or otherwise, and without findings of fact and/or probable cause by such impartial party or tribunal.

During the general prison lockup, plaintiffs were personally searched. Plaintiffs' personal property was inspected, and some of it was seized. One loaded .38 caliber revolver was found in an inmate's cell, and an ice pick, key, and hacksaw blade were found on the top of a door frame in a common cell block area. Defendant Vitek directed the officer in charge of the search not to remove basic health materials and bedding, such as tooth paste, tooth brushes, soap, towels, sheets, blankets, TV's and radios.

From March 6, 1973 to March 17, 1973, all plaintiffs received cereal and milk for breakfast, two meat sandwiches and milk for lunch, and a like diet for dinner. Plaintiffs' counsel, family, and other visitors were not permitted into the prison from March 6, 1973 to at least March 14, 1973. Psychiatrists were not permitted into the prison from March 6, 1973, until at least March 14, 1973, for routine consultations. Some plaintiffs were deprived of in-cell water and toilet facilities when water supplied to sixty-four cells had to be shut off after March 6, 1973 because eight inmates destroyed plumbing facilities in their cells and this resulted in a potential sanitation and flooding problem for a total of sixty-four cells. Running water was restored to all cells by March 10, 1973. Stationary, writing materials, and postage was made available to the plaintiffs free of charge on March 16 and March 18, 1973. On March 19 and March 20, 1973, plaintiffs were removed from their cells for showers, fresh clothes, and clean bedding; this practice was continued thereafter once a week during the lockup. Normal visitation privileges were reinstated for all plaintiffs on March 21, 1973. The lockup ended on May 8, 1973.³

That portion of the amended complaint which focuses on the lockup alleges various violations of plaintiffs' rights contrary to the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States. The plaintiffs allege: (1) that there was no valid justification for the lockup at its inception; (2) that even if the lockup was initially justifiable, there was not and could not be justification for continuation of the lockup for more than two months; (3) that the conditions during the lockup were tantamount to the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment upon the inmates; (4) that during the lockup a variety of specific constitutional rights were abridged, to wit: the inmates were denied the right to counsel for nine days, were denied their First Amendment rights to writing and reading materials for approximately ten to twelve days, were denied their First Amendment right to practice their religion by attendance at church services for some six weeks, and were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment specifically through the refusal to administer needed medical supplies and generally through being locked in their cells without exercise, without showers, without proper hygienic materials, without adequate food, and without rehabilitative activities for periods ranging from one week to two months; and (5) that the lockup was instituted without a statement of reasons, without a hearing before an impartial tribunal, ex parte or otherwise, and without probable cause to believe that such a lockup was necessary.

These various allegations tacitly acknowledge that a lockup may be instituted to maintain prison security in an emergency situation because it is specifically alleged that the lockup was not justified, that no emergency situation as to prison security existed, and that the lockup was instituted by the Warden to appease the prison guards. See Part IV, Section A, Paragraphs 9-12, 15-16, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 36-37, 39-41, 43-44, and 58-59 of the amended complaint.

The defendants have moved to dismiss the allegations relative to the lockup contained in Part IV of the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. F.R. Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

This case appears to be one of first impression on the question of a general prison-wide lockup. Plaintiffs have cited no authority and extensive research by the court has disclosed no existing precedent which considers and decides the constitutional issues raised here.

I rule that the allegations in Part IV of the amended complaint, considered in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, do not state a claim entitling them to relief. This ruling is based on three grounds: (1) the Warden stated that the lockup was necessary to meet an emergency situation; (2) the conditions in existence during the lockup applied equally to all of the prison inmates; and (3) the alleged deprivations suffered by all of the inmates at NHSP were temporary in nature and were in the Warden's judgment required for security reasons.

1. The lockup was instituted by the Warden based on his professional belief that an emergency existed at the State Prison which threatened the security of that institution. It is not within the province of a court to second-guess the judgment of corrections officials by deciding after the fact whether a lockup was, in fact, justified. Since such a determination requires a judgment as to the Warden's capabilities of assessing and resolving security difficulties at the prison, it should be made by an independent...