Jackson v. Norris, 3-86-1052.

• Decision Date: 03 October 1990
• Docket Number: 3-86-1052.
• Citation: 748 F. Supp. 570
• Parties: Raymond O. JACKSON v. Stephen H. NORRIS, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Tennessee

748 F. Supp. 570

Raymond O. JACKSON v. Stephen H. NORRIS, et al.

3-86-1052.

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division.

October 3, 1990.

Steven E. Winn, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Tenn., for defendants.

Raymond Otha Jackson, pro se.

MEMORANDUM

JOHN T. NIXON, District Judge.

The Court is in receipt of the Report and Recommendation issued by the Magistrate regarding the defendants' motions for summary judgment, and the plaintiff's objections to the Report and Recommendation.

FACTS

The plaintiff Raymond Jackson, an inmate at the DeBerry Correctional Institute (Deberry), filed this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that his legal mail had been opened outside his presence on several occasions and that this action deprived him of access to the courts in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Jackson alleges eight separate instances in which his mail was handled improperly.

The plaintiff sued Commissioner of Corrections Stephen Norris, Warden Michael Dutton, and mailroom clerk Michael Kendrick. The plaintiff claims that Commissioner Norris and Warden Dutton failed to respond to a grievance that he filed regarding the alleged problems with his mail, that Dutton failed to respond to a letter he wrote about his mail, and that both Norris and Dutton failed to adequately train the prison staff in the proper handling of inmate mail.

The Court referred the case to the Magistrate for consideration of its malicious or frivolous nature under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d) and the Magistrate, determining that it was not frivolous, ordered the defendants to respond. The defendants then filed a motion for summary judgment¹, which the Magistrate recommended should be granted. This Court issued an order on April 20, 1989 adopting the recommendation and dismissing the case, which was subsequently reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Jackson v. Norris, 883 F.2d 75 (6th Cir.1989). The defendants then made motions for summary judgment on different grounds, which the Court referred to the Magistrate for consideration.

DISCUSSION

I. The Law of the Case

The Magistrate stated in the Report and Recommendation that the law of the case doctrine requires denial of the defendants' motions for summary judgment, because the Court of Appeals held in its order of August 16, 1989 that summary judgment is inappropriate in this action. This Court does not adopt that finding, however, because the earlier motions were based on different grounds than the presently pending motions, and it does not appear to this Court that the Sixth Circuit meant that summary judgment could not be granted on any of the issues in the case.² This interpretation is supported by the language of the Sixth Circuit's order, which states:

Because the grounds upon which the district court chose to grant summary judgment were incorrect, we vacate the order of the district court and remand the case for further proceedings.

Jackson v. Norris, No. 89-5565, slip opinion at 3 883 F.2d 75 (Table) (emphasis added). Accordingly, the Court will consider the merits of the issues raised in the defendants' motions for summary judgment.

II. The Standard for Summary Judgment

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment may be granted "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law."

In Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court explained the District Court's function in ruling upon a motion for summary judgment:

By its very terms, the Rule 56(c) standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged actual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.

As to materiality, the substantive law will identify which facts are material. Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment. Factual disputes that are irrelevant or unnecessary will not be counted....

More important for present purposes, summary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is "genuine," that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. 477 U.S. at 247-8, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. (emphasis in original) (citations omitted).

It is likewise true that "in ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must construe the evidence in its most favorable light in favor of the party opposing the motion and against the movant. Further, the papers supporting the movant are closely scrutinized, whereas the opponent's are indulgently treated. (citations omitted). It has been stated that: `The purpose of the hearing on the motion for such a judgment is not to resolve factual issues. It is to determine whether there is any genuine issue of material fact in dispute.'" Bohn Aluminum & Brass Corp. v. Storm King Corp., 303 F.2d 425, 427 (6th Cir.1962).

III. The Plaintiff's Claim Against Mailroom Clerk Michael Kendrick

It is well established that prisoners have some First Amendment rights in receiving mail. See Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817, 822, 94 S.Ct. 2800, 2804, 41 L.Ed.2d 495 (1974). Furthermore, courts have held that a prisoner's right to receive legal mail without interference from prison personnel is entitled to somewhat greater protection than the same right with regard to nonlegal mail, because of its significant impact on the prisoner's access to the courts. Parrish v. Johnson, 800 F.2d 600, 604 (6th Cir.1986); Taylor v. Sterrett, 532 F.2d 462, 477 (5th Cir.1976).

Prison officials may, however, place reasonable restrictions upon these rights in order to maintain security within the institution. The Supreme Court has held that inmate mail may be opened, pursuant to a uniform and evenly applied policy, to guard against contraband coming into the prison. See Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 574-77, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2983-85, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974).

In order to strike a balance between the prisoners' right to receive legal mail free from unreasonable interference by the prison staff and the state's need to maintain security, the Tennessee Department of Corrections has promulgated the following policy concerning legal mail received by prisoners:

Privileged Mail: Items received from attorneys, law students on behalf of attorneys, courts, laws schools that conduct legal aid clinic's sic within the institution, court clerks, any recognized legal defense fund, or government business officials. It shall not be opened for the purpose of inspection for contraband, except by the inmate addressee in the presence of a staff member. Such mail must bear the name, title of the official position of the sender or the addressee in order to be recognized as privileged.

Tennessee Department of Correction Policy # 507.03. Policy # 507.03 was explicitly approved and adopted for the Middle District of Tennessee in a court order issued by Judge L. Clure Morton in 1984. Buck v. Rose, No. 82-3440 (December 7, 1984).

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized in Parrish v. Johnson, 800 F.2d 600 (1986) that interference with a prisoner's incoming mail may be a violation of the prisoner's constitutional rights. The Court indicated that the mere opening of mail pursuant to a regularly applied regulation, or a random interference based on a reasonable suspicion of a security threat, does not rise to the level of a constitutional violation. Rather, the court set out the following standard:

"A capricious interference with a prisoner's incoming mail based upon a guard's personal prejudice violates the First Amendment."

Parrish v. Johnson, 800 F.2d at 604.

The plaintiff has alleged that the defendant Kendrick violated both his constitutional rights and Tennessee policy by opening, or otherwise interfering with, the plaintiff's receipt of several pieces of legal mail from 1986 through 1988. Specifically, the plaintiff has alleged the following:

1. On October 16, 1986 a check for $4.00 was mailed to the plaintiff from the Tennessee Claims Commission as a settlement offer in another case. Kendrick apparently opened the letter and deposited the check directly into the plaintiff's account, and this action constituted acceptance of the offer on the plaintiff's behalf.

2. A letter from Tennessee Governor Ned McWherter was delivered to him already opened on January 30, 1987.

3. On May 1, 1987 the plaintiff learned that a letter from attorney Martha Lionberger had been mailed to him, but the letter never arrived.

4. On May 20, 1987 a letter from the Chancery Court to the plaintiff was misdirected to another inmate named Jackson, but was delivered to the plaintiff later in the same day.

5. On October 1, 1987 Assistant Attorney General Odell Horton told the plaintiff that he had sent him a pretrial order that the plaintiff never received.

6. On two separate occasions in 1988 letters from the Reverend Jesse Jackson concerning his presidential campaign were delivered to the plaintiff already opened.

7. On June 28, 1988 a letter from attorney Ellen Barry, addressed to the plaintiff, arrived opened. The letter was stamped "Opened in Error" and was marked with the defendant's initials "M.K."

Michael Kendrick is the supervisor of four employees in the prison post office at Deberry. These five employees are responsible for handling all of the mail for approximately 800 inmates housed at the facility. Evidentiary Hearing before the Magistrate ("Hearing"), at 37-39. In accordance with the policy regarding legal mail, the post office staff sorts the mail into privileged and nonprivileged piles before any mail is opened....