Jesus Christ Prison Ministry v. California Department of Corrections
| Citation | 456 F.Supp.2d 1188 |
| Decision Date | 28 September 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.S-05-0440 DAD.,CIV.S-05-0440 DAD. |
| Parties | JESUS CHRIST PRISON MINISTRY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
Kevin Trent Snider, Pacific Justice Institute, Sacramento, CA, for Plaintiffs.
John William Riches, II, California Department of Justice, Kevin Trent Snider, Pacific Justice Institute, Sacramento, CA, for Defendants.
Upon consent of the parties, this action has been assigned to the undersigned for all proceedings. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). It is before the court on the parties' crossmotions for summary judgment. For the reasons explained below, those motions will be granted in part and denied in part.
Plaintiffs initiated this civil rights action by filing their verified complaint on March 3, 2005. The named plaintiffs are Jesus Christ Prison Ministry ("JCPM") and state prisoners Daniel Leffel, Marvin Salinas, and Daniel Marchy. The named defendants are the California Department of Corrections (now the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR")); Jeane S. Woodford (Director of CDCR); and Derral G. Adams (Warden of California State Substance Abuse Treatment Facility ("SATF") in Corcoran, California).
The verified complaint contains three causes of action. The first cause of action is brought only by the prisoner plaintiffs against all defendants. It alleges that SATF's policy prohibiting the sending of free softbound, Christian literature, compact discs and tapes to prisoners who have requested those materials violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ("RLUIPA").
The second cause of action is brought by plaintiff JCPM and the plaintiff prisoners against all defendants. It alleges that defendants' actions deprive both JCPM and the prisoners of the free exercise of religion in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The third cause of action is brought by JCPM and the prisoners against all defendants. It alleges that defendants' actions deprive JCPM and the prisoners of their right to free speech in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The complaint prays for injunctive relief, declaratory relief, nominal damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs. However, plaintiffs withdrew their request for nominal damages at the hearing on the cross-motions for summary judgment.
After settlement negotiations proved unsuccessful, the parties were directed to file cross-motions for summary judgment. Those motions came on for hearing on April 21, 2006. Kevin T. Snider of the Pacific Justice Institute appeared on behalf of plaintiffs. John W. Riches, II, Deputy Attorney General, appeared on behalf of defendants.
Summary judgment is appropriate when it is demonstrated that there exists no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347, 355 (9th Cir.1992).
The party moving for summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any," which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
"[W]here the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial on a dispositive issue, a summary judgment motion may properly be made in reliance solely on the `pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file.'" Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Indeed, summary judgment should be entered, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. See id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548. "[A] complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Id. In such a circumstance, summary judgment should be granted, "so long as whatever is before the district court demonstrates that the standard for entry of summary judgment, as set forth in Rule 56(c), is satisfied." Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
If the moving party meets its initial responsibility, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish that a genuine issue as to any material fact actually does exist. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); see also First Nat'l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 288-89, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968); Ruffin v. County of Los Angeles, 607 F.2d 1276, 1280 (9th Cir. 1979). The opposing party must demonstrate that the fact in contention is material, i.e., a fact that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law, and that the dispute is genuine, i.e., the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 & Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987). Thus, the "purpose of summary judgment is to `pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial.'" Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 ().
In resolving the summary judgment motion, the court examines the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any. Rule 56(c); see also SEC v. Seaboard Corp., 677 F.2d 1301, 1305-06 (9th Cir.1982). The evidence of the opposing party is to be believed, Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the facts placed before the court must be drawn in favor of the opposing party. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (citing United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962)); see also United States v. First Nat'l Bank of Circle, 652 F2d 882, 887 (9th Cir.1981). Nevertheless, inferences are not drawn out of the air, and it is the opposing party's obligation to produce a factual predicate from which the inference may be drawn. See Richards v. Nielsen Freight Lines, 602 F.Supp. 1224, 1244-45 (E.D.Cal.1985), aff'd, 810 F.2d 898, 902 (9th Cir.1987).
Finally, "[a] scintilla of evidence or evidence that is merely colorable or not significantly probative does not present a genuine issue of material fact" precluding summary judgment. Addisu v. Fred Meyer, Inc., 198 F.3d 1130, 1134 (9th Cir.2000). See also Summers v. Teichert & Son, Inc., 127 F.3d 1150, 1152 (9th Cir.1997). On summary judgment the court is not to weigh the evidence or determine the truth of the matters asserted but must only determine whether there is a genuine issue of material fact that must be resolved by trial. See Summers, 127 F.3d at 1152. Nonetheless, in order for any factual dispute to be genuine, there must be enough doubt for a reasonable trier of fact to find for the plaintiff in order to defeat a defendant's summary judgment motion. See Addisu, 198 F.3d at 1134.
Plaintiff JCPM is a religious organization that provides predominately softbound Christian literature, free of charge, to incarcerated individuals in several states. These religious materials are provided only to prisoners who specifically request them. JCPM sends written materials to incarcerated persons based on its sincerely held religious beliefs. Plaintiffs Daniel Leffel, Marvin Salinas and Daniel Marchy are sincere adherents of the Christian faith and are confined at SATF.
In accordance with their religious beliefs, plaintiffs Leffel, Salinas and Marchy seek to reform their behavior and attitudes through religious exercise. At the core of that religious exercise is studying the Bible. Another important aspect of plaintiffs' exercise of their religion is worshiping and meditating on God through music. To study the Bible, the plaintiff prisoners need Christian literature that explains biblical theology, doctrine and Christian concepts. To worship and meditate on God through music, plaintiffs require compact discs and/or tape recordings of Christian music.
To engage in this exercise of religion, the prisoners correspond with charitable religious organizations offering spiritual assistance through free study materials. The plaintiff prisoners are indigent and thus unable to purchase Christian literature, tapes and compact discs. The prisoners rely on charitable religious organizations to send them free religious materials when requested in writing. Those materials include softbound books, unbound study guides and pamphlets as well as sermons and Christian music on audio tapes and compact discs. The plaintiff prisoners sincerely believe their religious exercise, through the regular use of such religious materials, has encouraged their conformity with prison guidelines regarding appropriate behavior.
While incarcerated at SATF, plaintiff Salinas was sent softbound printed religious materials from JCPM free of charge. Plaintiffs Leffel and Marchy were sent materials from other ministries. Although plaintiffs had received these materials previously, pursuant to a new policy instituted in March or April of 2004 at SATF, prison officials began denying plaintiffs these religious materials because the literature was not sent from an "approved vendor" and...
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