Jolly v. Coughlin
| Decision Date | 07 February 1996 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 922,922 |
| Citation | 76 F.3d 468 |
| Parties | Paul JOLLY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas COUGHLIN, Robert Greifinger, John P. Keane, C. Greiner, S. Kapoor, Defendants-Appellants. ocket 95-2589. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Mitchell A. Karlan, New York City (Leslie E. Moore, Preetinder S. Bharara, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.
Barbara K. Hathaway, Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York (Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General, Peter H. Schiff, Deputy Solicitor General, Daniel Smirlock, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel), for defendants-appellants.
Before: FEINBERG, OAKES, and CABRANES, Circuit Judges.
The plaintiff, a Rastafarian inmate at Attica Correctional Facility, claims that his religious convictions do not permit him to submit to a screening test for "latent" tuberculosis mandated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS"). Under the tuberculosis ("TB") control policy in effect at the time of the district court's decision in this case, inmates who refused to submit to the test were placed in "medical keeplock"--i.e., permitted to leave their cells only for one ten-minute shower per week. Medical keeplock is what the defendants term a form of administrative confinement with no actual medical significance. Thus, an inmate who refused to submit to the screening test for latent TB would continue to share the same breathing space as other inmates--that is, unlike inmates with "active" TB, he would not be placed in "respiratory isolation." In contrast, an inmate who took the screening test and was found to have latent TB would not be placed in either medical keeplock or respiratory isolation.
In December 1991, the plaintiff refused to submit to the test and was placed in medical keeplock indefinitely. He initiated this action pro se in 1992. In March 1995, with the assistance of counsel, he moved for a preliminary injunction, claiming that the defendants' treatment of him violated his right to the free exercise of religion under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 ("RFRA"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb et seq., and his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. The district court found that the plaintiff demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of both of his claims and would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction. Jolly v. Coughlin, 894 F.Supp. 734 (S.D.N.Y.1995). We agree and therefore affirm.
The following facts are largely undisputed. In November 1991, the DOCS introduced a comprehensive TB control program, drawing upon protocols established by the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control of the U.S. Public Health Service. Because of the potential for close and prolonged contact between a contagious individual and other inmates and staff, correctional facilities pose a particular risk for the transmission of TB. The DOCS guidelines therefore require each inmate to submit annually to a purified protein derivative ("PPD") test. The PPD test involves injecting a small amount of purified protein into the skin; a skin reaction signifies that the individual has been infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis. Once an individual is infected, he will likely carry the bacteria forever. He may, however, show no symptoms of the disease for some length of time such an individual is said to have "latent" tuberculosis, which is not contagious under normal circumstances. Without treatment, approximately eight percent of persons with latent TB will develop contagious, "active" TB.
Under the DOCS TB control policy, inmates with positive PPD tests are encouraged to undergo treatment, typically oral doses of a medication called Isoniazid ("INH"), to prevent the onset of active TB. Because INH can cause serious side effects, such as liver dysfunction, the therapy is not required. Whether or not they accept INH therapy, inmates with a positive PPD test are periodically given a chest x-ray to detect signs of active TB. In addition, physicians monitor inmates for the clinical symptoms suggestive of active TB, such as persistent coughing, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. The most effective way to detect active TB is through a culture of a patient's sputum.
Although DOCS screens for latent TB, inmates with a positive PPD test, whether or not they accept INH therapy, are not segregated from the general prison population, and therefore share the same breathing space with other prisoners. In contrast, the DOCS guidelines require that correctional officers confine inmates who refuse to take the PPD test to "medical keeplock." Prior to the district court's ruling in this case, any prisoner so confined would be permitted to take one ten-minute shower per week and could confer with legal counsel, but would otherwise remain in his regular cell at all times. An inmate in medical keeplock could not use the library, take communal meals, or engage in congregate worship. Medical keeplock does not involve "respiratory isolation"; thus, an individual who refused to submit to a PPD test would still share the same breathing space as other prisoners. Only an inmate with an abnormal chest x-ray, a positive sputum culture, or clinical symptoms suggestive of TB is segregated from the general prison population, and is placed in respiratory isolation.
The plaintiff has practiced the Rastafarian religion since March 1991. On December 10, 1991, he refused to submit to a PPD test, claiming that accepting artificial substances into the body is a sin under the tenets of Rastafarianism. In accordance with the DOCS guidelines, he was placed in medical keeplock.
Jolly filed this claim pro se in 1992. In addition, he initiated a state proceeding under Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 1 seeking release from medical keeplock. The New York State Supreme Court, Westchester County, rejected his claim by a ruling entered December 22, 1992. The plaintiff spent one week in the general prison population at the Wende Correctional Facility in May 1994. Otherwise, in the three-and-a-half years between his refusal to submit to the PPD test and the entry of the district court's injunction, the plaintiff remained in medical keeplock except for weekly ten-minute showers. Jolly claims that the conditions of his confinement have led him to suffer from headaches, hair loss, rashes, and an inability to stand or walk without difficulty.
Jolly obtained counsel in this proceeding in late 1994. On March 8, 1995, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint and moved for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to compel the defendants to release him from medical keeplock during the pendency of this lawsuit. The complaint alleged that the defendants violated the plaintiff's rights to the free exercise of religion under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the plaintiff's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. 2 The district court heard oral argument on the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction on April 5, 1995. By an Opinion and Order dated August 14, 1995, the district court granted a preliminary injunction requiring the defendants to release the plaintiff from medical keeplock by August 28. Jolly, 894 F.Supp. at 749. On August 28, the district court denied the defendants' motions for reargument and for a stay pending appeal. Jolly v. Coughlin, 907 F.Supp. 63 (S.D.N.Y.1995). Nonetheless, the court stayed the injunction until September 1 to give the defendants an opportunity to decide whether to appeal and to seek from this Court a stay pending appeal. The district court's stay was subject to two conditions: that the defendants afford the plaintiff one hour of exercise per day and three showers per week. The district court's order also provided for the extension of the stay until September 8 should the defendants ultimately choose to file an appeal. On September 1, the defendants filed a notice of appeal and moved in this Court for a stay pending a decision on the appeal. We entered a temporary stay on September 6 and a full stay on September 12. We heard oral argument on October 27, 1995, and subsequently vacated the stay.
We review the district court's grant of a preliminary injunction for abuse of discretion. King v. Innovation Books, 976 F.2d 824, 828 (2d Cir.1992). "Such an abuse of discretion ordinarily consists of either applying an incorrect legal standard or relying on a clearly erroneous finding of fact." Id. Finding neither defect in Judge Koeltl's comprehensive and thoughtful ruling in this case, we affirm.
The parties initially contest the showing Jolly is required to make to obtain preliminary injunctive relief. In most cases, a party seeking to obtain a preliminary injunction must establish that it will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction and demonstrate either (1) "a likelihood of success on the merits" or (2) "sufficiently serious questions going to the merits to make them a fair ground for litigation and a balance of the hardships tipping decidedly" in the movant's favor. Waldman Publishing Corp. v. Landoll, Inc., 43 F.3d 775, 779-80 (2d Cir.1994) (quotation marks omitted); Coca-Cola Co. v. Tropicana Prods., Inc., 690 F.2d 312, 314-15 (2d Cir.1982). Where a moving party challenges " 'government action taken in the public interest pursuant to a statutory or regulatory scheme,' " however, the moving party cannot resort to the "fair ground for litigation" standard, but is required to demonstrate irreparable harm and a likelihood of success on the merits. Able v. United States, 44 F.3d 128, 131 (2d Cir.1995) (per curiam) (quoting Plaza Health Labs., Inc. v. Perales, 878 F.2d...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Bimber's Delwood, Inc. v. James, 20-CV-1043S
...they too counsel against injunctive relief. First, Plaintiffs have not made the required "strong showing" of irreparable harm. Citing Jolly v. Coughlin, they first argue that a presumption of irreparable harm flows from the mere assertion of a constitutional violation. 76 F.3d 468, 482 (2d ......
-
Couch v. Jabe
..."the state `puts substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs.'" (quoting Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 477 (2d Cir.1996)). The Fifth Circuit has held that a government action or regulation creates a substantial burden on "a religious exercise if i......
-
O Centro Espirita Beneficiente v. Ashcroft
...at 963 ("courts have held that a plaintiff satisfies the irreparable harm analysis by alleging a violation of RFRA"); Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 482 (2d Cir.1996) ("although plaintiff's free exercise claim is statutory rather than constitutional, the denial of the plaintiff's right to ......
-
Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs.
...(“[C]ourts have held that a plaintiff satisfies the irreparable harm analysis by alleging a violation of RFRA.”); Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 482 (2d Cir.1996) (“Courts have persuasively found that irreparable harm accompanies a substantial burden on an individual's rights to the free e......
-
A blessing in disguise: protecting minority faiths through state religious freedom non-restoration acts.
...v. Voinovich, 173 F.3d 398, 403 (6th Cir. 1999); Chirceol v. Phillips, 169 F.3d 313, 316 (5th Cir. 1999). (230.) See Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 475 (2d Cir. 1996); Hamilton v. Schiro, 74 F.3d 1545, 1551-52 (8th Cir. 1996); Hicks v. Garner, 69 F.3d 22, 25-26 (5th Cir. 1995); Werner v. M......
-
RLUIPA at four: evaluating the success and constitutionality of RLUIPA'S prisoner provisions.
..."'tendency to coerce individuals into acting contrary to their religious beliefs'") (quoting Lyng, 485 U.S. at 450-51); Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 476-77 (2d Cir. 1996) (holding that "a substantial burden exists where the state 'put[s] substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his ......
-
JACOBSON 2.0: POLICE POWER IN THE TIME OF COVID-19.
...Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976) (plurality); LeBlanc-Sternberg v. Fletcher, 67 F.3d 412, 426 (2d Cir. 1995); Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 482 (2d Cir. 1996)); Ramsek v. Beshear, 468 F. Supp. 3d 904, 919 (E.D. Ky. 2020) (citing Elrod, 427 U.S. at 373); First Baptist Church v. Kel......
-
OVER YOUR DEAD BODY: AN ANALYSIS ON REQUESTS FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS FOR IMMUNIZATIONS AND VACCINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE.
...to whether an inmate sincerely holds a particular belief and whether the belief is religious in nature.") (quoting Jolly v. Coughlin, 76 F.3d 468, 476 (2d Cir. [42] 42 U.S.C. [section] 2000bb-2(4) (emphasis added) (cross-referencing 42 U.S.C. [section] 2000cc-5(7)(A)). [43] Burwell v. Hobby......