Lewis v. Orleans Par. Sheriff's Office, CIVIL ACTION NO. 18-13939 SECTION "J" (2)
| Decision Date | 25 June 2019 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 18-13939 SECTION "J" (2) |
| Parties | GRAYLIN SYLVESTER LEWIS v. ORLEANS PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE ET AL. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
Plaintiff, Graylin Sylvester Lewis, was a prisoner incarcerated in the Orleans Justice Center ("the Orleans jail") in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a pretrial detainee at all relevant times. He filed this complaint pro se and in forma pauperis pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office and various officers at the jail, including Chief Michael Laughin, Colonel Scott Colvin, Major Kevin Winnfield, Captain Bernadette Jenkins, Captain Johnson, Lieutenant Hugh Blanchard, Director Darnley R. Hodge, Sr., Terry Haynes and Warden Nicole Harris. Lewis alleges that while incarcerated in the jail for about six months from August 2018 until January 2019, he was denied access to the court and his counsel and was subjected to unconstitutional conditions of confinement. He seeks compensation for mental anguish and stress. Record Doc. No. 4-1 (Complaint at ¶ V).
On April 23, 2019, I conducted a telephone conference in this matter. Participating were: plaintiff pro se; Benjamin Kahn and Freeman Matthews, counsel for defendants. Plaintiff was sworn and testified for all purposes permitted by Spears v. McCotter, 766 F.2d 179 (5th Cir. 1985), and its progeny.
In his original complaint, Lewis cursorily alleged only that he was placed in administrative segregation on August 24, 2018, for 30 days, during which he was Record Doc. No. 4-1 at pp. 4-5.
In subsequent written submissions in response to the court's order that he detail his claims, Record Doc. No. 8, Lewis reiterated the claims asserted in his complaint and alleged that he was "denied access to the courts by (A) being refused legal materials, (B) being given legal advice by deputy's staff members and denied envelopes, paper and pens (C) delaying legal mail, incoming and outgoing . . [and jail officials] refusing to take me to court though they were timely and legally notified of my court date and time [and] being denied access to my attorney . . . ." Record Doc. No. 9 at pp. 7-8. He attached copies of his various jail grievances and the responses. Id. at pp. 10-31. He also alleged that Record Doc. No. 13 at p. 2.
During his Spears testimony, Lewis clarified that the incidents about which he complains in this case occurred during the period of August 2018 through January 2019. He stated that he was then in jail on charges of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He said he had been released on bond on this charge on April 17, 2019, and that his trial date is June 18, 2019.
He confirmed that his first claim is that he was denied access to the court in various ways during the subject time period. Specifically, Lewis stated that jail officials delayed his legal mail, failed to provide him with legal materials and interfered with his ability to talk to his lawyer, all in connection with his access to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court where his current charges are being prosecuted. He testified that he is represented by counsel in his criminal case, a lawyer named Lawrence Gaillier, whom Lewis hired to provide him with representation in that case in May or June 2018. He stated that he was originally arrested on that charge in 2017 and granted a bond, but he was later rearrested and placed in jail after his bond was revoked in August 2018.
Lewis testified that jail officials failed to transport him from the jail to court on eight different occasions when he was scheduled for hearings in his criminal case. He stated that he was not brought to court on those occasions because he was "in administrative segregation . . . in the hole" for various disciplinary infractions in the jail.
He described administrative segregation as "lockdown" for "disciplinary action." He said that he was sentenced to 30-day periods in lockdown for separate disciplinaryviolations six or seven times. Lewis alleged that these actions were "retaliation" after he frequently complained and asked to see ranking officers about problems and issues he saw in the jail. He alleged that jail officers were "picking at me, messing with me constantly" because his complaints usually escalated into Lewis speaking with ranking officers and making the lower-ranked officers to whom he originally complained "look bad" because "they couldn't handle the situation." He said the disciplinary charges against him were for "nothing serious . . . . foolishness," and included "defiance" and "not respecting the staff while "speaking up for other people." He said defendant Captain Jenkins once sent him to lockdown for calling her "stupid or dumb." Lewis confirmed that he had attached some - though not all - of the grievance papers concerning these charges to his complaint.
Lewis testified that the hearings in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court he missed in his criminal case included motion, pretrial and bond hearings. He said, "I was in jail for a whole year with no bond" on the felon in possession of a firearm charge with no opportunity to "get with my lawyer and explain to the judge how the court took my bond back on error." He testified that his lawyer had gone to court on those occasions without him; that jail officials explained to the judge at those hearings that he had not been brought to court because of the disciplinary actions; and that the judge was "lenient" in giving them "the opportunity to bring me the next time." Lewis complained that "it was going on for so long [and] I couldn't even talk to my attorney" to explain it.He added that while in lockdown, jail officials would not give him writing materials to write to his lawyer or the court to explain what was happening to him and that ranking officers did nothing until November 2018, when he started to receive stamped envelopes.
Lewis testified that his missed court dates in his criminal case No. 535-581 were on August 28, 2018, for a motion hearing and on September 4, 2018 for a pretrial conference. He stated that he was transported to court for a pretrial hearing by jail officials on September 27, 2018 because "I had got out of the hole." He said he was subsequently put back into lockdown and was not brought to court for pretrial hearings on October 5, 2018; October 12, 2018; October 22, 2018; October 26, 2018; November 2, 2018; and December 3, 2018. He said that on his one court appearance during this period on September 27th, nothing occurred because "I guess they weren't expecting me."
Lewis testified that after his final missed court appearance in early December, he was transported to court by jail officials four or five times. He denied that he was not taken to court because he was in administrative segregation, stating that inmates in disciplinary lockdown are in fact routinely taken to court as scheduled. He alleged that He stated that on September 27th, Director Hodge saw him in response to one of Lewis's complaints and the director made jail officials take him to court on that day. He said he complained toHodge about his inability to see or speak to his lawyer on the phone or to receive writing materials or mail privileges to communicate with his lawyer while in administrative segregation. He alleged that if he had been transported to court as scheduled, his case might already have been addressed and, if a prison term resulted, he could already have been sent "upstate" to a state Department of Corrections facility, served his time and been "home" by now. He stated that jail officials were preventing him from getting "anything done" in court in his criminal case and were doing so as punishment for his various disciplinary infractions in the jail. Lewis testified that his bond was finally reset in the criminal court on April 3 or 4, 2019, and he was released on bond when an outstanding warrant for his arrest was resolved.
Asked about the process for the disciplinary charges against him, Lewis testified that he was given a "writeup" setting out his alleged violations each time; followed by a hearing before the disciplinary hearing officer, Sgt. Stamps, and a chance to speak on his own behalf - although it was a "no win situation, you might as well just plead guilty." He estimated that he had six or seven - maybe more - hearings before the disciplinary hearing officer, and he said he was found guilty on each occasion.
He complained that while he was in administrative segregation for the disciplinary violations, he could not use the phone to call his lawyer because there were no working telephones in lockdown. Lewis also stated that he had spoken to his lawyer or someone else from the lawyer's office a few times while in jail and that his lawyer also came to thejail to see him whenever he requested a visit after being released from lockdown. Lewis estimated that he was usually sentenced to 30-day periods of time in lockdown. He said that when released from lockdown, he could talk to his lawyer and buy supplies from the jail store. He complained that while being disciplined in lockdown he was denied...
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