Madewell v. Roberts, 89-1671
| Decision Date | 31 July 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-1671,89-1671 |
| Parties | Jack MADEWELL, James Keith Sampson, Russell McKinnon, George A. Wilson, Richard S. Brasher, Jr., Anthony Landis, James C. Walters, Cliston Ray Swanson, Odell Hampton, Zakee Kaleem Abdullah, Eddie Bo Lawshea, Raymond Proffitt, Earnest Kisling, Freddie Robinson, James Phelps, Winston Holloway, Appellant, v. Bobby ROBERTS, Chairman; James Mason; Rev. Hezekih Steward, Jr., David McClinton; Morris Dreher; Sheriff Floyd Johnson; Dr. Nancy Talbert, Board Members, Arkansas Department of Correction; A.L. Lockhart, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction; Larry Norris, Warden; Robert D. Perry, Chief Security Officer, Maximum Security Unit; George Brewer, Classification Administration, Arkansas Department of Correction; Leonard Evans, Classification Officer, Maximum Security Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Patrick R. Kirby, Little Rock, Ark., for appellant.
R.B. Friedlander, Little Rock, Ark., for appellees.
Before McMILLIAN and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges, and HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge.
Winston Holloway and fifteen other inmates at the Maximum Security Unit of the Arkansas Department of Correction requested class certification and sought damages and declaratory and injunctive relief under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. They alleged that defendant prison officials and members of the Board of Correction, named in their individual and official capacities, violated plaintiffs' rights to due process and equal protection, and subjected them to cruel and unusual punishment and to retaliatory actions. Only Holloway appeals from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings as to defendants Perry, Norris and Lockhart.
Plaintiffs alleged that they are housed in cellblock 3 and, because of partial medical disability which prevents them from performing field labor, they are assigned to "inside utility" work (vegetable processing); while so assigned, plaintiffs are denied the opportunity to achieve Class I status; 1 and defendants have conspired, through "an officially approved program of invidious discrimination" (based on plaintiffs' medical disability), to deny plaintiffs the privileges and better living conditions accorded Class I inmates. They alleged that individual plaintiffs have been repeatedly denied their right to appear before the classification committee for consideration for advancement in class status. Plaintiffs also alleged they are forced to perform their inside utility work while sitting directly on the concrete floor of the prison gym; they must work during nighttime hours, are prevented from sleeping in the daytime, and are endangered by being housed with mentally ill inmates. Plaintiffs further alleged that defendants or their agents intercepted a portion of this lawsuit while it was being prepared; afterward, defendants Norris and Perry, with defendant Lockhart's approval, began "an organized program of retaliation against plaintiffs," which included giving them false disciplinary reports, increasing their work hours, serving them spoiled food, and encouraging or permitting other inmates and guards to make excessive noise to prevent plaintiffs from getting adequate sleep.
Holloway stated in a subsequent affidavit that he is assigned to inside utility partly because he has arthritis, and that working during the night in an unheated gym, sitting directly on the cold concrete floor without even a coat, is painful and dangerous to his health.
Defendants moved for dismissal or summary judgment and submitted supporting affidavits. In one of those affidavits, defendant Perry acknowledged that Class I inmates have more privileges, and attributed the differences to their reduced security risk and their job assignments. Perry denied many of plaintiffs' allegations regarding their living and working conditions, but admitted that plaintiffs sit on the floor to work, in part because non-anchored chairs could be used as weapons. Perry attested that advancement to Class I status requires placement in a Class I job; a decision was made that inside utility is not a Class I job; inmates assigned to inside utility have, despite their medical condition, as much opportunity for class advancement as other inmates in the maximum security unit, and can be considered for any Class I-C job for which they are medically fit; many Class I-C jobs do not require medical status of M-1; and inmates assigned to inside utility, like other inmates, cannot be promoted to Class I-C until a suitable I-C job becomes available. Perry further attested that when an inmate is recommended for class advancement, his current practice is to remove the inmate from consideration only when the inmate is ineligible because of having received disciplinary action within certain time limits; even when the inmate is eligible, class advancement is not automatic but may be denied based on other criteria specified in the Inmate Handbook; and in the past, Perry may have removed names from the classification list because of the unavailability of I-C jobs. Perry denied knowing of the interception of any legal work, serving spoiled food, or encouraging noise to prevent plaintiffs from sleeping.
In affidavits filed in response to the summary judgment motion, plaintiff Madewell disputed defendant Perry's proffered "security" rationale for different treatment, and stated Perry discriminates against plaintiffs because of their medical status; plaintiff Landis disputed that his denial of class advancement or consideration was due to his ineligibility or the unavailability of Class I jobs, and asserted it was instead due to discrimination and retaliation; and plaintiff McKinnon stated he was given a false disciplinary so that he would not receive a class promotion. Holloway's affidavit disputed Perry's justifications for plaintiffs' different treatment and working conditions; asserted that minor disciplinaries, for which no due process is afforded, have been fabricated to prevent eligibility for class promotion consideration; and reiterated that his serious arthritic condition is greatly and painfully aggravated by sitting on the concrete. Holloway attached to his affidavit copies of his thirty-four unsuccessful grievances related to claims in the complaint.
The magistrate recommended to the district court that summary judgment be granted to defendants on all claims, and that the request for class certification be denied as moot. Holloway filed objections and a motion for a hearing, asserting there were issues of material fact that the magistrate had improperly resolved through credibility determinations. Holloway asserted he has single-copy documents showing defendants' participation in the alleged wrongs, which, because of the likelihood of being lost if mailed, would be submitted at a hearing; he asserted these include a medical order that a chair be provided for Holloway at work, which he alleges was ignored, and a letter from defendant Norris stating that "utility is for medical problems which preclude Class I." Holloway also asserted that minor disciplinaries should require due process guarantees because they cause ineligibility for class consideration, which in turn affects major issues such as release date, parole eligibility, good time, job assignment, and visitation privileges. Seeking to rebut defendants' claim that plaintiffs have the opportunity to advance to Class I when a Class I job becomes available, Holloway asserted that when he was put up for consideration for an available Class I job, defendant Perry blocked his consideration by the classification committee.
The district court adopted the magistrate's recommended disposition, concluding that the facts did not support the general claims of conspiracy, cruel and unusual punishment, or discrimination against inmates assigned to inside utility. The district court further concluded that plaintiffs have no liberty interest in their class status; plaintiffs' allegations of medical problems being aggravated by the inside utility work assignment are really claims of incorrect medical classification, which should be asserted against medical personnel rather than the defendants named in this case; and to the extent allegations of retaliation were not rebutted by defendants' affidavits, the claims were conclusory and failed to state violations of a constitutional magnitude.
Holloway's brief on appeal purports to argue on behalf of all of the plaintiffs; it states that several of the plaintiffs submitted notices of appeal, but only Holloway's was accepted. Because the notice of appeal filed with this court states that "Winston Holloway, a plaintiff in the above-entitled matter [Jack Madewell, et al. v. Bobby Roberts, et al.] appeals," the individual claims of plaintiffs other than Holloway are not before this court. See Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312, 317-18, 108 S.Ct. 2405, 2409-10, 101 L.Ed.2d 285 (1988) ().
This court has recognized the established rule that " 'an act in retaliation for the exercise of a...
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