Marria v. Broaddus, 97 CIV. 8297(NRB).
| Citation | 200 F.Supp.2d 280 |
| Decision Date | 27 March 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 97 CIV. 8297(NRB).,97 CIV. 8297(NRB). |
| Parties | Rashaad MARRIA, Plaintiff, v. Dr. Raymond BROADDUS, Deputy Commissioner of Programs; G. Blaetz, Chairperson of Green Haven Correctional Facility Media Review Committee; Warith Deen Umar, Coordinator for Islamic Affairs; and Glen Goord, Commissioner of the New York State Department of Corrections, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Rashaad Marria, Wallkill, NY, pro se.
Amy I. Kroe, Sullivan & Cromwell, Laurent Sacharoff, Elise S. Zealand, New York City, for Rashaad Marria.
Stephanie Vullo, Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General of the State of New York, Alan R. Kusinitz, Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, for Dr. Raymond Broaddus, G. Blaetz, Warith Deen Umar and Glenn Goord.
Plaintiff, Rashaad Marria ("plaintiff" or "Marria"), has been an inmate in the custody of the New York State Department of Correctional Services ("DOCS") since June 1995. For the duration of his incarceration, plaintiff has been a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths ("Nation"), also referred to as the Five Percenters, the Five Percent, and the Five Percent Nation. Defendants are DOCS employees sued in their individual and official capacities: Defendant Glenn S. Goord ("Goord") is the Commissioner of DOCS; defendant Dr. Raymond Broaddus ("Broaddus") was the Deputy Commissioner for Programs Services of DOCS at all times relevant to this action; defendant G. Blaetz ("Blaetz") is a Senior Counselor and the Media Review Committee Chairperson at DOCS' Green Haven Correctional Facility ("Green Haven"); and defendant Warith Deen Umar ("Umar") was the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs at DOCS at all times relevant to this action (collectively, "defendants" or "DOCS"). Marria challenges DOCS' policy disallowing his receipt of Nation literature, including the newspaper The Five Percenter, and denying his request that he be allowed to assemble with other members of this group. He brings this action for declaratory and injunctive relief as well as monetary damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ("RLUIPA"), the New York State Constitution, and state law. Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all claims and for the exclusion of the testimony and report of plaintiff's expert, Toni Bair ("Bair Report"). Plaintiff moves to exclude the report of defendants' expert, George Camp ("Camp Report").
For the reasons stated below, defendants' motion for summary judgment is denied on plaintiff's First Amendment and RLUIPA claims, and plaintiff's due process claim is dismissed on grounds of qualified immunity. Further, defendants' motion to exclude the Bair Report is denied, and plaintiff's motion to exclude the Camp Report is granted.
In August of 1994, while incarcerated at Rikers Island, plaintiff became a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths ("the Nation"), or the Five Percenters as they are commonly called.2 See Marria Decl ¶ 5; Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1. As plaintiff describes the Nation, it is "a group of individuals who share a common way of life and culture predicated on a belief in God." See Marria Decl. ¶ 7. The Nation was founded more than thirty years ago by Clarence 13X Smith, who left the Nation of Islam ("NOI")3 and, with the assistance of the City of New York and the Urban League, began the Allah Youth Center in Mecca of Harlem, New York ("Allah Youth Center"). See Blocker Decl. ¶ 7; Zealand Decl. Ex. M (history of Nation); Ex. N (article about Nation). The doctrine of Nation members is based upon the teachings of the Koran and the Bible, as well as the 120 Degrees, the Supreme Alphabet, and the Supreme Mathematics4. See Marria Decl. ¶¶ 13-14. Plaintiff asserts that to engage in violent or disruptive activities within the DOCS system goes against the teachings of the Nation, which focus largely on education, self-improvement, self-worth, and responsibility. See Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 2-3. Plaintiff has submitted the declarations of numerous Nation members, living both within and outside the DOCS system, asserting that the Nation is not a gang and does not promote violence. See Barnes Decl., Williams Decl. (asserting that Five Percenters are not a gang and do not engage in gang like activities); Jones Decl. (same); Buford Decl. (same); Clausen Decl. (same); Khalifah Decl. (same); Pittman Decl. (asserting that the Nation is not a gang and that he has never been retaliated against in prison for ending his association with the Nation); and Lake Aff. (same).
Not surprisingly, DOCS' characterization of the Five Percenters5 is drastically different from plaintiff's. "DOCS deems incarcerated Five Percenters an organized threat to the safety, order and security of their prison facilities." Defs.' 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 10. In support of its classification of the Five Percenters as a security threat group, DOCS has submitted such evidence as affidavits from DOCS personnel, internal memoranda and notes by DOCS personnel and inmates discussing Five Percenters, unusual incident and separatee reports noting the involvement of Five Percenters, and information characterizing Five Percenters as a gang from other corrections departments such as the New York City and New Jersey departments of corrections. See Artus Decl. Ex. F, H, J, K, M, N, and O; Zimpfer Decl.; Dubray Decl. DOCS has also submitted affidavits from former Five Percenters, who describe the group as a hierarchical gang headed by elders, the members of which extort and steal from other inmates and carry out violent acts using codes derived from the Supreme Alphabet and Mathematics. See S____ Decl.; H____ Decl.
DOCS' justification for their ban on literature and assembly of Five Percenters stems from their internal policy adopting a non-recognition strategy for security threat group management. DOCS' position is that the Five Percenters are a gang and a threat to the internal management of DOCS' prisons. The non-recognition strategy is designed to diminish the power of the Five Percenters by refusing to legitimize their existence. See Defs.' Mot. at 2-9. DOCS argues that allowing Five Percenters to assemble and receive group literature would legitimize the status of the Five Percenters and interfere with DOCS' management of a security threat group. See id.
One piece of literature specifically at issue in this case is The Five Percenter, a newspaper published each month by the Allah Youth Center. It contains articles about current events relevant to the Nation, information about community activities, letters to the editor, editorials, and Five Percenter lessons, including teachings from the 120 Degrees, the Supreme Alphabet, and the Supreme Mathematics. Plaintiff asserts that members of the Nation are required to study these lessons on a daily basis in order to understand how to lead a righteous life. See Marria Decl. ¶ 13.
On March 27, 1996, while incarcerated at Green Haven, plaintiff received a notice informing him that a March 1996 issue of The Five Percenter addressed to him had arrived at the facility and was being held by the Media Review Committee. See Am. Compl. ¶ 16; Marria Decl. Ex. M. This notice further informed him of his option to promptly submit to Blaetz, Media Review Committee Chairperson, a written statement in support of the admission of the publication, adding that a decision must usually be reached by the Media Review Committee within ten working days. See id. Plaintiff responded, and was subsequently sent a letter by the Media Review Committee stating that The Five Percenter newspaper had been sent to the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs. This letter did not contain the address or contact information for Umar, who was the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs at that time. See Marria Decl. ¶ 33, Ex. N, P.
When the same series of events occurred in April concerning the receipt of the April 1996 edition of The Five Percenter, plaintiff wrote to Acting Commissioner Coombe complaining about these events, and requesting an explanation as well as contact information for the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs. This letter was referred to Broaddus, Deputy Commissioner of Program Services, who informed plaintiff in a letter of June 7, 1996, that the ten day time limit imposed by DOCS Directive # 45726 for review of a publication is inapplicable in those cases where under Muhammed v. Coughlin,7 the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs reviews all publications having to do with the Five Percenters. See Marria Decl. Ex. P (letter of June 7, 1996), Ex. Q (Directive # 4572). Broaddus further suggested that Marria contact the Chairperson of the Media Review Committee at Green Haven to obtain the address for the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs. See id.
Plaintiff received Broaddus's letter after his June 1996 transfer to Elmira Correctional Facility ("Elmira"). He inquired as to the contact information for the Coordinator for Islamic Affairs, and sent Umar a letter concerning the status of his newspapers. See Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt ¶¶ 22-24. Umar did not respond to this letter, and Marria has never been informed of what happened to his March and April 1996 editions of The Five Percenter or given an option to determine what should happen to them. See Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 25. While at Elmira, plaintiff again began receiving his subscription to The Five Percenter, though the June 1996 issue was withheld.8 In September 1997, plaintiff was transferred to Shawangunk Correctional Facility ("Shawangunk"). On September 22, 1998, Marria wrote a letter to Umar requesting a copy of any directives, memos, rules, or regulations DOCS follows in the handling of Five Percenter literature. In a letter dated October 19, 1998, Umar responded as follows:
Dear brother:
This responds to your letter of September 22,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Prall v. Bocchini
...to the exercise, teaching, and observance of Plaintiff's Nation of Gods and Earth's System ofBeliefs." He cites to Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F. Supp.2d 280 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) and Marria v. Broaddus, 2003 WL 21782633 (S.D.N.Y. 2003).4 (Id., ¶ 8). Ninth, Prall states that a substantial burden is c......
-
Keitt v. Hawk
...bears the burden of showing that his religious exercise has been burdened and that the burden is substantial.15 Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F. Supp. 2d 280, 297 (S.D.N.Y. 2002) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-2(b)). The burden then shifts to the government to show that the limitation furthers a comp......
-
Grace United Methodist Church v. City of Cheyenne, 02-CV-035-B.
...government must be on a "sincere" exercise of religion. Kikumura v. Hurley, 242 F.3d 950, 960 (10th Cir.2001); Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F.Supp.2d 280, 292 (S.D.N.Y.2002). "Whether religious beliefs are sincerely held is a question of fact." Mosier v. Maynard, 937 F.2d 1521, 1526 (10th Cir.19......
-
Jones v. Goord
...approach, and treat claims under the First Amendment and under RLUIPA as separate causes of action. For example, in Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F.Supp.2d 280 (S.D.N.Y.2002), the plaintiff advanced claims under both the First Amendment and RLUIPA. The district court, in denying defendants' motio......
-
Free speech, expression, association.
...charges for authoring and possessing certain articles. (Attica Correctional Facility, New York) U.S. District Court Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F.Supp.2d 280 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). A state prisoner brought a [section] 1983 ASSEMBLY action against prison officials alleging violation of the First Amend......
-
Access to court.
...serious to warrant Eighth Amendment protection. (Mid-Orange Correctional Facility, New York) U.S. District Court Marria v. Broaddus, 200 F.Supp.2d 280 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). A state prisoner brought a [section] 1983 EXPERT WITNESS action against prison officials alleging violation of the First Am......