May v. Baldwin, Civ. No. 94-664-JO.

• Decision Date: 07 August 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 94-664-JO.
• Parties: David L. MAY, Plaintiff, v. G.H. BALDWIN, Superintendent, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution; et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Oregon

895 F. Supp. 1398

David L. MAY, Plaintiff, v. G.H. BALDWIN, Superintendent, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution; et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 94-664-JO.

United States District Court, D. Oregon.

August 7, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David L. May, Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution, Pendleton, OR, pro se.

Jan Peter Londahl, Department of Justice, Administration, Salem, OR, for defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT E. JONES, District Judge:

Plaintiff, an inmate at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI), brings this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988) seeking damages and equitable relief.¹ In his second amended complaint² plaintiff alleges, in part, that prison officials offended his First Amendment rights by ordering him to undo his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafarian religious beliefs. He also contends that prison officials inflicted cruel and unusual punishment when they placed him in the Disciplinary Segregation Unit (DSU) at EOCI and subsequently placed him on "loss of privileges" status.³

Defendants move for summary judgment (# 44) against plaintiffs complaint because they allegedly have qualified immunity. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

STANDARD

Summary judgment should be granted if there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). If the moving party shows that there are no genuine issues of material fact, the non-moving party must go beyond the pleadings and designate facts showing an issue for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A scintilla of evidence, or evidence that is merely colorable or not significantly probative, does not present a genuine issue of material fact. United Steelworkers of America v. Phelps Dodge Corp., 865 F.2d 1539, 1542 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 809, 110 S.Ct. 51, 107 L.Ed.2d 20 (1989).

The substantive law governing a claim determines whether a fact is material. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 (1986); T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n., 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987). Reasonable doubts as to the existence of a material factual issue are resolved against the moving party. T.W. Elec. Serv., 809 F.2d at 631. Inferences drawn from the facts are viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. at 630-31.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff was to be transported from EOCI on March 24, 1994 for a medical examination. As part of the search process conducted on inmates before transport from EOCI, prison officials ordered plaintiff to unbraid his dreadlock-style hair. Plaintiff refused and was subsequently placed in the DSU for seven days pending a disciplinary hearing. (Defendants' Exh. 101 ¶ 11.) After the disciplinary hearing, plaintiff was sanctioned a total of 21 days loss of privileges status upon release from the DSU on March 30, 1994. (Defendants' Exh. 101, Attach. 4.) Following a second disciplinary hearing on April 25, 1995, he was further sanctioned to five days in the DSU without recreation yard privileges followed by seven days loss of privileges status for failure to comply with the order to unbraid his hair. (Defendants' Exh. 101, Attach. 7.)

On May 17, 1994, plaintiff was once again scheduled to be transported from EOCI. On this occasion, plaintiff again refused to unbraid his hair despite being asked by prison officials to do so one day earlier. (Defendants' Exh. 101 ¶ 12.) Consequently, prison officials held a third disciplinary hearing where plaintiff received the following sanctions for disregarding the order: (1) seven days in the DSU, (2) loss of recreation yard privileges while in the DSU, (3) 14 days loss of privileges status upon release from the DSU, and (4) a $25.00 fine. (Defendants' Exh. 101 Attach. 5.)

DISCUSSION

This court is mindful of the notion that federal courts should be reluctant to interfere with the operation and discipline of a state prison, and will only do so "upon a clear showing of a violation of a federally guaranteed constitutional right." Holt v. Sarver, 442 F.2d 304, 307 (8th Cir.1971). In Gates v. Rowland, 39 F.3d 1439 (9th Cir.1994), the Ninth Circuit elaborated upon this principle of judicial restraint:

Running a prison is an inordinately difficult undertaking that requires expertise, planning, and the commitment of resources, all of which are peculiarly within the provinces of the legislative and executive branches of government. Prison administration is, moreover, a task that has been committed to the responsibility of those branches, and separation of powers concerns counsel a policy of judicial restraint. Where a state penal system is involved, federal courts have ... additional reason to accord deference to the appropriate prison authorities.

Id. at 1448 (quoting Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 84-85, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 2259, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987)). In addition, in Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979), the Supreme Court noted that "prison administrators ... should be accorded wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline and to maintain institutional security." Id. at 547, 99 S.Ct. at 1878.

To state a claim under section 1983, a plaintiff must allege (1) the violation of a Constitutional right and (2) must show that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 2254, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988); L.W. v. Grubbs, 974 F.2d 119, 120 (9th Cir.1992).

Government officials performing discretionary functions are protected from liability for civil damages so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.⁴Elder v. Holloway, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 114 S.Ct. 1019, 1021, 127 L.Ed.2d 344 (1994); Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982); Camarillo v. McCarthy, 998 F.2d 638, 639 (9th Cir.1993). "The contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he was doing violates that right." Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 3039, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987). The plaintiff bears the burden of demonstrating that the constitutional right allegedly violated was "clearly established" at the time of the conduct at issue. Maraziti v. First Interstate Bank of California, 953 F.2d 520, 523 (9th Cir.1992); Romero v. Kitsap, 931 F.2d 624, 627 (9th Cir.1991). Whether the law governing the conduct is "clearly established" is a pure question of law. Act Up!/Portland v. Bagley, 988 F.2d 868, 873 (9th Cir.1993).

Thus, when presented with a motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, the court must engage in a three part analysis: (1) the identification of a specific right allegedly violated; (2) the determination of whether that right was so "clearly established" as to alert a reasonable officer to its constitutional parameters; and (3) whether a reasonable officer could have believed lawful the particular conduct at issue. Romero, 931 F.2d at 627. If the right was not "clearly established" or the officer could have reasonably believed that his conduct was lawful, the officer should prevail. Id. at 627.

I. First Amendment

A. Dreadlocks

Plaintiff alleges that his First Amendment right to free exercise of religion was violated when prison officials, pursuant to state prison regulations,⁵ ordered him to undo his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafarian religious beliefs. (Second Amended Complaint ¶ 25.) The Ninth Circuit recently held that prisoners' free exercise of religion claims are to be analyzed under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("the Act"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb — 2000bb-4; Bryant v. Gomez, 46 F.3d 948, 949 (9th Cir.1995); see also Werner v. McCotter, 49 F.3d 1476, 1479 (10th Cir.1995) (holding that the Act is the analytical framework governing all free exercise of religion claims, including those of prisoners). The Act, passed by Congress in 1993, provides that government shall not substantially burden an individual's exercise of religion. 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(a). However, the Act also states that:

Government may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that the application of the burden to the person —

(1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(b).

Defendants do not dispute that requiring plaintiff to undo his dreadlocks substantially burdens his right to exercise his Rastafarian religious beliefs. (See May Religion Aff.; Second Amended Complaint ¶ 25.) Therefore, the issue before this court is whether EOCI's grooming policy is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and, if so, whether it is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest.

I find that EOCI's requirement that inmates leaving or returning to the facility loosen their hair does serve a compelling governmental interest: maintaining prison security by preventing the introduction of contraband into the facility. See Turner, 482 U.S. at 91, 107 S.Ct. at 2263 (prison security is a valid penological interest); Wolfish, 441 U.S. at 545, 99 S.Ct. at 1877 (maintaining prison security is an essential goal that may require limitation of prisoners' retained constitutional rights); Witherow v. Paff, 52 F.3d 264, 265 (9th Cir.1995) ("legitimate penological interests include security, order, and rehabilitation"); Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1114 (10th Cir.1991) (...