Monk v. Williams

• Decision Date: 27 September 2007
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 04-1358-SLR.
• Citation: 516 F.Supp.2d 343
• Parties: Jonathan Milton MONK, Plaintiff, v. Warden Rafael WILLIAMS and Pam Minor, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

516 F.Supp.2d 343

Jonathan Milton MONK, Plaintiff, v. Warden Rafael WILLIAMS and Pam Minor, Defendants.

Civ. No. 04-1358-SLR.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

September 27, 2007.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Jonathan Milton Monk, Wilmington, DE, pro se Plaintiff.

Eileen Kelly, Deputy Attorney General, Delaware Department of Justice, Wilmington, DE, for Defendants Warden Rafael William and Pam Minor.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SUE L. ROBINSON, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Presently before the court is a motion for summary judgment filed by the State defendants Warden Rafael Williams ("Warden Williams") and Pam Minor ("Minor") (collectively "State defendants") against plaintiff Jonathan Milton Monk. (D.I.25, 26) Pursuant to the court's order dated July 18, 2007, plaintiffs answering brief in response to defendants' motion for summary judgment was due August 17, 2007. (D.I. 34 at ¶ 3) Plaintiff has not filed any responsive papers. (D.I.35) For the reasons set forth below, the court will grant the State defendants' motion for summary judgment.

II. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lawsuit alleging he was removed from the Key drug treatment program ("the Key Program") on August 15, 2004, at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution ("HRCI"), Wilmington, Delaware¹ for practicing Muslim prayer, and was denied reentry into the program. (D.I.2) This court summarizes plaintiffs complaint as a claim for retaliation based upon his practice of religion in violation of his First Amendment rights. Id. Plaintiff seeks monetary damages. Id.

The following facts are related to plaintiffs allegations. On August 15, 2004 at about 8:00 p.m., the plaintiff and fifteen to twenty inmates were praying beside their bunks in the Key Program's separate dormitory housing unit at HRYCI. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 10-14) The dormitory consisted of approximately 100 bunks. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 12) Officer Johnson entered the housing unit in order to perform the 8:00 p.m. head count and observed several inmates in prayer beside their bunks. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 11, 16) Officer Johnson only performs the head count on Sunday. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 11) Prisoners are required to sit on their bunks during the head count. Id. Plaintiff claims that Officer Johnson did not give an order for inmates to sit on their bunks during the head count. (D.I. 26, ex. at 16, 17) Plaintiff testified that Officer Johnson called a Code 3, which is the signal for an inmate riot in progress. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 11)

Plaintiff alleges that a squad of twenty officers responded to the Code 3. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 17, 18) Plaintiff and several other inmates who continued to pray were instructed to pack their belongings and were removed from the dormitory. Id. Plaintiff had "just finished" praying when the officers arrived. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 18) Plaintiff testified that he said to Officer Sabato, who was about to apprehend a praying inmate, "[c]ould you not do that? He is almost done." (D.I. 26, ex. A at 18) According to plaintiff, Key Program inmates had been permitted to pray beside their bunks during the prison head count for the past three months. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 11)

Plaintiff was taken from the Key Program dormitory to a separate holding area. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 21) Plaintiff was then placed in segregation for fifteen days for impermissibly leaving his cell to obtain hot water. Id. At some point, Officer Sabato accused plaintiff of being the "ring leader" of the Key Program incident. Id. Plaintiff was found guilty of the disciplinary charge of "demonstrations" in connection with the Key Program incident. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 23) Plaintiff did not appeal the charge, stating that he had time served for "being in the hole," and he desired to return to the prison population. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 24) Plaintiff alleges he was removed from the Key Program due to prejudice stemming from certain Muslim religious sects that give Muslims a "bad wrap." (D.I. 26, ex. A at 35)

Plaintiff served the remainder of his sentence in the regular prison housing unit and never returned to the Key Program. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 24, 25) Plaintiff filed a grievance against his removal from the Key Program on the day of the Key Program incident. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 30) Prison administrators denied plaintiffs grievance and plaintiff did not appeal this decision. Id.

On September 14, 2004, defendant Minor approved the Multi-Disciplinary Team's ("MDT") recommendation to rescind the plaintiffs Key Program classification. (D.I. 26, ex. B at ¶ 6) An increased classification level decreases the number of programs in which a prisoner may participate. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 38) Plaintiffs reclassification disqualified him from continuing the Key Program for two reasons. First, the Key Program Discharge Summary stated that plaintiff "did not respect authority and did not work diligently on his treatment objectives." (D.I. 26, ex. B at ¶ 4) The Key Program Discharge Summary is dated August 20, 2004, five days after the Key Program incident. (D.I. 26, ex. B1 at 3) Second, plaintiff was found guilty of "demonstrations,"² which "increased his risk assessment points and increased his security level classification." (D.I. 26, ex. B at ¶ 5)

On September 30, 2004, plaintiff filed this suit in response to the denial of his grievance. (D.I. 26, ex. A at 30; D.I. 2) Plaintiff asserts that his removal from the Key Program postponed his release from prison. (D.I.2) Initially his release was scheduled for November 11, 2004; plaintiff was released from prison on March 5, 2005. Id.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court shall grant summary judgment only if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of proving that no genuine issue of material fact exists. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 n. 10, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "Facts that could alter the outcome are `material,' and disputes are `genuine' if evidence exists from which a rational person could conclude that the position of the person with the burden of proof on the disputed issue is correct." Horowitz v. Fed. Kemper Life Assurance Co., 57 F.3d 300, 302 n. 1 (3d Cir.1995) (internal citations omitted). If the, moving party has demonstrated an absence of material fact, the nonmoving party then "must come forward with `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). The court will "view the underlying facts and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion." Pa. Coal Ass'n v. Babbitt, 63 F.3d 231, 236 (3d Cir.1995). The mere existence of some evidence in support of the nonmoving party, however, will not be sufficient for denial of a motion for summary judgment; there must be enough evidence to enable a jury reasonably to find for the nonmoving party on that issue. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the nonmoving party fails to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of its case with respect to which it has the burden of proof, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265(1986).

A pro se complaint is liberally construed and held to a standard less stringent than formal pleadings. Erickson v. Pardus, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 2200, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). When an adverse party fails to respond to a summary judgment motion, Rule 56(e) requires the court to grant the motion only "if appropriate." Anchorage Assocs. v. V.I. Bd. of Tax Review, 922 F.2d 168, 175 (3d Cir. 1990) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). The Third Circuit has treated a pro se complaint containing the statement "I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct" as an affidavit for the purpose of opposing a summary judgment motion. Reese v. Sparks, 760 F.2d 64, 67 n. 3 (3d Cir.1985). The burden remains on the nonmoving party, not the court, to identify sufficient facts from the record that show the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Childers v. Joseph, 842 F.2d 689 (3d Cir.1988). Summary judgment will be granted if the facts set forth by the moving party support a judgment as a matter of law. Anchorage Assocs., 922 F.2d at 175.

State defendants move for summary judgment on several grounds.³ First, they claim they did not retaliate against plaintiff for practicing his religion in connection with the prison administration's decision to permanently remove him from the Key Program. Second, State defendants move for summary judgment because plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing the instant lawsuit. In addition, defendant Warden Williams moves for summary judgment on the basis that he was not personally involved in, or the moving force behind, plaintiff's allegations.

IV. DISCUSSION

A. Retaliation

Plaintiff contends that his permanent removal from the Key Program is an act of retaliation for practicing his religion. Government action that does not violate the Constitution can amount to a constitutional tort if substantially motivated to punish an individual for exercising a constitutional right. Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 224 (3d Cir.2000). Proof of a retaliation claim requires that plaintiff demonstrate: (1) constitutionally protected conduct; (2) an adverse action by prison officials "sufficient to deter a person of ordinary firmness from exercising his [constitutional] rights;" and (3) "a causal link between the exercise of his constitutional rights and the adverse action taken against...