Reese v. Nelson

• Decision Date: 02 May 1979
• Docket Number: No. 78-1654,78-1654
• Citation: 598 F.2d 822
• Parties: Paul A. REESE, Appellant, v. Stanley M. NELSON, John Ahlfeld, Benjamin F. Weaver, John B. Rengier, Nelvin L. Bitner, Raymond G. Herr, William E. Chillas, Esq., Charles B. Grove, Jr., Esq., Robert Reed, Frederick Plowfield, August J. Schulz, M.D., J. Albert Schulz, M.D., St. Joseph's Hospital.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 822

598 F.2d 822

Paul A. REESE, Appellant, v. Stanley M. NELSON, John Ahlfeld, Benjamin F. Weaver, John B Rengier, Nelvin L. Bitner, Raymond G. Herr, William E Chillas, Esq., Charles B. Grove, Jr., Esq., Robert Reed Frederick Plowfield, August J. Schulz, M.D., J. Albert Schulz, M.D., St. Joseph's Hospital.

No. 78-1654.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Feb. 20, 1979.

Decided May 2, 1979.

Samuel M. Mecum (argued), Glazier, Minney, Mecum & Kohr, Lancaster, Pa., for appellant.

Thomas E. Byrne (argued), Krusen, Evans & Byrne, Richard R. Galli, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellees Nelson, Ahlfeld, Weaver, Rengier, Herr, Grove and Plowfield.

John S. J. Brooks (argued), Brooks, Bradley & Kenney, Media, Pa., for appellee, August J. Schulz, M.D.

Before HUNTER and WEIS, Circuit Judges, and STAPLETON, ^* District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

A letter sent to a county official referring to a "well placed bomb" as a way of solving plaintiff's frustration with local government began a series of events leading to his emergency confinement for psychiatric evaluation. Alleging deprivation of constitutional rights, plaintiff brought suit against various officials who participated in the proceedings authorized by the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act of 1966. After reviewing the trial record, we conclude that the evidence indisputably establishes a qualified immunity for the defendants which required the entry of directed verdicts for them. Accordingly, we do not meet plaintiff's challenges to the jury instructions and affirm a judgment for the defendants.

Plaintiff Paul Reese was temporarily confined to the psychiatric ward of St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for examination pursuant to the Pennsylvania statute which authorized a limited commitment of a person whose mental condition made him a danger to himself or others. He was discharged after eight days, and later filed suit in the district court against various Lancaster County officials and the examining psychiatrist under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985. After a trial, a jury responding to interrogatories found that the defendant psychiatrist and county officials acted in good faith in utilizing legal process to bring the plaintiff to a hearing before a master in the state court. The district court then entered judgment for all the defendants.

Testimony established that on a number of occasions plaintiff sent abusive letters to local governmental officials, protesting what he conceived to be their unwarranted intrusions into citizens' private lives, particularly in the area of community planning. In a letter dated January 20, 1973, addressed to John Ahlfeld, Director of the Lancaster County Planning Commission, the plaintiff complained about "unAmerican collectivistic works" and wrote:

"Perhaps you will feel more secure by turning this letter over to the U.S. postal authorities. But I do not see how you can gain much in that direction. By following federal standards in our war against Communists (alleged, probable and even possible), a well placed bomb is the acceptable answer to the problem. And the record of your work identifies you!

More truly than you believe,

Paul A. Reese

P.S. Please be gone by July 1, 1973."

Plaintiff also sent letters to the county commissioners on June 1, 1973, and June 7, 1973, in which he stated that they were "courting disaster," that a judgment that plaintiff would "go away" would be no better than the Department of Defense's evaluation of the Viet Cong, that plaintiff was "beginning to feel like a trapped animal," and was "now desperately appealing for a 'cease and desist' from political oppression." Included with the June 1, 1973 letter was a copy of the one dated January 20 addressed to Ahlfeld. Another letter in similar tenor was sent to Ahlfeld on June 13, 1973, stating in part: "(L)et it be known that you are the one who determines your own safety and happiness. . . . You are the one who has attacked and robbed me, and made it necessary for me to devise ways to defend myself." In early June, plaintiff appeared at Ahlfeld's office and engaged in an abusive tirade with the receptionist, stating that "I am the fellow who is going to get (Ahlfeld's) rear end if he is not gone by July 19, or, by the July 1st."

On June 11, 1973, Ahlfeld met with defendant Stanley Nelson, the administrator of the county mental health and retardation program, who had some 17 years experience as a clinical psychiatric nurse in addition to post-graduate training in the field. After reading the letters sent by plaintiff, Nelson and Benjamin Weaver, the county administrator, visited Reese's home and talked to him and his wife. In the course of the conversation, Reese was asked to explain the letter of January 20, 1973 and replied that "the letter states exactly what appears in it." When the two men told plaintiff that Ahlfeld was anxious about his safety, plaintiff stated, "If I were doing the things Mr. Ahlfeld was doing, I would be concerned, too."

Becoming apprehensive about Reese's conversation and demeanor, Nelson decided to secure a court order for a psychiatric examination under § 406 of the Pennsylvania Mental Health and Mental Retardation Act, Pa.Stat.Ann. tit. 50, § 4406. ¹ A hearing was scheduled for the morning of Friday, June 29, 1973, but plaintiff was not notified until about 8:00 A.M. that day, when two deputy sheriffs appeared at his home and escorted him to the courthouse. ² A public defender was assigned to represent the plaintiff at the hearing which began soon after 9:00 A.M. The proceedings could not be concluded, however, because the assigned court reporter was required to attend a criminal trial at 10:00 A.M. and at that hour the hearing was continued.

Nelson and the county solicitor, John Rengier, were concerned about the plaintiff's apparent fixation on the upcoming July 1 date and decided to invoke the emergency commitment procedure of § 405, Pa.Stat.Ann. tit. 50, § 4405, ³ so that the plaintiff could be examined immediately by a psychiatrist. The necessary documents were signed by defendant Raymond Herr, a county commissioner, and the plaintiff was taken to St. Joseph Hospital where he was examined shortly after noon by Dr. August Schulz, a psychiatrist.

Dr. Schulz determined that the plaintiff was potentially dangerous and should be detained for additional evaluation. After one week's observation in the hospital, the physician concluded that the plaintiff's paranoia was long-standing and that prolonged hospitalization was not indicated. He therefore released plaintiff and suggested treatment at an out-patient clinic.

The defendants named in the case were Stanley M. Nelson, the county health administrator, John Ahlfeld, the county planning director, John B. Rengier, the county solicitor who handled the hearing for the county, Raymond G. Herr, the county commissioner who signed the application for the § 405 commitment, Charles B. Grove, Jr., the solicitor for the planning commission, Frederick Plowfield, the county sheriff, whose deputies brought plaintiff to the hearing, and Dr. August J. Schulz, the psychiatrist who first examined the plaintiff on June 29, 1973. ⁴ All defendants moved for judgment at the conclusion of the plaintiff's case and after all the evidence had been submitted. The motions were denied and the case was submitted to the jury on a single interrogatory as to each defendant. ⁵

The plaintiff contends that the trial judge erroneously failed to instruct the jury that the defendants had the burden of proving good faith, ⁶ failed to properly define the scope of that defense and committed other errors in the charge. We do not find it necessary to meet these contentions because, viewing all the evidence favorably to the plaintiff, the trial judge should nevertheless have directed verdicts for the defendants. Consequently, the alleged errors in the charge are not material.

Plaintiffs conceded throughout the case and on appeal that the defendants were entitled to a conditional or qualified immunity as set out in Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974), and Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 95 S.Ct. 992, 43 L.Ed.2d 214 (1975). We therefore examine the evidence to determine if there was any conflict in testimony which had to be resolved by the jury or if the record in the case failed to establish good faith. We conclude that both inquiries must be answered in the negative.

Although as a general proposition, the question of the qualified immunity of a state official is a matter for factual resolution, See Scheuer v. Rhodes, supra, at 242-43, 249-50, 94 S.Ct. 1683; Fidtler v. Rundle, 497 F.2d 794, 801-02 (3d Cir. 1974), it is clear the issue need not always be a jury question. In Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 98 S.Ct. 855, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978), the Supreme Court affirmed the entry of a summary judgment on the basis of a qualified immunity. Similarly, in Princeton Community Phone Book, Inc. v. Bate, 582 F.2d 706, 715 (3d Cir. 1978), we affirmed a summary judgment in favor of defendants in a § 1983 damage claim on the basis of uncontradicted depositions and affidavits establishing good faith. In this case, by way of contrast, we have the benefit of all the evidence submitted at a ten-day trial.

In evaluating the good faith defense, moreover, it need not be necessary to determine whether the defendants' conduct did in fact violate the plaintiff's constitutional rights or whether the procedures utilized by Lancaster County were constitutionally deficient. As Navarette makes clear, the immunity defense should not be rejected if at the time that the act was committed there was no clearly established constitutional right and there was no malicious intention to deprive the plaintiff of a constitutional right or cause him other injury. 434 U.S. at 562, 98 S.Ct. 855.

We consider first the issue of...