Rouser v. White
| Decision Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV S-93-0767 LKK GGH P.,CIV S-93-0767 LKK GGH P. |
| Citation | 630 F.Supp.2d 1165 |
| Parties | William ROUSER, Plaintiff, v. Theo WHITE, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
Jennifer Lauren Riggs, Jones Day, Los Angeles, CA, Richard G. Bates, Jr., Law Offices of Richard G. Bates Jr., Concord, CA, for Plaintiff.
David A. Carrillo, Fiel Dizon Tigno, Attorney General's Office of the State of California, Joshua Casey Irwin, Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, Oakland, CA, James Edmund Flynn, Attorney General of The State of California, Sacramento, CA, Carlotta Wells, United States Department Of Justice, Washington, DC, Jonathan T. Foot Federal Programs Branch, Washington, DC, for Defendants.
Plaintiff is an inmate at Pleasant Valley State Prison and a member of the Wiccan religion. He has brought suit against defendants, who are current and former Directors of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and wardens at two prisons, for alleged violations of his civil rights under the federal and state constitutions and alleged violations of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Pending before the court is defendants' motion for summary judgment on all seven of his causes of action. The court resolves the motion on the papers and after oral argument.
Plaintiff is a practicing Wiccan and has been initiated as a high priest in that faith. The modern American Wiccan religion exists under the umbrella of Pagan faiths and is based on a belief in honoring the earth and its elements. Central to the Wiccan practice is the celebration of eight annual sabbats, or solar festivals, and worship at bi-weekly services called esbats, which are based on lunar phases. According to plaintiff, the most important sabbats in his practice are May 1 and October 31. Declaration of William Rouser In Support of Plaintiff's Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment ("Rouser Decl.") ¶ 4. Semiweekly services are a practice of the faith.
Wiccans use several items as part of their religious worship. These include a Book of Shadows, which is a form of spiritual journal, Tarot cards, and items that represent the natural elements, such as salt, feather, herbs, wood, water, and religious medallions. According to plaintiff, other items such as altar cloths, ground eggshell powder, and a Witches Bible are also used. Declaration of Lin Wang In Support of Pl.'s Opp'n to Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J. ("Wang Decl.") ¶ 6, Ex. 56 (Depo. of William Rouser at 10:5-20); Rouser Decl. ¶ 18. In group worship services, Wiccans may use many items, including an alter, oil, a bell, candles, a chalice, a drum, crystals, an icon of a deity, and a "tabbared."2 Plaintiff contends that group worship may also use a fire pit. Wang Decl. ¶ 6, Ex. 56 at 16:1-25. According to plaintiff, the Wiccan practitioner begins each ritual by "casting a circle," in which religious articles that have symbolic meaning are placed. Rouser Decl. ¶ 7.
The parties also dispute how essential group worship is in the Wiccan faith. Defendants have tendered excerpts from plaintiff's deposition, in which he testified that "like any religion," his can be practiced alone. Rouser Depo. at 16:2-5. Plaintiff has tendered evidence emphasizing the importance of group worship, as "[f]ellowship and communion with each other strengthens the individual." Rouser Decl. ¶ 5. According to plaintiff, the purpose of the eight annual sabbats specifically is to worship as a group. Id. ¶ 4.
Plaintiff has been incarcerated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR") since 1979. Defendant Gomez was the Director of CDCR from April 1991 to January 1997. Defendant Cate is presently the Secretary of CDCR.
In December 1990, plaintiff was transferred to California State Prison—Sacramento ("CSP-Sac"). In August 1992, he filed a grievance requesting items for practicing Wicca. Specifically, he asked for incense, candles, Tarot cards, and information on obtaining a Wiccan chaplain and arranging Wiccan services. He did not state whether he sought a paid or volunteer chaplain and, if he sought a volunteer chaplain, whether he knew of a person willing to act in this role. Prior to this, plaintiff had not identified himself as Wiccan on forms in which inmates designated their religion. This grievance was denied at the first level on the grounds that the only cards permitted at the facility were pinochle cards and that incense and candles were not allowed due to security and fire restrictions.
Plaintiff appealed and was again denied. In this denial, CDCR staff informed plaintiff that the only chaplains recognized by CDCR were those for Catholic, Muslim, Protestant, and Native American religions. Plaintiff appealed this denial.
The appeal was denied by the associate warden, on the grounds that the requested items were not allowable personal property at CSP-Sac and that there was no need to hire a Wiccan chaplain. This denial was approved by the chief deputy warden, who signed the form over defendant White's typewritten name. Defendant White had become warden of CSP-Sac three weeks prior, on October 1, 1992.3 According to defendant White, he had "no personal knowledge of the grievance, did not discuss it with any of the staff whose names are on the grievance form, did not personally participate in its denial, and did not learn of it" until after the filing of the instant suit. Def. White's Response to Pl.'s First Special Interrogatory #6.
Plaintiff appealed this denial to the Director's level, where it was denied by the Chief of Inmate Appeals. According to defendant Gomez, he had delegated disposition of Director's level inmate appeals to the Chief of Inmate Appeals. Declaration of James Gomez in Support of Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J. ("Gomez Decl.") ¶¶ 4-5.
In March, 1993, plaintiff was placed in administrative segregation pending investigation for disciplinary charges. Prior to this, while housed in the general population, plaintiff had a Wiccan Witches' Bible with him. In April 1993, he submitted a grievance stating that an unidentified officer did not permit him to have his Witches' Bible in administrative segregation, although other inmates in administrate segregation were permitted to have religious texts like the Christian Bible and Muslim Qu'ran. This grievance was denied, on the grounds that the book was "an Occult book on Witches, and therefore is not considered a recognized religion." Declaration of Theo White in Support of Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J. ("White Decl.") ¶ 4, Attachment 1.
Plaintiff appealed and the appeal was denied at the second level on June 25, 1993. The stated reason for the denial was that the practice of religion that requires animal or human sacrifice would not be permitted by CDCR.4 Id. This denial is signed above the signature line for "Theo White, Warden." Id. Defendants contend, without tendering any evidence in support of this, that the signature is not defendant White's.
This denial was then reconsidered and on November 16, 1994, plaintiff was issued the Witches Bible. On April 23, 1996, plaintiff was transferred out of CSP-Sac to Pelican Bay State Prison ("PBSP"). During the time he was housed at CSP-Sac, plaintiff celebrated sabbats and esbats in his cell. He made candles and incense from other items that he was allowed to have. Although defendants have tendered some evidence that plaintiff could also engage in group worship in the yard and other common areas, plaintiff has declared that this was inadequate because he was not given access to articles necessary for the worship rituals. Rouser Decl. ¶ 24. He also declared that, because he and other Wiccan worshipers were not given a designated space in which to worship, any inmate could walk through the group and "desecrate [the] circle and disrupt [the] service." Id.
In May 1997, after his transfer to PBSP, plaintiff filed a grievance after an officer allegedly destroyed a small altar plaintiff had made out of a soup box. A correctional counselor told plaintiff he would be allowed to have an altar.
Between 1996 and 2007, it appears that plaintiff was transferred to a number of different facilities. Plaintiff has tendered evidence that during this time, he was denied at various times access to any group services and permission to make orders for religious items from outside vendors. Rouser Decl. ¶¶ 63-76.
On June 8, 2007, plaintiff was transferred to Pleasant Valley State Prison ("PVSP"), where he is currently housed. Defendant Yates is currently the Warden at PVSP.
On June 9, 2007, plaintiff filed a grievance regarding staff at PVSP confiscating some of personal property, including several Wiccan items, upon his arrival at PVSP. This grievance was denied on the grounds that the items had not been approved for religious practice at PVSP. He appealed this denial. The denial was upheld for purported safety concerns regarding several of plaintiff's items (a bag, oil, and magnets).6 The reviewing officer also found that, since the appeal was filed, two of plaintiff's items had been returned to him.
At some point subsequent, plaintiff also filed a grievance stating that CDCR staff had withheld from him a necklace and other religious articles.7 Prison officials learned that this had not been shipped to PVSP from plaintiff's previous facility. The necklace was later shipped to PVSP and plaintiff currently has it.
At present, plaintiff also has a Witches Bible and several other religious texts, Tarot cards,...
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