Salaam v. Lockhart

• Decision Date: 27 July 1990
• Docket Number: Nos. 89-2341,89-2355,s. 89-2341
• Citation: 905 F.2d 1168
• Parties: Bilal Ali SALAAM, a/k/a Kevin Robinson and Khalil Al-Baaqee Saleem Abdullah, a/k/a Willie Blevins, Appellants, v. A.L. LOCKHART, Superintendent of Arkansas Department of Correction, and Larry Norris, Warden, Maximum Security Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellees. Bilal Ali SALAAM, a/k/a Kevin Robinson and Khalil Al-Baaqee Saleem Abdullah, a/k/a Willie Blevins, Appellees, v. A.L. LOCKHART, Superintendent of Arkansas Department of Correction, and Larry Norris, Warden, Maximum Security Unit, Arkansas Department of Correction, Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1168

905 F.2d 1168

59 USLW 2027

Bilal Ali SALAAM, a/k/a Kevin Robinson and Khalil Al-Baaqee

Saleem Abdullah, a/k/a Willie Blevins, Appellants, v. A.L. LOCKHART, Superintendent of Arkansas Department of

Correction, and Larry Norris, Warden, Maximum

Security Unit, Arkansas Department of

Correction, Appellees.

Bilal Ali SALAAM, a/k/a Kevin Robinson and Khalil Al-Baaqee

Saleem Abdullah, a/k/a Willie Blevins, Appellees, v. A.L. LOCKHART, Superintendent of Arkansas Department of

Correction, and Larry Norris, Warden, Maximum

Security Unit, Arkansas Department of

Correction, Appellants.

Nos. 89-2341, 89-2355.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 15, 1990.

Decided June 13, 1990.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc

Denied July 27, 1990.

Richard T. Donovan, Little Rock, Ark., for appellants.

Leslie M. Powell, Little Rock, Ark., for appellees.

Before ARNOLD and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges, and HEANEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

HEANEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

In 1984, while incarcerated in an Arkansas state prison, Bilal Ali Salaam had his name legally changed by a state court after he converted to the Islamic faith. Salaam brought a pro se suit in 1986 seeking injunctive relief from the policy of Arkansas prison authorities to use only committed names on prison records and clothing, and in the mail room. The district court refused to appoint counsel and denied the claim in all respects. We reversed and remanded the matter for consideration under Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987). Salaam v. Lockhart, 856 F.2d 1120, 1123 (8th Cir.1988) (Salaam I). In particular, we noted that the easy availability of an "a/k/a alternative," the addition of Salaam's new name following his committed name on his clothing, in the prison records, and on the mail room delivery lists, might prove that the present prison policy was unreasonable. Id. The magistrate held a hearing and determined that the mail room policy was unreasonable but that the prison could continue to refuse to add Salaam's new name to his committed name in its files and on his clothing. ¹ We hold that the state authorities must deliver mail to Salaam addressed to him only as Salaam and must allow the addition of Salaam's current name to his clothing. The state, however, need reform its record keeping only to the extent necessary to allow Salaam to receive services and information in his new name within the prison.

I.

[P]rison is a complex of physical arrangements and of measures ... which determine the total existence of certain human beings (except perhaps in the realm of the spirit, and inevitably there as well) from sundown to sundown, sleeping, waking, speaking, silent, working, playing, viewing, eating, voiding, reading, alone, with others. It is not so with members of the general adult population. State governments have not undertaken to require members of the general adult population to rise at a certain hour, eat at certain hours, live for periods with no companionship whatever, wear certain clothing, or to submit to oral and anal searches after visiting hours, nor have state governments undertaken to prohibit members of the general adult population from speaking to one another, wearing beards, embracing their spouses, or corresponding with their lovers. ²

Nevertheless, "[p]rison walls do not form a barrier separating prison inmates from the protections of the constitution." Turner, 482 U.S. at 84, 107 S.Ct. at 2259. Among those rights that they possess, prisoners retain the right to the free exercise of religion. O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 348, 107 S.Ct. 2400, 2404, 96 L.Ed.2d 282 (1987).

Salaam subscribes to the Islamic faith. ³ He understands his faith to require his name to take on one of the attributes of God, and he finds his former name offensive to his beliefs. Tr. at 11-12. ⁴ A personal name is special. It may honor the memory of a loved one, reflect a deep personal commitment, show respect or admiration for someone famous and worthy, or, as in this case, reflect a reverence for God and God's teachings. Like a baptism, bar mitzvah, or confirmation, the adoption of a new name may signify a conversion and the acceptance of responsibilities of membership in a community. The defendants do not contest that Salaam's name change was religiously motivated, that his new name has spiritual significance, or that their policy infringes on his free exercise rights. ⁵ Instead, they argue that the policy reasonably reflects the state's interest in security and administrative efficiency.

Prison regulations that infringe on the constitutional rights of prisoners are judged by their reasonableness. Prison officials are not required to choose the least restrictive means possible in furthering administrative interests. Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. ----, ----, 109 S.Ct. 1874, 1879-80, 104 L.Ed.2d 459, 471 (1989); O'Lone, 482 U.S. at 350, 107 S.Ct. at 2405; Turner, 482 U.S. at 90-91, 107 S.Ct. at 2262-63. We consider four factors to determine if the regulation is reasonable: (1) whether it rationally and actually advances a neutral and legitimate government interest; (2) whether the prisoner has alternative means of exercising the same right; (3) the effect proposed accommodations will have on prison resources; and (4) whether the existence of "obvious, easy alternatives" that impose a de minimis cost reflect the regulation's lack of reasonableness. Turner, 482 U.S. at 89-91, 107 S.Ct. at 2261-63.

Our usual prefatory declaration that prisoners retain certain basic constitutional rights has meaning. We would misconstrue the recent Supreme Court decisions in Abbott, O'Lone, and Turner if we deferred not only to the choices between reasonable policies made by prison officials but to their justifications for the policies as well. " '[A] reasonableness standard is not toothless,' " Abbott, --- U.S. at ----, 109 S.Ct. at 1881-82, 104 L.Ed.2d at 473 (citing the government's certiorari petition). We must make sure after an independent review of the evidence that the regulation is not an exaggerated response to prison concerns. Abbott, --- U.S. at ----, 109 S.Ct. at 1883-84, 104 L.Ed.2d at 476; Turner, 482 U.S. at 96-99, 107 S.Ct. at 2265-67 (finding Missouri prison marriage regulations unreasonable after an independent review of the evidence). While we may not invalidate a regulation because we can imagine a more refined one, constitutional rights should be accommodated. We cannot validate prison regulations that are clearly broader in their scope or significantly more burdensome in effect than reasonable alternatives. Turner, 482 U.S. at 91, 107 S.Ct. at 2262-63 (relatively unburdensome alternatives can demonstrate unreasonableness). ⁶ Nor do alternatives have to be entirely cost-free; costs that are insubstantial in light of the overall maintenance of the prison are acceptable.

In the necessarily closed environment of the correctional institution, few changes will have no ramifications on the liberty of others or on the use of the prison's limited resources for preserving institutional order. When accommodation of an asserted right will have a significant "ripple effect" on fellow inmates or prison staff, courts should be particularly deferential....

... By the same token, the existence of obvious, easy alternatives may be evidence that the regulation is not reasonable, but is an "exaggerated response" to prison concerns.

Turner, 482 U.S. at 90, 107 S.Ct. at 2262. Our review is plenary. Benzel v. Grammer, 869 F.2d 1105, 1108 (8th Cir.1989); Salaam I, 856 F.2d at 1122; Whitney v. Brown, 882 F.2d 1068, 1071 (6th Cir.1989). ⁷

II.

In our previous opinion, we noted the use of the a/k/a alternative in other cases and by the parties before us on all of their legal papers. Salaam I, 856 F.2d at 1123. We remanded this case for consideration of the a/k/a alternative, concluding that "[i]t may be that the a/k/a designation is the sort of 'obvious, easy alternative' which the Supreme Court specifically has directed the courts to examine under the fourth prong of the Turner criteria." Id.

A.

On remand, Salaam explained the spiritual and practical significance of having the prison recognize his name change. In addition, he testified that he had not received mail sent to him under the name of Salaam. Tr. at 14, 24. He also indicated that he had been unable to cash money orders sent under that name. Tr. at 14. Salaam was most concerned that the prison recognize on his outer file jacket his new name and that he receive the normal incidents of recognition, including mail delivery and the cashing of money orders. Tr. at 50; id. at 28-29. Salaam testified that he could be called both names and that he would have no adverse reaction to the use of his former name, although he prefers his new name. Tr. at 20, 132. The inclusion of Salaam's new name on his clothing also would make it easier for his fellow inmates to call him by that name.

The Director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, A.L. Lockhart, testified on his own behalf. He explained that there was a main file or jacket maintained at each institution for the incarcerated individual, arranged alphabetically, as well as other subsidiary files maintained in different locations respecting each inmate. Tr. at 54-55. Lockhart indicated that all files and forms included the inmate's commitment number, and the same number appears together with the inmate's name on his clothing. Tr. at 60, 111. He indicated that the file jacket also currently includes the aliases of each inmate. Tr. at 56. Lockhart testified that he was not sure what the a/k/a alternative would entail in terms of changes but that he was opposed to it. Tr. at 60. He estimated that there could be as many as 400 or 450 Muslim inmates throughout Arkansas prisons. Tr. at 52 (also noting that the figure is disputed). We set forth his concerns with respect to each aspect of the case.

Lockhart's...