Schroeder v. McDonald

• Citation: 823 F. Supp. 750
• Decision Date: 03 December 1992
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 91-00111 DAE.
• Parties: Eric SCHROEDER, Plaintiff, v. Pete McDONALD, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii

823 F. Supp. 750

Eric SCHROEDER, Plaintiff, v. Pete McDONALD, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 91-00111 DAE.

United States District Court, D. Hawaii.

December 3, 1992.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Eric Schroeder, pro se.

Susan Barr, State Atty. Gen., Robert A. Marks, Atty. Gen. of HI, Dept. of Atty. Gen., Honolulu, HI, for defendants Pete McDonald, Branch Adm'r, Susan Segawa and Ron Mico, Social Workers, George W. Sumner, DPS Director, Roland Leong, Prison Guard and Deanna Espinas, DPS Librarian.

DAVID ALAN EZRA, District Judge.

ORDER ADOPTING IN PART AND MODIFYING IN PART REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF MAGISTRATE GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT; DENYING PLAINTIFF'S APPEAL FROM MAGISTRATE'S ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO DEFER; DENYING PLAINTIFF'S APPEAL FROM MAGISTRATE'S ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY; AND GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO CORRECT CLERICAL ERRORS

Plaintiff brings these appeals from three orders of the magistrate judges. On August 31, 1992, Magistrate Judge Yamashita issued an order granting defendants' motion for protective order and denying plaintiff's motion to compel discovery. On the same day, Magistrate Judge Yamashita issued an order denying plaintiff's motion to defer ruling on defendants' summary judgment motion. On September 15, 1992, Magistrate Judge Kurren issued findings and recommendation that defendants' motion for summary judgment be granted. Plaintiff appeals from each of those rulings.

Additionally, defendants move that this court reconsider its order of October 2, 1992, granting plaintiff's ex parte motion to enlarge time.

After reviewing plaintiff's objections and defendants' response to plaintiff's objections, the court adopts in part and modifies in part the report and recommendation of the magistrate judge, grants in part and denies in part defendants' motion for summary judgment, denies plaintiff's appeal from the magistrate's order denying plaintiff's motion to defer, denies plaintiff's appeal from the magistrate's order granting defendants' motion for protective order and denying plaintiff's motion to compel discovery, and grants defendants' motion for reconsideration which the court treats as a motion to correct clerical errors.

BACKGROUND

On February 22, 1991, plaintiff Eric Schroeder, an inmate now at Oahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC), acting pro se and in forma pauperis, filed § 1983 and § 1985 civil rights complaints for violation of the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution against defendants in their official and/or personal capacities. Plaintiff demands a jury trial and seeks declaratory, compensatory, punitive, and equitable relief, and costs.

Plaintiff sues defendants Pete McDonald, Branch Administrator of Kulani Correctional Facility (KCF), and George Sumner, Director of the Department of Public Safety, in their official and personal capacities. Plaintiff sues defendants Susan Segawa and Roxi Mico, KCF social workers, defendant Deanna Espinas, DPS librarian, and defendant Roland Leong, adult correctional officer at KCF and Halawa, in their personal capacities.

For purposes of this motion only the court sets forth the following facts as alleged by Schroeder in his complaint.

On December 4, 1990, Schroeder, an inmate at the Halawa Correctional Facility, was transferred to the Kauai Community Correctional Center (KCCC) for a two-week period prior to a proposed permanent transfer to the Kulani Correctional Facility (KCF), a small, minimum security work camp located on the Island of Hawaii.

Schroeder alleges that the KCCC law library is inadequate. Most significantly, he alleges that the library is unreasonably small, does not have important legal volumes, including Hawaii state laws and current correctional policy rules manual, and that the library aides fail to provide necessary legal assistance. Additionally, Schroeder alleges that the KCCC library has dozens of unopened boxes containing legal documents including advance sheets, recent Federal Reporter supplements and Supreme Court Reporter volumes.

On December 18, 1990, Schroeder was transferred from the KCCC to the KCF. Schroeder was assigned a custody classification level of "out" and a graded pay level of 25 cents an hour.

Schroeder was assigned to unit team 1. His job duties included hauling trash, chopping wood and cutting grass. On December 3, 1991, Defendant Leong was assigned to supervise Schroeder's work crew for the day.

Schroeder alleges a history of mistreatment by Leong during the time Leong was a prison guard at HCF and Schroeder was a prisoner there.

Specifically, Schroeder alleges that Leong cited him for prison rule violations on the basis of false information, and that Leong referred to Schroeder, who claims to hold a sincere belief in the Jewish faith, by using anti-Semitic terms. Schroeder has filed several administrative grievances against Leong in the past as well as civil rights action in federal court, Schroeder v. Leong, et al., Civil No. 90-00112 District of Hawaii.

On December 3, 1991, Schroeder's work group was assigned to the KCF pig farm. Schroeder was assigned to cut grass around an area known as the pit, a collecting area for pig excrement. According to Schroeder, less than ten minutes after he began cutting grass, Leong began to holler at him, expressing displeasure with Schroeder's manner of work. Schroeder claims that Leong yelled at him several times and that each time he made an effort to comply with Leong's instructions. Schroeder also alleges that throughout this incident Leong consistently mispronounced his name and repeatedly taunted Schroeder with the question, "Are you related to Schroeder the quarterback?"

Finally, Leong expressed dissatisfaction with Schroeder's method of stacking the cut grass and told Schroeder that he would be cited for refusing to obey an order. Schroeder asked Leong to call over one of his supervising officers. Leong allegedly responded, "No Jew boy you are going to work in that pig shit before you go anywhere." Leong refused to call over a supervising officer and Schroeder subsequently refused to continue working at his tasks. Schroeder dropped his tools and began walking back to the truck disobeying Leong's order to pick up the sickle that Schroeder had dropped.

At that point, Schroeder alleges, Leong said, "Well Jew boy back to Halawa you go." Leong subsequently cited Schroeder for several prison rule violations including the threat of use of force against a correctional officer, impairment of the performance of a correctional function by a prison official, refusal to obey an order of any prison staff member, failing to perform work as instructed by a staff member, using equipment in violation of posted safety standards, and harassment of a prison employee. The first two of the charges, as well as the charge for misuse of equipment, were subsequently dismissed by a KCF investigator.

On January 11, 1991, Defendant Segawa allegedly confronted Schroeder to ask why he had complained about the conditions at KCF. Earlier that month, in a letter to Defendant MacDonald dated January 1, 1991, Schroeder complained to MacDonald, the Branch Administrator of KCF, that KCF was in violation of several state and federal laws regarding the infrastructure and maintenance of prisons.

Schroeder refused to discuss the matter with Segawa and said that he would only discuss his complaints with the Branch Administrator, MacDonald. Segawa allegedly stated, "I think it was a mistake to bring you to Kulani." Only two minutes later Segawa allegedly returned to Schroeder who was then being held in isolation at the time, and told him that he was being cited for lying because parts of his January 1 letter were untrue. Two hours later Schroeder was allegedly notified by a prison official that all of the charges previously dismissed against him were being reinstated. An adjustment committee hearing was held on December 14, 1991, for which Schroeder alleges insufficient notice and counsel in violation of prison regulation Section 17-201-16 and Section 17-201-17(g).

The adjustment committee found Schroeder guilty of two counts of refusing to obey an order of any staff member (Section 17-201-8(a)(11)), failing to perform work as instructed by a staff member (Section 17-201-8(a)(14)), and improper use of equipment (Section 17-201-8(a)(21)). During the hearing, Schroeder's kosher dietary habits were discussed. Terrill Harrison, the chairman of the adjustment committee, allegedly stated, "An inmate like that can't stay here at Kulani." The adjustment committee recommended that a classification review be held on Schroeder's status. Prior to the adjustment committee hearing, Schroeder was allegedly told by a KCF official on January 9 that a misconduct would be issued for a violation of legal assistance to two inmates.

On January 13 Schroeder mailed a letter to all United States District Court Judges for the District of Hawaii asking for injunctive relief to permit him court access while at KCF.

Schroeder alleges that on January 17, 1991 John Robelido, Chief of KCF security, told Schroeder, "Before you go making any court complaints about KCF you talk with me first—I'll work it out just be reasonable. We are a small facility."

Over the next two weeks Schroeder made several complaints. Schroeder filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman that KCF provide inmates being held in isolation with recreation. Schroeder filed a complaint that nighttime temperature in the cell was too low. Schroeder alleges that he was provided insufficient access to his legal materials during the time he was in isolation. He was not permitted to leave his materials in his cell, but was instead required to submit written requests for access. Access was not allowed on weekends...