Skinner v. U.S. Dept. of Just., Bureau of Prisons

• Decision Date: 27 October 2009
• Docket Number: No. 05-5284.,05-5284.
• Parties: Frank A. SKINNER, Appellant v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND BUREAU OF PRISONS, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

584 F.3d 1093

Frank A. SKINNER, Appellant v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND BUREAU OF PRISONS, Appellees.

No. 05-5284.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued September 14, 2009.

Decided October 27, 2009.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 04cv01376).

Yvonne M. Williams, appointed by the court, argued the cause as amicus curiae in support of appellant. With her on the brief was Anthony F. Shelley, appointed by the court.

Frank A. Skinner, pro se, filed the briefs for appellant.

W. Mark Nebeker, Assistant U.S. Attorney, argued the cause for appellees. With him on the brief were Jeffrey A. Taylor, U.S. Attorney at the time the brief was filed, and R. Craig Lawrence, Assistant U.S. Attorney. Lisa S. Goldfluss, Assistant U.S. Attorney, entered an appearance.

Before: GARLAND, Circuit Judge, and EDWARDS and RANDOLPH, Senior Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge GARLAND.

GARLAND, Circuit Judge:

A Bureau of Prisons hearing officer found prisoner Frank Skinner guilty of possessing drug paraphernalia and imposed sanctions that included the loss of 40 days of good-time credits. Skinner sued the agency under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, seeking damages and amendment of his prison records. The district court dismissed both claims on the ground that inmate records are exempt from the relevant provisions of the Act. We affirm that reasoning with respect to Skinner's claim for amendment of his records. We affirm the court's dismissal of Skinner's damages claim on the alternative ground that such a claim is not cognizable unless Skinner first secures relief through a writ of habeas corpus.

I

Frank Skinner is a federal prisoner who was housed at a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facility in Atlanta, Georgia. On November 27, 2001, staff at the facility searched Skinner's cell and locker and found a white powder that tested positive for cocaine. Skinner v. U.S. Dep't of Justice, No. 04-1376, 2005 WL 1429255, at *1 (D.D.C. filed June 17, 2005). BOP conducted an internal disciplinary hearing on January 28, 2002. At the hearing, Skinner testified that the substance found in his locker was "[T]ide washing powder," which the hearing officer noted in his report. See Discipline Hearing Officer Report (Feb. 5, 2002). The officer, however, found that Skinner had actually possessed cocaine and imposed sanctions that included the loss of 40 days of good-time credits,¹ 60 days of disciplinary segregation, the denial of visitation rights for a year, and the denial of commissary privileges for 180 days. BOP also referred the matter to the FBI, which declined to prosecute Skinner because the case would not "result in a criminal prosecution of greater penal consequences than which can be imposed by the BOP administrative remedies and actions." Letter from T. Jackson to G. Duncan (Feb. 12, 2002).

Skinner filed a number of administrative appeals within BOP, and on July 8, 2002, he also filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FBI. The FBI informed Skinner that its records contained 18 pages that were responsive to his request. Because the documents had originated with BOP, the FBI referred the request to BOP, which released the documents to Skinner on August 15. One of the documents was the referral form BOP had sent to the FBI. The form contained a typed paragraph stating that chemical tests conducted by BOP indicated the white powder in Skinner's locker was cocaine. Below that paragraph was the following handwritten notation: "Actually laundry detergent." Referral of an Inmate Matter for Investigation (Dec. 12, 2001). There is no evidence in the record regarding who made the notation or what was meant by it. Skinner alleges that it reflects the results of an "independ[e]nt analysis" of the powder by the FBI, Pl.'s Mot. to Alter or Amend J. at 2, but also acknowledges that "[n]one of the suspected contraband was forwarded" to the FBI "for laboratory testing," Pl.'s Authentication or Identification to Compl. Doc. Ex. "A."

On August 13, 2004, Skinner filed a pro se complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging that the powder found in his locker was laundry detergent rather than cocaine, that the FBI referral form indicated as much, and that his BOP file was therefore inaccurate. He requested two remedies under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a. First, he sought money damages for the punishments BOP had imposed on the basis of its finding that he possessed cocaine. Second, Skinner alleged that the "[a]genc[y] did not meet requirements of [the] Privacy Act by indicating that [the] inmate disputed information in his files." Compl. at 1. The district court treated this as a request for amendment of Skinner's records. Skinner, 2005 WL 1429255, at *1 & n. 2.

BOP filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. BOP argued, first, that the complaint should be dismissed because BOP had exempted inmate records from the relevant provisions of the Privacy Act. Second, BOP maintained that Skinner's amendment claim was barred because he had failed to exhaust administrative remedies. Finally, in a footnote, BOP offered a "third and independent ground for dismissal." Citing Razzoli v. Bureau of Prisons, 230 F.3d 371 (D.C.Cir. 2000), the agency contended that Skinner's "claims could only be filed in the context of a habeas corpus action." Mem. in Support of Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss and/or for Summ. J. at 10 n. 2. On June 20, 2005, the district court granted the motion to dismiss on the first ground urged by BOP: that the records were exempt.

On July 12, 2005, Skinner filed an appeal of that judgment, and on August 5 he filed a "Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment" with the district court, arguing that the disciplinary hearing he was challenging had taken place before BOP promulgated the exemption that the court applied to his damages claim. A panel of this court ordered the appeal held in abeyance so that the district court could consider Skinner's motion, which the district court ultimately denied on March 31, 2008. On October 16, 2008, BOP filed a motion for summary affirmance in this court, which we denied. Thereafter, we appointed amicus curiae to present arguments in support of Skinner's position.

II

The Privacy Act imposes a set of substantive obligations on agencies that maintain systems of records, including the requirement that records used in making determinations about individuals be accurately maintained. See 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). The Act also provides civil remedies for its violation, including court-ordered amendment of records and money damages. The district court dismissed both Skinner's amendment and damages claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See FED. R.CIV.P. 12(b)(6). Our review is therefore de novo. Razzoli, 230 F.3d at 374. We address Skinner's claim for amendment in Part II.A and his claim for damages in Part II.B.

A

Skinner's suit seeks amendment of his inmate records, although the kind of amendment he seeks is not entirely clear. In places, Skinner's pleadings appear to request an amendment indicating that he possessed laundry detergent rather than cocaine. See Amicus Curiae Br. 11 (noting that Skinner filed administrative appeals "to have his records amended to accurately reflect that the substance found in his locker was laundry detergent"). In other places, the pleadings suggest that he merely wants his file to include the form containing the handwritten notation, "[a]ctually laundry detergent." See Amicus Curiae Reply Br. 5. Regardless of the nature of the amendment sought, this claim is quickly dispatched.

Privacy Act § 552a(e)(5) requires agencies to ensure that any records used in "making any determination about any individual" are "maintain[ed] ... with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the determination." 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). Section 552a(d) requires agencies to entertain requests for amendment of records that are not "accurate, relevant, timely, or complete." Id. § 552a(d)(2). If an agency rejects a request for amendment, the subject of the contested record can bring suit in federal court and obtain de novo consideration of whether amendment is warranted. Id. § 552a(g)(1)(A), (g)(2)(A). If the court so finds, it "may order the agency to amend the individual's record." Id. § 552a(g)(2)(A); see generally Doe v. United States, 821 F.2d 694, 697 & n. 8 (D.C.Cir.1987) (en banc).

But the Privacy Act also permits agencies to exempt certain of their systems of records from many of the obligations it imposes. 5 U.S.C. § 552a(j). In 1976, BOP exempted its Inmate Central Records System from § 552a(d)'s amendment provision. See 28 C.F.R. § 1.97(a); Exemption of Record Systems Under the Privacy Act, 41 Fed.Reg. 12,640, 12,650 (Mar. 26, 1976). As the district court found, as our precedents make clear, and as amicus acknowledged at oral argument, that exemption prevents us from ordering the amendment of an inmate's records. See White v. U.S. Probation Office, 148 F.3d 1124, 1125 (D.C.Cir.1998); Risley v. Hawk, 108 F.3d 1396, 1397 (D.C.Cir.1997); Oral Arg. Recording at 2:48-3:12. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's dismissal of Skinner's amendment claim.

B

Skinner also seeks damages for the consequences of the alleged inaccuracy in his records.

As we have noted, Privacy Act § 552a(e)(5) requires agencies to ensure that all records "used by the agency in making any determination about any individual" are maintained "with such accuracy, relevance, timeliness, and completeness as is reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the individual in the determination." 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). Section 552a(g)(1)(C) permits an individual to bring a civil action against an agency if the agency "fails to...