Smith v. Haley
| Decision Date | 01 December 2005 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 2:01cv1430-T. |
| Citation | 401 F.Supp.2d 1240 |
| Parties | Tony Lee SMITH, Plaintiff, v. Michael HALEY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama |
Jace Outlaw, Kievit Odom & Barlow, Pensacola, FL, for Plaintiff.
LaVette R. Lyas-Brown, Office of the Attorney General, Alabama State House, Montgomery, AL, for Defendants.
Pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983, plaintiff Tony Lee Smith, a former inmate in the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) system, brought this lawsuit naming various ADOC employees as defendants and claiming violations of various constitutional and statutory rights resulting from prison officials' denial of his requests for certain religious accommodations to practice Odinism while he was incarcerated.
In the magistrate judge's original and supplemental recommendations addressing defendants' motions for summary judgment, he recommended that certain defendants be denied qualified immunity on a damages claim for violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 ("RLUIPA"), 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000cc through 2000cc-5, and that summary judgment be granted with respect to all other claims.
By judgment entered earlier, the court rejected the magistrate judge's recommendations to the extent he concluded that summary judgment should be denied on the defendants' qualified-immunity defense; the court, instead, entered summary judgment in favor of all defendants in all respects. The court promised that a memorandum opinion would follow. This is the promised opinion.
The court makes a "de novo determination upon the record, or after additional evidence, of any portion of the magistrate judge's disposition to which specific written objection has been made." Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b); see also 28 U.S.C.A. § 636(b)(1). The court "may accept, reject, or modify the recommended decision, receive further evidence, or recommit the matter to the magistrate judge with instructions." Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b); see also United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 673-84, 100 S.Ct. 2406, 65 L.Ed.2d 424 (1980).
In addition, summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Under Rule 56, the party seeking summary judgment must first inform the court of the basis for the motion, and the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to demonstrate why summary judgment would not be proper. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); see also Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115-17 (11th Cir.1993) (discussing burden-shifting under Rule 56). The non-moving party must affirmatively set forth specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial and may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials in the pleadings. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).
The court's role at the summary-judgment stage is not to weigh the evidence or to determine the truth of the matter, but rather to determine only whether a genuine issue exists for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In doing so, the court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of that party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).
Smith is a practitioner of Odinism, an ancient pre-Christian faith whose theology is based on historic Icelandic sagas and runic mysticism. At the time his lawsuit was filed, he was an inmate in the Limestone Correctional Facility in Capshaw, Alabama.
Smith brings this lawsuit against various ADOC officials, claiming violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments as enforced through § 1983, as well as violations of RLUIPA. In his complaint, he seeks $ 500 in damages from each defendant, and injunctive relief requiring that (1) ADOC recognize Odinism as an official religion and (2) defendants allow him to light a small fire or light a candle, wear a Thor's hammer necklace, and possess a small crystal.
Smith filed this lawsuit on November 21, 2001, after several of his requests for certain religious accommodations were denied by the ADOC Religious Review Committee.1 Around June 16, 2003, while this suit was pending, Smith submitted an additional inmate request to the Religious Review Committee in which, among other things he again requested the allowance of one small quartz crystal, the use of a ceremonial fire, one religious necklace, and a designated area of worship; Smith explained the religious significance of each requested item and attached written documentation in support of his requests.2
An ADOC chaplain then gathered information about Odinism, "researched the credibility" of Smith's requests, and submitted his findings to the Religious Review Committee.3 After meeting on October 17, 2003, the committee made a number of findings with respect to Smith's requests; essentially, the committee granted all of Smith's requests but two.
First, the committee denied his request to possess a small crystal approximately one inch in diameter. The reason given was that "there is a lack of supporting materials validating a need for this item."4 Second, the committee denied Smith's request to be allowed a continually designated place of worship to perform these rites; however, the committee added that, "when a secure place of worship is required, the Warden and Chaplain may designate a suitable location for Smith to conduct his rites." Thus, the committee accommodated Smith's request in this regard. The reason given for not continually designating a place of worship was security; the committee indicated that Odinism draws and embraces certain members of the Aryan Nations and Neo-Nazis, which, combined with the prevalence of prison gangs and a hostile inmate population, would be "detrimental to security and a strong potential for harm."5
Smith was released from prison in January 2004.
The magistrate judge's original recommendation reduced Smith's claims down to one issue: whether Smith is entitled to damages for the ADOC Review Committee's refusal to allow him to possess a crystal.
Smith initially sought both damages and injunctive relief from the defendants. However, after Smith filed his lawsuit, the Religious Review Committee issued findings (1) granting his request to recognize Odinism as an official religion; (2) determining that the warden and chaplain would designate a place of worship for Smith to conduct his rights when necessary; (3) approving Smith's request to wear a Thor's hammer necklace; and (4) allowing him to light a candle in a private and secure place.6
Thus, the magistrate judge correctly recommended that this Religious Review Committee decision moots all but one of Smith's claims: his request for injunctive and declaratory relief as well as damages for the ADOC Review Committee's denial of his request for permission to use and possess a small quartz crystal.7
The magistrate judge further recognized that Smith's claim for injunctive relief with respect to the crystal is also moot because Smith has already been released from prison. His release constituted a change in the facts that ended the controversy with respect to injunctive relief for this alleged injury. Furthermore, his case did not fall into any of the exceptions to the mootness doctrine.8
The magistrate judge also recommended that the court grant summary judgment in favor of defendants on Smith's equal-protection claim. The court agrees. Smith's equal-protection claim is that defendants violated his right to equal protection by allowing other religious groups (and denying him) the ability to possess religious objects and providing them (and denying him) designated areas to conduct religious activities. The magistrate judge's recommendations suggest that this claim is largely mooted by ADOC's 2003 decision allowing Smith to possess certain religious objects, as well as an area in which to practice his faith. The magistrate judge notes that Smith was not provided with as large a space as that of the Native-American inmates, who are given a 20' x 20' outdoor area to practice certain rituals. However, these inmates require a larger space in which to practice their rituals because there is a large number of them in ADOC facilities; furthermore, the practice of Native-American spirituality is substantially different from that of Odinism. Thus, the magistrate judge correctly concluded that Smith had failed to show that ADOC possessed the requisite discriminatory intent in denying him an equally large space.9
The magistrate judge also correctly concluded that defendants' motion for summary judgment with respect to Smith's suit for damages against the officers in their official capacities should be granted because a plaintiff seeking to recover money damages against persons in their official capacities must look to the government entity itself. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 166, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985).10 Thus, Smith's claims against the defendants in their official capacity are barred by the Eleventh Amendment.
Thus, all that remains is Smith's claim for damages against certain ADOC employees,11 in their individual capacities, for ADOC's denial of his request to use and possess a small quartz crystal.
Defendants filed objections to the magistrate judge's original recommendation, arguing, among other things, that their actions did not violate RLUIPA, and that, regardless, they were entitled to qualified immunity.12
The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Madison v. Virginia
...405 F.Supp.2d 714, 723 (E.D.Tex. 2005) (appearing to hold that RLUIPA does not authorize individual money damages); Smith v. Haley, 401 F.Supp.2d 1240, 1246 (M.D.Ala.2005) (same); Boles v. Neet, 402 F.Supp.2d 1237, 1241 (D.Colo.2005) (same); Chase v. City of Portsmouth, No. Civ. A. 2:05CF44......
-
Daker v. Ferrero
...by itself, indicates Congress' intent to provide for individual-capacity damages claims under RLUIPA. In Smith v. Haley, 401 F.Supp.2d 1240, 1246 (M.D.Ala.2005), for example, the court rejected this contention, concluding instead that RLUIPA's language concerning a "person acting under colo......
-
Lovelace v. Lee
...recovering damages from individuals[.]"), Boles v. Neet, 402 F.Supp.2d 1237, 1241 (D.Colo.2005) (same), and Smith v. Haley, 401 F.Supp.2d 1240, 1246 (M.D.Ala.2005) (expressing doubt as to whether RLUIPA authorizes individual 8. In its most basic protections, RLUIPA mimics the First Amendmen......
-
Iii v. The Lone Star State Of Tex.
...of Alabama and the Northern District of Illinois likewise have noted it was unclear whether damages are available. Smith v. Haley, 401 F.Supp.2d 1240, 1245-47 (M.D.Ala.2005); Agrawal v. Briley, No. 02-C-6807, 2003 WL 164225 at *2 n. 2 (N.D.Ill. Jan. 22, 2003). However, other district courts......
-
Religious expression and the penal institution: the role of damages in RLUIPA enforcement.
...502 F.3d 1255 (11th Cir. 2007). (81.) Id. at 1275. (82.) Id. (83.) Id. at 1275-76. (84.) Id. at 1276 n.12 (quoting Smith v. Haley, 401 F. Supp. 2d 1240, 1244 (M.D. Ala. (85.) Id. (86.) 391 F.3d 1299 (11th Cir. 2004). (87.) Allen, 502 F.3d at 1276 n.12. (88.) Id. (89.) Id. (90.) 42 U.S.C. [s......