Stovall v. Bennett

• Decision Date: 29 May 1979
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 78-427-N.
• Citation: 471 F. Supp. 1286
• Parties: Jack D. STOVALL, and all those in similar situations, Plaintiffs, v. Larry BENNETT, Commissioner, etc., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

471 F. Supp. 1286

Jack D. STOVALL, and all those in similar situations, Plaintiffs, v. Larry BENNETT, Commissioner, etc., et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 78-427-N.

United States District Court, M. D. Alabama, N. D.

May 29, 1979.

Jack D. Stovall, pro se.

Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Willis E. Isaac, Asst. Atty. Gen., State of Alabama, Montgomery, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM

JOHNSON, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff Jack David Stovall is an inmate at Fountain Correctional Center ("Fountain") in Atmore, Alabama. On behalf of approximately 101 other inmates who, in October, 1978, signed a petition requesting Mormon religious services in the prison, plaintiff brings this action alleging that their First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of their religious beliefs have been violated. This action is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983; the jurisdiction of the Court is invoked under 28 U.S.C. § 1343. Named as defendants are Larry Bennett, Commissioner of the Alabama Board of Corrections; J. O. Davis, Warden of Fountain; and Martin Weber, Chaplain at Fountain.¹ The complaint alleges that defendants are guilty of two constitutional wrongs: (1) that in violation of the free exercise clause, they have denied plaintiffs the right to hold regular Mormon religious services, and (2) that in violation of the assembly and petition clause, they have threatened and imposed punishment for signing petitions requesting Mormon religious services. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief. From defendants Bennett and Davis, they seek nominal damages. From defendant Weber, plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages in a total amount of $1,000,000. The case is now submitted upon the depositions of plaintiff Stovall; defendants Davis and Weber; inmates James Dillard, Douglas Chappel, and James McMurtrey; and Charles Blackledge, classification specialist at Fountain.

At the outset, the Court finds that this suit is maintainable as a class action pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff Stovall represents the class of all inmates at Fountain who wish to worship as Mormons. This class, which numbered slightly over one hundred before the alleged acts of intimidation and harassment took place, is sufficiently numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable. The Court finds that the central questions of law and fact are common to the class; that the claim of plaintiff Stovall is typical of the claims of the class; and that plaintiff Stovall adequately represents the interests of the class. The Court finds further that the defendants have acted and refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief with respect to the class as a whole.

The evidence reflects that there is a varied religious program available to prisoners at Fountain. At the time of the events giving rise to this lawsuit, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of God, Holiness, Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Jehovah's Witness, Free Will Baptist, Catholic, and Muslim services were being held regularly in the prison chapel. Responsible for supervising the overall religious program was Martin Weber, who, as chaplain at Fountain, was a paid employee of the Alabama Board of Corrections. On October 25, 1978, plaintiff Stovall approached Weber and informed him that over one hundred inmates wished to attend Mormon services. Unaware from the prison records that there were any Mormons at Fountain, Weber expressed skepticism about Stovall's claimed support and demanded that Stovall provide him a list of names of those supporting his request.

Contributing to Weber's skepticism was a certain hostility toward those who wanted to introduce a new religion into the curricula of the prison ministry. In his affidavit, Weber characterized the Mormon inmates as prisoners who wanted a "white man's religion, like the Muslim is a black man's religion." He indicated that inmates had told him that "this new religion would allow them to wear beards, mustaches, and a special diet line, etc." There is no evidence that such demands were made at that time or at any later time. In his deposition, taken after he had learned that his warning to the Mormon inmates had been taped,² Weber expressed not the slightest reservation about the motives of plaintiffs in requesting Mormon services. The obvious change in tone between Weber's affidavit and deposition lends credibility to Stovall's assertion that on prior occasions the chaplain had disapproved of Mormon services because "the Mormon Faith was not a true religion."

On the same day as the chaplain's request, Stovall gave him a typed list of 102 names. Stovall asserts that, on seeing the names, Weber noted that a number of the inmates in his congregation were on it, and he remarked that "the Warden isn't going to like this." Weber then proceeded to the warden's office with the list in hand. At their meeting on October 25, however, Warden Davis authorized Weber to arrange for monthly Mormon services immediately.

The following evening in chapel, after a hymn had been sung and before the guest minister had been introduced, Weber made the following comments, which were taped:

I want to make an announcement tonight. I'm a bit reluctant to make it for thinking that someone's going to take the wrong meaning from it . . .. Yesterday I received a paper with 102 names on it—that you'd like to have another group in, which all you would have had to do is ask me. I can get them in and will be doing that . . .. It's not hurting me, it's hurting you. Your name's going on that piece of paper is in the warden's office, in other words, there's a photostatic copy there. And of course if you don't know the warden, you better learn to know him—because any man that signs his name to something is a sign of bucking, or is saying I'm not satisfied—I want this and I want that. Well, he'll say, his term is, well that man's still got some wind in him so he just: IGT time, down the drain; progress report, down the drain; you just simply wait . . .. Sign your name as much as you want to if you don't want to make progress. But if you want to make progress, you going to be smart, you going to come and talk to people rather than put your name on a piece of paper, because that goes right up to the office and he made a photostatic copy of it and it's in his office and he said, "they'll need me before I need them." You can read through that. So I'm just saying that for your benefit. Understand, I don't care how many places you sign your name on. I don't even care if you sign a writ against me—I don't care—'cause I'm going to do what I feel is right and I'm ready to stand before any federal judge. I don't care who he is . . .. You're not hurting me; you're hurting yourself when you sign your name to some type of petition or try to say "we want this, we want that." Instead of what you could have done is come straight either to warden, to me or someone else and talked it over—that would save yourself if you face it that way . . .. I don't care what you do. If you want to stay here, that's a good way to make reservations to stay longer . . .. I repeat, I care about you; I want to see you make progress; I don't want to see you go backwards. Those are kinds of things that will hurt a man. So think about it before you sign again. If you got a problem, see your counselor, see the warden, see your lieutenant, see me or see somebody else if you got a problem. But don't sign your name to something if you want to get free, if you want to get IGT time, . . . if you want to get your custody changed, these kinds of things, 'cause that will hurt you. So, okay, so much for that.

After the service, various inmates reported the chaplain's comments to Stovall, who drafted a letter to the warden complaining that Weber had threatened the inmates seeking Mormon services. The next morning, Stovall talked to the warden, who disavowed the alleged threats and said he would speak to the chaplain and have him get in touch with Stovall. Later that morning, Warden Davis instructed Weber to clear up the misunderstanding. To Stovall, the chaplain denied that he had made any threats.

On November 2, this lawsuit was filed. On November 7, the first Mormon service at the prison chapel was held. Services are now held weekly. During the six months since this suit was filed, attendance at the Mormon services has gradually declined. At the two services held in November, attendance averaged eighty inmates. In December, the average attendance was fifty-four; in January, thirty-five; in February, twenty-six; and in March, eighteen.

* * * * * *

The initial thrust of the complaint in this case was that plaintiffs had been denied the opportunity to worship as Mormons. Such a denial, if proven, would constitute a clear violation of the First Amendment. Despite the latitude accorded prison officials in the administration of prison affairs, the Supreme Court has clearly held that "reasonable opportunities must be afforded to all prisoners to exercise the religious freedom guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments without fear of penalty." Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 n.2, 92 S.Ct. 1079, 1081, 31 L.Ed.2d 263 (1972); Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546, 84 S.Ct. 1733, 12 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1964). The evidence here is that such reasonable opportunities are being afforded to the Mormon inmates at Fountain. Prison officials have contacted a local Mormon minister, who is leading services on a weekly basis. These opportunities are comparable to those afforded the other religious denominations and sects represented in the inmate population. In making this finding, the Court does not hold that this aspect of the case is moot. The general rule is that "voluntary cessation of allegedly illegal conduct does not deprive the tribunal of power to hear and determine the case, i. e., does not make the case moot...