Strandell v. Jackson County, Ill.
| Decision Date | 09 May 1986 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 85-4159. |
| Citation | 634 F. Supp. 824 |
| Parties | Alex STRANDELL, Individually, and as father, and as Administrator of the Estate of Michael Strandell, deceased; Marge Strandell, Individually, and as mother of Michael Strandell, deceased; and the Estate of Michael Strandell, deceased, Plaintiffs, v. JACKSON COUNTY, ILLINOIS; William Kilquist, Individually, and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Jackson County; Gene Truitt, Individually, and in his official capacity as Jail Superintendent of Jackson County; Steve Michaels, Individually, and in his official capacity as a Deputy Jailer of Jackson County; Robert Davenport, Individually, and in his official capacity as a Deputy Jailer of Jackson County; James Staffey, Individually, and in his official capacity as a Deputy Sheriff of Jackson County; Henry Pierce, Individually, and in his official capacity as a Deputy Jailer of Jackson County; and John Doe and Richard Roe, Individually, and in their official capacities as members of the Board of Jackson County, the identity and number of whom is presently unknown to plaintiffs, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Illinois |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Richard E. Boyle, Gundlach, Lee, Eggmann, Boyle & Roessler, Belleville, Ill., Thomas F. Tobin, Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., John W. Dondanville, Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs.
Richard A. Green, Feirich, Schoen, Mager, Green & Associates, Carbondale, Ill., for defendants.
This matter is before the Court on defendants' Motion to Dismiss and/or Strike the Complaint, and on plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification. The case arises from a March 17, 1984 incident in which Michael Strandell committed suicide by hanging himself in a cell at the Jackson County, Illinois Jail. Plaintiffs, Alex and Marge Strandell, bring the instant suit on their own behalf and as the parents of Michael Strandell. Alex Strandell also sues as administrator of his son's estate. Plaintiffs seek relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of their son's constitutional rights, and for violations of their own constitutional rights. In addition, plaintiffs seek injunctive relief on behalf of all pretrial detainees who have been and/or who will be confined at the Jackson County Jail. The complaint also sets forth pendent state law claims under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, the Illinois Survival Act and the Illinois Family Expense Act.
The Court initially notes that for purposes of defendants' motion to dismiss, all allegations in the complaint must be accepted as true. The complaint should not be dismissed unless "it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon v. King and Spaulding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 2233, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984).
Plaintiffs allege the following facts. On March 17, 1984 at approximately 5:00 a.m., Michael Strandell, the decedent, was a passenger in a car that was involved in an accident in DeSoto, Illinois. Steven Mowatt, the driver of the vehicle, was arrested for driving on a suspended license, and both Mowatt and the decedent were transported to the Jackson County Courthouse. The decedent, who was severely intoxicated, verbally protested the jailing of his companion, and upon doing so, was arrested by James Stafey, a Deputy Sheriff for Jackson County. The basis for the arrest was disorderly conduct.
Plaintiffs allege that defendant Stafey used unjustified and excessive force in effectuating the arrest and in moving plaintiff to a cell within the jail facility. Specifically, plaintiffs allege that Stafey hit the decedent, that he then dragged the decedent into an elevator where he continued to beat and strike him, and that upon arriving at the third floor, he pushed the decedent off the elevator and dragged him to the booking area. Stafey and Steve Michaels, a Deputy Jailor, continued to strike and push the decedent, and then forcefully stripped decedent of his clothing. Defendants Stafey and Michaels subsequently dragged the decedent (by holding his wrists and ankles) to the main cell block, and threw him into a cell naked and alone, and without a mattress, pillow or blanket.
After being thrown into this cell, the decedent began to scream and to beat his head and body against the bars and walls of the cell. Defendant Michaels yelled, "Shut up, or we'll beat your ass some more," but the decedent's screaming continued. Approximately one-half hour later, Michaels and Stafey forcefully removed the decedent from his cell, dragged him to one of the isolation cells, and forcefully threw him into such a cell naked and alone. The decedent continued to scream and to beat his head and body on the walls and bars of the isolation cell. According to the complaint, defendants Stafey, Michaels, Robert Davenport and Henry Pierce (also Deputy Jailors) ignored the decedent's screams, the beating of his head and body on the jail cell walls and bars, and his pleas to be seen by a doctor. These defendants also failed to monitor the condition of the decedent, despite their knowledge that in the past, jail inmates had used the bars at the top of the isolation cells to hang themselves. Sometime after noon on March 17, 1984, the decedent, using the overhead bars as an anchoring device, committed suicide by hanging himself with a noose that had been fashioned from a bed sheet.
Plaintiffs allege that the totality of conditions at the Jackson County Jail violated the decedent's due process right to be free from punishment. Defendants have moved to strike all allegations pertaining to the physical conditions of the jail, as well as all allegations pertaining to the underfunding of the jail facility, on the basis that these allegations fail to state a cause of action under the fourth or fourteenth amendments.
The Court initially notes that motions to strike are disfavored "and are not granted unless the language in the pleading at issue has no possible relation to the controversy and is clearly prejudicial." Mitchell v. Bendix Corporation, 603 F.Supp. 920, 921 (N.D.Ind.1985). Furthermore, a motion to strike is an improper method for procuring dismissal of all or part of the complaint. Pierson v. Dean, Witter, Reynolds, Inc., 551 F.Supp. 497, 504 (C.D.Ill. 1982).
In Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979), the Supreme Court held that pretrial detainees have a right under the fourteenth amendment's due process clause to be free from punishment. Id. at 535 n. 16, 99 S.Ct. at 1872 n. 16. "The detainee's right to be free from punishment ... includes the right not to be subjected to conditions imposed for the purpose of punishment." Matzker v. Herr, 748 F.2d 1142, 1146 (7th Cir.1984).
Plaintiffs allege that the overcrowding and understaffing at the Jackson County Jail have resulted in a lack of adequate patrol procedures, and that because of these conditions, defendants were unable to properly monitor the decedent and to respond to his medical needs and suicide. They further allege that the physical condition of the jail facility and the lack of procedures for identifying and treating suicidal and emotionally disturbed detainees violated the decedent's liberty interest in bodily safety and physical security. Finally, plaintiffs allege that the above conditions are a direct result of inadequate funding.
Other decisions have recognized that such conditions may violate a detainee's right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. For example, in Matzker v. Herr, the Seventh Circuit recognized that "the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment is violated if the jailers fail to establish adequate patrol procedures." Matzker, 748 F.2d at 1150. Similarly, in Madden v. City of Meriden, 602 F.Supp. 1160 (D.Conn.1985), the court held that a pretrial detainee's "confinement in a jail cell without adequate surveillance, and without the removal of implements enabling him to take his own life" violated his fourteenth amendment right to liberty. Id. at 1164. See also Soto v. City of Sacramento, 567 F.Supp. 662 (E.D.Cal.1983) ().
The Court concludes that plaintiffs' allegations regarding the totality of conditions at the jail are relevant to plaintiffs' claim that the decedent was deprived of his due process right to be free from punishment. Defendants' motion to strike all allegations relating to the totality of conditions is therefore denied. The Court further finds that plaintiffs' allegations are sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. Applying the standard set forth in Hishon v. King and Spaulding, it is not clear that "no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon, 467 U.S. at 73, 104 S.Ct. at 2233. Therefore, to the extent defendants move to dismiss the allegations in question for failure to state a cause of action under the fourteenth amendment, the defendants' motion is denied.
Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated the decedent's liberty interest in an expectation of certain minimal standards for the physical condition of the jail facility, and in an expectation of treatment that protects the safety, health and well-being of pretrial detainees. (Plaintiff's Complaint, ¶ 77(j)). Defendants move to strike all references in the complaint to "minimal standards for the physical condition of the jail" on the basis that a violation of the minimal standards, as established by Illinois regulations, fails to state a cause of action under the fourth or fourteenth...
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