Taylor v. U.S.

Citation181 F.3d 1017
Decision Date09 March 1998
Docket NumberNos. 97-16069,97-16071,s. 97-16069
Parties(9th Cir. 1999) EDDIE WILLIE TAYLOR; MICHAEL F.X. HOGAN, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Intervenor-Appellant, and STATE OF ARIZONA; TERRY STEWART, Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, et al., Defendants-Appellants. Argued and Submitted:
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Darrin J. DeLange and Thomas J. Dennis, Assistant Attorneys General, Phoenix, Arizona, for the defendants-appellants.

Robert M. Loeb, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., for the intervenor-appellant.

Randy Papetti, Lewis & Roca, Phoenix, Arizona, for the plaintiffs-appellees.

Peter J. Siggins, Deputy Attorney General, San Francisco, California, for the amicus.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Robert C. Broomfield, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. Nos. 72-00021-RCB, 72-00058-RCB.

Before: Hug, Chief Judge, and Thompson, Fernandez, Rymer, Kleinfeld, Hawkins, Tashima, Thomas, Silverman, Graber, Wardlaw, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Rymer; Concurrence by Judge Tashima; Dissent by Judge Wardlaw; Dissent by Judge Graber.

RYMER, Circuit Judge:

The en banc worthy issue in this case is whether the "immediate termination" provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA), 18 U.S.C. 3626(b)(2), runs afoul of separation of powers principles. However, we do not need to reach this question because the motion that is before us - "to terminate the consent decree entered in this case on December 22, 1972" - is moot because the December 22, 1972 order (regardless of its label) was interlocutory and disappeared when the final judgment was entered October 19, 1973. We therefore do not have to, and so should not, resolve the constitutionality of the "immediate termination" provision at this time.

But if this is wrong and Arizona is somehow entitled to proceed, then the constitutionality of 3626(b)(2) can only be decided in the context of the actual judgment that was entered in this action. That judgment could not be more final. It simply approves rules and restoration of individual good time credits that the parties agreed upon and that were basically in place; the judgment contains no ongoing, monitoring, reporting, enforcing, or oversight provisions. It does not look, walk or quack like an injunction. On several occasions the court explicitly disavowed any intention of trying prospectively to manage prison administration, and in its 1973 judgment the court did not retain jurisdiction for any purpose. Indeed, the judgment declares "that all relief sought by plaintiff members of the class heretofore designated to which they are entitled is granted by this Judgment and that the class, collectively and individually, is entitled to no other relief under this action." As such, the judgment ended this case. It cannot be that twenty-five years later, Congress may redefine "relief" in such a way that it retroactively converts a judgment which on its face ends an action into one that grants "prospective relief" such that it now must be reopened and terminated. Regardless of the constitutionality of applying 3626(b)(2) to pre-PLRA consent decrees that do put injunctions in place to govern prisons prospectively, applying the "automatic termination" provision to the Taylor judgment subjects it to reopening conditions that did not exist when it was entered. There is no opinion of which we are aware that would say this is not an unconstitutional incursion on judicial power.

We accordingly affirm denial of the motion to terminate the December 22, 1972 consent decree on the ground that it was moot, but under no circumstances would we reverse on the merits as the dissent indicates we should.

I

In early 1972, two inmates at the Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona, Eddie W. Taylor and George Yanich, Jr. (collectively "Taylor"), petitioned the United States District Court for the District of Arizona for writs of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254 and for damages under 42 U.S.C. 1983.1 The two related cases were consolidated. In pertinent part, Taylor challenged on a class-wide basis Arizona's inmate behavior and discipline rules and procedures, and deprivation of "two-for-one good behavior time" (Count Three).2 Taylor took discovery and the court conducted evidentiary hearings on May 26 and November 10, 1972. In the middle of the first hearing (on Taylor's motion for interlocutory relief pending trial), the parties stipulated that "the disciplinary procedures of the prison leave something to be desired to comply with constitutional standards," and agreed "to negotiate over proper disciplinary standards and procedures to the end of seeking agreement."3 Settlement negotiations proceeded over the following months and, after additional briefing, the court held another hearing November 10 to discuss their progress. Approximately one month later, the parties lodged an agreement which the district court adopted in a Memorandum and Order filed December 22, 1972. Describing the background, the court observed:

These two class action cases were originally consolidated for trial and counsel was appointed to represent plaintiffs. Twice evidentiary hearings were commenced. Each time the hearings were adjourned prior to completion due to compromise, agreement or stipulation of counsel making further testimony unnecessary. Because of agreements of counsel which prevented a full trial of all issues, findings of fact and conclusions of law are not appropriate.

The court then said of the stipulation:

The following order is in the form stipulated to by counsel for both sides and approved by the Court to dispose of Count 3, the class action attacking the constitutionality of the prison's disciplinary rules, regulations and conditions of special confinement. All the provisions of the following order were agreed upon by counsel for both sides in consultation with their named clients . . . . In view of the manner in which the case has arrived at this stage, the Court, at this time, indicates no opinion as to the constitutionality of the prior rules and regulations either as written or as applied.

The order outlined procedural and substantive rules for the administration of prison discipline that had been agreed upon by the parties; required the parties to prepare and submit revised rules within 90 days;4 allowed Taylor to present exceptions; indicated that the court would "adjudicate any appropriate issues, and will declare the resultant rules as generally suitable for use and application until changed"; and "retained jurisdiction to review this procedure within six (6) months to determine that it is operating properly." It also provided for review of disciplinary records that would result in an order adjusting good time credits that would be res judicata as to the rights of the parties.

Over the next few months the parties completed their negotiations as contemplated in the December 22 Order. On July 25, 1973, Arizona prison officials submitted their final draft of the "Prisoner Rules, Regulations and Discipline Program of the Arizona State Prison," and Taylor simultaneously filed six objections to specific provisions of the proposed Rules. The court held a hearing on August 2, 1973 to resolve Taylor's objections, at the outset of which it observed, "the responsibility for drafting administrative rules is not on the Court. The Court's only function is to review rules that have been drafted by the administration, to determine whether they meet minimum constitutional standards and whether they are applied constitutionally, that is, evenly and fairly to everybody." On August 27, the court issued a Memorandum and Order denying all but one of Taylor's objections (requiring a hearing prior to revocation of probation that may result in loss of accrued good-time credits). In so doing, it stated:

It is recognized that it is neither the duty nor the prerogative of this Court to dictate rules and regulations for the prison. The Court's responsibility is only to insure that the disciplinary rules on their face and as applied provide minimal due process as required by the Constitution and that their provisions do not violate the constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment. It is recognized that . . . persons may differ in their opinions as to the desirability, propriety or effect of different procedures or different standards of punishment, but the test to be applied by the Court is that of minimum constitutional compliance.

The order approved the "Prisoner Rules, Regulations and Discipline Program of the Arizona State Prison" Final Draft with the exception noted. Counsel were ordered to prepare a proposed amendment, and the court retained jurisdiction "as indicated in previous orders solely for consideration of objections, if any, to the appeals procedure as administered, for final settlement of two-for-one time restoration, and for consideration of the above-indicated amendment."

The parties filed a stipulation October 19, 1973 reflecting agreed changes to the Final Draft as well as the one ordered change, and the "final settlement" of two-for-one time restoration. On the same day, judgment was entered in Taylor's favor. The judgment recognizes that the "class herein includes all inmates who were and are serving sentences at the Arizona State Prison during the pendency of this action, as heretofore ordered by the Court and through the date of this judgment . . . ." It approves the Prisoner Rules, Regulations and Discipline Program attached as an exhibit and incorporated by reference. It directs the Arizona State Prison to adjust immediately the respective inmate release dates in accordance with the settlement of two-for-one time...

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