Tindell v. Dep't of Corr.

• Decision Date: 24 March 2014
• Citation: 87 A.3d 1029
• Parties: Archie TINDELL, James Wright, Petitioners v. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, John Wetzel, Secretary, Debra Savers, Supt., Eric Tice, D.S.F.M., M. Overmyer, D.S.C.S., Respondents.
• Court: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

87 A.3d 1029

Archie TINDELL, James Wright, Petitioners

v.DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, John Wetzel, Secretary, Debra Savers, Supt., Eric Tice, D.S.F.M., M. Overmyer, D.S.C.S., Respondents.

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Submitted on Briefs Aug. 9, 2013.

Decided March 24, 2014.

Archie Tindell and James Wright, pro se.

Raymond W. Dorian, Assistant Counsel, Mechanicsburg, for respondents.

BEFORE: LEADBETTER, Judge, and BROBSON, Judge, and COLINS, Senior Judge.

OPINION BY Senior Judge COLINS.

Archie Tindell and James Wright (Petitioners), pro se, have filed an amended petition for review in the nature of mandamus in our original jurisdiction naming as respondents the Department of Corrections (DOC), John Wetzel, Secretary of the DOC, and employees of the State Correctional Institution—Forest (SCI Forest) Superintendent Debra K. Sauers ¹, Superintendent Daniel Burns ², Deputy Superintendent Eric Tice, and Deputy Superintendent Michael Overmyer (collectively Respondents). Before the Court are Respondents' preliminary objections. Respondents object in the nature of a demurrer to Petitioners' amended petition for review, seeking dismissal pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure No. 1028(a)(4). ³ Respondents also seek dismissalof the SCI Forest employees as respondents, because they are not statewide officers for purpose of this Court's original jurisdiction under Section 761(a) of the Judicial Code, 42 Pa.C.S. § 761(a). Because we conclude that Petitioners have failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, Respondents preliminary objection in the nature of a demurrer is granted and Petitioners' amended petition for review in the nature of mandamus is dismissed.⁴

I.

A writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy used to compel official performance of a ministerial act when a petitioner establishes a clear legal right, the respondent has a corresponding duty, and the petitioner has no other adequate remedy at law. Danysh v. Wetzel, 49 A.3d 1, 2 (Pa.Cmwlth.2012). The purpose of mandamus is to enforce rights that have been clearly established. Silo v. Commonwealth, 886 A.2d 1193, 1195 (Pa.Cmwlth.2005). Mandamus may not be used to establish legal rights or to compel performance of discretionary acts. Maute v. Frank, 670 A.2d 737, 740 (Pa.Cmwlth.1996). Although Petitioners have titled their action as one in mandamus, they also request permanent injunctive relief. (Amended Petition, Prayer for Relief.) Like mandamus, Petitioners' threshold burden when seeking a permanent injunction is to establish a clear legal right to relief. Rosario v. Beard, 920 A.2d 931, 934 (Pa.Cmwlth.2007). To secure injunctive relief, Petitioners must demonstrate that the right to relief is clear, that there is an urgent necessity to avoid an injury which cannot be compensated in damages, and that the greater injury will result from refusing rather than granting the relief requested. Id.;Singleton v. Lavan, 834 A.2d 672, 674 (Pa.Cmwlth.2003). Petitioners also request incidental damages pursuant to Section 8303 of the Judicial Code.⁵42 Pa.C.S. § 8303.

II.

Petitioners have been housed at SCI Forest in the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU). In stating their claim for a writ of mandamus, Petitioners allege that conditions in the RHU violate a series of DOC regulations and policies that govern operation of State Correctional Institutions within Pennsylvania. ⁶ (Amended Petition, ¶¶ 55–74.) To be clear, Petitioners do not allege that these policies and regulations violate their statutory or constitutional rights. Compare, Bussinger v. Department of Corrections, 29 A.3d 79, 93 (Pa.Cmwlth.2011). Instead, Petitioners allege that the policies and regulations adopted by DOC create rights and that Respondents' failure to adhere to DOC policies and regulations in operating the RHU at SCI Forest violates these clearly established rights.

Allegations that corrections officers have failed to follow rules and regulations promulgated or adopted by prison officials that do not also allege this failure has violated a clearly established statutory or constitutional right of a prison inmate cannot state a claim for mandamus, because administrative rules and regulations “do not create rights in prison inmates.” Commonwealth ex rel. Buehl v. Price, 705 A.2d 933, 936 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997); Lawson v. Department of Corrections, 114 Pa.Cmwlth. 573, 539 A.2d 69, 71–72 (1988). Administrative regulations are not statutes or constitutional provisions.⁷Compare,61 Pa.C.S. § 5901 (establishing an inmate's statutory right to physical exercise).

Petitioners' allegations that DOC policies are violated by the conditions that persist in the RHU do not state claims sounding in mandamus. Prison officials are afforded a wide range of discretion in the promulgation and enforcement of policies to govern internal prison operations and must be allowed to exercise their judgment and to execute those policies necessary to preserve order and maintain security within Pennsylvania's State Correctional Institutions free from judicial interference. Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979); Bronson v. Central Office Review Committee, 554 Pa. 317, 320, 721 A.2d 357, 358 (1998); Jackson v. Hendrick, 509 Pa. 456, 465, 503 A.2d 400, 404 (1986); Garrison v. Department of Corrections, 16 A.3d 560, 564 (Pa.Cmwlth.2011); Maute, 670 A.2d at 739. The petition in the nature of mandamus filed by Petitioners asks this Court to invade the discretion afforded Respondents and to direct Respondents to exercise their discretion in a particular manner. Even if this Court were to agree with Petitioners that Respondents have exercised their discretion incorrectly, a writ of mandamus cannot be issued to compel Respondents to exercise their discretion in a particular way, but only to perform a ministerial act. Clark v. Beard, 918 A.2d 155, 160–161 (Pa.Cmwlth.2007).

III.

In addition to Petitioners' allegations that DOC policies are not adhered to within the RHU, Petitioners claim that they have been denied their right to be free from the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment guaranteed under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.⁸ (Amended Petition, ¶ 75.) Although prison officials are afforded wide latitude in the administration of correctional institutions, prisoners do not lose all constitutional rights as a result of imprisonment. Madden v. Jeffes, 85 Pa.Cmwlth. 414, 482 A.2d 1162, 1165 (1984). A prisoner's constitutional rights must, however, be weighed against the government's concern with the maintenance of order, discipline and security within correctional institutions. Id. at 1166. Petitioners' claim that their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment has been violated is premised on allegations that Respondents have shown a deliberate indifference to Petitioners' serious medical needs and that the conditions of the RHU deny Petitioners basic human necessities. (Amended Petition, ¶ 75.) In alleging that their constitutional rights have been violated Petitioners delineate six different categories in their petition: (a) ventilation; (b) sleep deprivation; (c) mental health; (d) behavior modification; (e) food service; and (f) clothing.

Petitioners allege that the RHU is extremely cold, that the ventilation system forces air into their cells with excessive pressure, and that the system allows fecal dust from feces smeared into the vents by mentally ill inmates to enter their cells. (Amended Petition, ¶¶ 8–11, 17.) Petitioners allege that as a result they have suffered respiratory infections, headaches, upset stomachs, loss of appetite, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and that the exposure to human waste has long-term consequences for their health. (Amended Petition, ¶¶ 12, 14–16.) Petitioners further allege that the Respondents have knowledge of the deficient ventilation system from reports, DC–121 forms, rounds, cell reassignments made following their complaints, and grievances, and have failed to remedy the problem despite this knowledge. (Amended Petition, ¶ 13.)

Petitioners allege that the excessive air pressure from the ventilation system creates loud noises that prevent them from sleeping. (Amended Petition, ¶ 18.) Petitioners allege that the lack of uninterrupted sleep for eight hours can increase the risk of heart attacks and diabetes. ( Id.) Petitioners allege that this deprivation of sleep has long term consequences for their health, particularly the health of Petitioner Tindell because he has been diagnosed with Type–1 Diabetes. (Amended Petition, ¶¶ 18–19.) Petitioners also allege that the medical department at SCI Forest refused to provide Petitioner Tindell with medical treatment for his Type–1 Diabetes. (Amended Petition, ¶ 18, Prayer for Relief.)

Petitioners allege that confinement in the RHU necessarily includes significant social isolation and reduced environmental stimulation. (Amended Petition, ¶ 21.) Petitioners allege that social isolation and reduced environmental stimulation has been shown by a growing body of social science and clinical literature to lead to mental illness and to exacerbate the symptoms present in individuals who have already been diagnosed with a mental illness. (Amended Petition, ¶¶ 22–27.) Petitioners also allege that the isolation and resulting instability accompanying confinement in the RHU impairs an inmate's capacity to successfully adapt upon return to the broader prison environment. (Amended Petition, ¶ 27.)

Petitioners allege that the staff of the RHU use racism, ethnic intimidation, racial profiling, official oppression, and retaliatory cover-ups as a part of an overall behavior modification regime intended to alter Petitioners' behavior.⁹ (Amended Petition, ¶ 28.) Petitioners allege that punitive sanctions, including restrictions on access to the yard, the shower, movement, jumpsuits, and linens are used in retaliation and to cause anxiety. (...