Van Riper v. Oedekoven, 00-274.

• Decision Date: 20 June 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-274.,00-274.
• Citation: 2001 WY 58,26 P.3d 325
• Parties: Courtney J. VAN RIPER, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. Byron OEDEKOVEN, Sheriff of Campbell County, Wyoming; Gregory Bennick, the Administrator of the Campbell County Detention Center; Jackie Tarter, Shift Supervisor at the Campbell County Detention Center, Appellees (Defendants).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

26 P.3d 325

2001 WY 58

Courtney J. VAN RIPER, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. Byron OEDEKOVEN, Sheriff of Campbell County, Wyoming; Gregory Bennick, the Administrator of the Campbell County Detention Center; Jackie Tarter, Shift Supervisor at the Campbell County Detention Center, Appellees (Defendants).

No. 00-274.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

June 20, 2001.

Rehearing Denied July 17, 2001.

Courtney J. Van Riper, pro se, Rawlins, WY, Representing Appellant.

Gay Woodhouse, Wyoming Attorney General; Michael L. Hubbard, Deputy Attorney General; and John D. Rossetti, Assistant Attorney General; Charlene Lynde, Deputy County and Prosecuting Attorney, Gillette, WY, Representing Appellees.

Before LEHMAN, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, and KITE, JJ.

HILL, Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellant, Courtney J. Van Riper (Van Riper), seeks review of an order of the district court which dismissed his Civil Rights Action, filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C § 1983, for the reason that it failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. W.R.C.P. 12(b)(6).

[¶ 2] We will affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 3] Van Riper presents this statement of the issues:

I. Whether the Circuit [sic] [District] Court Erred in Granting the Defendants' Motions to Dismiss the 42 USC § 1983 Civil Right Complaint for Failure to State a Claim Pursuant to Wyoming Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)?

II. Whether the Clerk of Sixth Judicial Circuit [sic] [District] Court Exceeded Wyoming Statutory Authorization, as Codified at Wyo. Stat. § 5-2-202, in Demanding an $85.00 Supreme Court Filing Fee in this Matter?

Appellees, Byron Oedekoven (Oedekoven), Gregory Bennick (Bennick), and Jackie Tartar (Tartar) (in their individual capacities) propose these issues for our consideration:

I. The District Court Correctly Granted Defendants' Motions to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Pursuant to Wyo. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6).

II. The Clerk of the Sixth Judicial District Court Correctly Assessed an $85.00 Supreme Court Filing Fee.

The Appellees (in their official capacities) state this issue:

1. The District Court Properly Granted The Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, Filed In Their Official Capacities, for Failure to State a Claim For Which Relief Could Be Granted Under § 42 U.S.C. 1983, Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

FACTS

[¶ 4] On September 17, 1998, Van Riper filed his Civil Rights Action in the district court.¹ Van Riper purported to bring this action on behalf of himself, as well as a class of persons "comprised of all similarly situated past, present, and future pretrial and sentenced prisoners" confined in the Campbell County Detention Center (CCDC). Appellee Oedekoven is the Campbell County Sheriff. Appellee Bennick is a Campbell County Deputy Sheriff and Administrator of the CCDC. Appellee Tartar is a Campbell County Deputy Sheriff who is in charge of the day shift at the CCDC. We accept for purposes of the disposition of this appeal that all Appellees were acting, at all times, under color of the laws of the State of Wyoming.

[¶ 5] Van Riper alleges these facts in his initial complaint. The law library at the CCDC is located in the Visiting Room. The Visiting Room is used for many other purposes, including for visits with prisoners (16 + hours a week), church services and fellowship meetings (7.5 hours per week), AA and NA meetings (4 hours per week), and counseling meetings (2 hours per week). The law library contains a legal research computer, as well as a significant number and variety of legal research books. There is no librarian and no other CCDC personnel who can assist prisoners in doing legal research. The legal research computer is, in reality, "available" only to prisoners who are knowledgeable enough to use it. Other legal materials are available through inter-library loan, but that takes "several days to a week or more." Legal materials may only be used in the CCDC Visiting Room and may not be taken to jail cells. Van Riper claims that, in addition to the various other uses of the law library listed above, other CCDC rules and regulations further reduce the number of hours that the law library is available for legal research purposes. Van Riper claims that certain legal materials that are critical to a prisoner's research efforts are not available, and that CCDC "regularly" interferes with prisoners gaining access to the law library or allowing inmates with legal research experience (such as Van Riper) to assist other prisoners (Van Riper cites four circumstances where he was not permitted to assist other prisoners).

[¶ 6] Van Riper contends CCDC does not provide carbon paper for use by prisoners but instead charges the "exorbitant" rate of $1.00 for the first copy and $.25 for each copy thereafter (on occasion the charges are even higher). Van Riper contends he was charged $50.00 for the copying "necessary" to complete the administrative procedures relevant to the instant matter, and that ZIP Printing of Gillette would have done it for $10.00. According to Van Riper, these copying charges, as well as other CCDC policies, are used to chill and frustrate a prisoner's ability to pursue legitimate grievances and other legal remedies. At a later time, Van Riper was again charged excessive sums for copies.

[¶ 7] Van Riper contends that CCDC requires inmates to use 50% of funds they have on account to pay for medical costs, even when they may be indigent.

[¶ 8] Van Riper also avers that the CCDC policy which limits prisoners to making only collect phone calls at a cost of $2.95 (and does not permit "800" calls to be made to lawyers) chills and frustrates the prisoners' right to contact their families, the prisoners' right to self-representation and to contact lawyers and courts, and earns the CCDC an undue profit from every call made by prisoners. In addition, CCDC does not maintain a mail log to ensure that legal mail is not tampered with or delayed.

[¶ 9] Van Riper contends that prisoners, upon arrival at CCDC, are deprived of personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, as well as bed, pillow, and linens. In addition, overcrowded conditions often exist resulting in physical injury, and bright overhead lights that are on 24 hours a day result in sleep deprivation. Van Riper does not specifically allege that he was subjected to such treatment.

[¶ 10] Van Riper contends that non-medically trained personnel are permitted to dispense prescription, non-prescription and controlled medications to prisoners on a regular basis. Van Riper contends that mistakes are made by these non-trained personnel and that, in his own personal instance, he was given a double dose of a "strong sedative," and Van Riper had to call the error to a CCDC staff member's attention.

[¶ 11] Van Riper asserts that the CCDC, contrary to the facility's policies, routinely allows violent and assaultive prisoners to be placed in the jail's general population. CCDC then does nothing to prevent those violent and assaultive inmates from engaging in lengthy reigns of terror and intimidation over younger and weaker prisoners. Van Riper relates a specific instance where such an event occurred, though it did not affect him.

[¶ 12] In this initial complaint, Van Riper sought declaratory relief, injunctive relief, nominal damages of $25.00 against each Appellee, a refund of profits from the phone system, his fees, costs and expenses for this action, as well as any other relief the district court might find just and appropriate.

[¶ 13] On September 28, 1998, Van Riper filed a "Supplemental and Amended Complaint." This document contained additional allegations concerning Civil Rights Act violations. Van Riper averred that another inmate at CCDC had sought to use the law library during nighttime hours and that request was denied. He claimed that he asked for five legal texts and that, in retaliation for a yet unfiled complaint, Appellee Bennick deliberately delayed acting on that request for five days. Van Riper asserted that other requests for legal materials were ignored or denied, including a request for information on how to serve the instant suit on Appellees. However, the Appellees eventually accepted service of his complaints. He also contends that he was denied nighttime access to the law library, and that when another group cancelled its usual time to use the law library area and he was granted access to make use of that time, he was subjected to a pat-down search (degrading), and that the officer conducting the search deliberately slammed his hands into Van Riper's groin. [¶ 14] Van Riper alleges that on the day the instant law suit was filed and served, Van Riper's cell was subjected to a "shake-down" search and his legal materials were scattered about his cell (and were partially damaged), and CCDC personnel confiscated "two blue paper/clear plastic with soft metal clips [legal folders]." Van Riper was not reimbursed for this loss.

[¶ 15] Van Riper maintains that during May of 1998, he was asked by CCDC personnel to assist other inmates in doing legal research (because of his computer research expertise), and he successfully provided such assistance to a number of inmates. After filing of the instant case, Appellee Bennick issued a new policy denying Van Riper the "right" to assist other inmates and, further, drastically reduced Van Riper's access to the law library and to legal materials.

[¶ 16] Van Riper claims he was charged with a major disciplinary infraction (use of profanity) when, under normal circumstances, even much more offensive use of profanity goes unpunished.

[¶ 17] Van Riper claims a disabled inmate, who filed a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act, was placed in administrative segregation on the pretext that the inmate required medical monitoring.

[¶ 18] Van Riper claims he was denied notary service necessary to his access to the courts.

[¶ 19] Van Riper alleges that he was denied the right to call witnesses at his disciplinary hearing ...