Walker v. Artus

• Decision Date: 21 February 2014
• Docket Number: No. 9:10–CV–1431 (MAD/DEP).,9:10–CV–1431 (MAD/DEP).
• Citation: 998 F.Supp.2d 18
• Parties: Tyrone WALKER, Plaintiff, v. Dale ARTUS, Superintendent, Clinton Correctional Facility; et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

998 F.Supp.2d 18

Tyrone WALKER, Plaintiff,

v.Dale ARTUS, Superintendent, Clinton Correctional Facility; et al., Defendants.

No. 9:10–CV–1431 (MAD/DEP).

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

Feb. 21, 2014.

Tyrone Walker, Clinton Correctional Facility, Dannemora, NY, pro se.

Hon. Eric T. Schneiderman, Office of the New York State Attorney General, Adele M. Taylor–Scott, AAG, Assistant Attorney General, of Counsel, Albany, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM–DECISION AND ORDER

MAE A. D'AGOSTINO, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff pro se Tyrone Walker, an inmate currently in the custody of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”), commenced this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that Defendants deprived him of his civil rights in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (“RLUIPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc–1(a), and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United Stated Constitution. See Dkt. No. 1. On January 18, 2013, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. See Dkt. No. 57–8.

Currently before the Court are Plaintiff's objections to Magistrate Judge Peebles' Report and Recommendation, in which he recommended that Defendants' motion for summary judgment be granted and that this case be dismissed. See Dkt. No. 64 at 2.

II. BACKGROUND¹

Plaintiff is a prison inmate entrusted to the care and custody of the New York State DOCCS. See Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 1. At all times relevant to this action, he was confined in a Special Housing Unit (“SHU”) at Clinton Correctional Facility (“Clinton C.F.”), which is located in Dannemora, New York.²See id.

Plaintiff is one of over 300 Muslim inmates at Clinton C.F. See Dkt. No. 63–2 at 31. Jumu'ah is an hour-long Muslim congregate service held on Fridays, and includes aspects of sermon and prayer. See id. at 65, 67. Jumu'ah services are provided for Muslim inmates confined at Clinton C.F. on Fridays between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. See id. at 67. According to Imam Assallami Fadle, the Muslim Chaplin assigned to Clinton C.F., although Muslim men are expected to attend Jumu'ah services if they are able to do so, “[i]t is not mandatory for women, or for men who are sick, or for men who are not free to attend service.” See id. at 54, 66.

Pursuant to DOCCS Directive 4933, inmates confined in a SHU cell are prohibited from participating in congregate religious services. 7 N.Y.C.R.R. § 304.9(d). Joseph F. Bellnier, the DOCCS Deputy Commissioner for Correctional Facilities, states that “the possibility of disruption to the smooth operation of the facility is increased” any time inmates congregate. ³See Dkt. No. 57–4 at ¶ 6. For that reason, “SHU inmates do not attend congregate religious services. Instead, religious counseling by a member of the facility's ministerial services staff [is] provided upon the written request of an inmate, and the facility senior chaplain or a designated member of the ministerial services staff is required to make a minimum of one round per week in the SHU.” ⁴Id. at ¶ 12 (citing 7 N.Y.C.R.R. § 304.9). Muslim SHU inmates are also allowed to retain possession of a Quran, Kufi, and a prayer rug; they are permitted to pray demonstratively within their cells; they are permitted to order religious periodicals unless they are prohibited for security purposes; and they are provided an alternative diet in conformity with their religious dietary restrictions, and with accommodations made during feast and fast days. See Dkt. No. 57–4 at ¶ 24; see also Dkt. No. 57–5 at ¶¶ 9–11. Those religious accommodations are designed to provide an “alternative means for Muslim inmates confined to SHU to practice their religion without undue risk to the safety, security and the good working order of correctional facilities[.]” See Dkt. No. 57–4 at ¶ 25.

Because of the prohibition against congregation for SHU inmates, Plaintiff requested permission to participate in Jumu'ah by way of closed circuit television from the secured area in the back of his SHU cell. See Dkt. No. 1 at 9–10; see also Dkt. No. 57–2 at 82. Notwithstanding the fact that SHU inmates currently do not have access to any television of any sort, Plaintiff proposes that monitors could be installed in each cell's Sally port because they are already equipped with wiring for camera/video surveillance. See Dkt. No. 57–2 at 82–85. More specifically, Plaintiff requests that Muslim inmates in the SHU who have not received a misbehavior report within the prior thirty days be allowed to go into the Sally port to participate in Jumu'ah via closed circuit television. Id. at 85.

In the alternative, Plaintiff requests that Jumu'ah services be broadcast through the audio headphone jack in his SHU cell. See Dkt. No. 1 at 10; see Dkt. No. 57–2 at 87. The broadcast could either be a live feed or pre-recorded. See Dkt. No. 57–2 at 95. According to Plaintiff, by listening to Jumu'ah services on headphones, he could actively participate in the services while still complying with DOCCS' ban on congregating. See Dkt. No. 63–2 at 65.

In an effort to gain the opportunity to participate in Jumu'ah services by way of closed circuit television or audio feed, Plaintiff filed grievances at Clinton C.F. on October 21, 2008, July 1, 2010, and September 21, 2010; sent a complaint letter on July 28, 2008 to Defendant Dale Artus, the superintendent at Clinton C.F. at that time; forwarded a written complaint to DOCCS Commissioner Brian Fischer on August 24, 2008; sent three letters, dated February 10, 2009, February 23, 2009, and March 2, 2009, to Defendant Assallami; and lodged a complaint, dated September 21, 2010, with Defendant Thomas LaValley, the current superintendent at Clinton C.F. See Dkt. No. 1 at 9–10; Complaint Exhs. 16–22 (Dkt. Nos. 1–2, 1–3). Defendant Artus has no personal recollection of having addressed Plaintiff's requests. See Dkt. No. 57–3 at 2. The record nonetheless demonstrates that he delegated a number of Plaintiff's complaints to staff for investigation, and denied Plaintiff's grievance dated July 1, 2010, in light of the absence of a DOCCS Directive providing for closed circuit television for religious services. See id. at 2, 111. On appeal from the superintendent's ruling, DOCCS Central Office Review Committee upheld the denial, finding that Plaintiff had “not presented any compelling reasons to place CCTV in his cell to watch Muslim services.” As it relates to Defendant LaValley, he has no personal recollection of receiving or responding to Plaintiff's letter dated September 21, 2010. See Dkt. No. 57–5 at ¶ 4. Defendant Assallami acknowledges that he spoke with Defendant Artus regarding Plaintiff's request to participate in Jumu'ah services by way of closed circuit television, but was informed that it “was not a decision the Superintendent was authorized to make.” See Dkt. No. 63–2 at 61; see also Dkt. No. 63–2 at 54.

Defendants have submitted evidence explaining the necessary steps DOCCS would have to take to meet Plaintiff's requests for accommodations. Thomas McQuade, a Facilities Planning Specialist employed by DOCCS, explains that each SHU cell is equipped with three wall jacks, all of which are audio-only capable, and not currently capable of carrying a video feed. See Dkt. No. 57–6 at ¶ 6. Therefore, to accommodate Plaintiff's request that all Jumu'ah services be broadcast over closed circuit television in SHU cells, DOCCS would be required to install the necessary video wiring, as well as televisions. More specifically, as McQuade explains in his declaration,

[t]o do this properly, the existing wiring would need to be modified with a type of cable for in-cell television. Conduit will need to be run to provide the extra jack as well as power to each cell. SHU cells are not normally provided user connectable power outlets due to security concerns. New control equipment would also be required, as well as the inmate would need to purchase an approved television from the facility. To accomplish this, the [DOCCS] would need to issue a [New York State Office of General Services] project for each facility through its capital construction program to perform the necessary work. Design fees and construction costs could be several hundred thousand dollars or greater at a facility depending on the size of the SHU.

Id. at ¶ 9.

Regarding Plaintiff's request to permit Muslim SHU inmates to listen to Jumu'ah services through an audio feed, the existing wiring in the SHU does not allow an independent signal to be sent to a particular cell. See id. at ¶ 6. Accordingly, in the event DOCCS satisfied this request, the same religious programming that Plaintiff, as a Muslim, would receive in his cell, would also be provided to all of the other SHU inmates, regardless of their religious beliefs. See id. Moreover, according to McQuade, the audio option is not feasible because DOCCS would be forced to install the equipment in all of the SHUs throughout its facilities, of which there are forty-eight, in an effort to maintain consistency, which is important to maintaining the security and order of facilities. See id. at ¶¶ 7–8; see alsoDkt. No. 57–4 at ¶ 18 (“Providing benefits to one group of inmates can lead to manipulative behaviors which place a substantial strain on staffing and other resources”). McQuade explains that “[e]ach [of the forty-eight] facilit[ies] would need to provide wiring equipment to extend from the place of worship an audio signal to the existing radio distribution rack for the SHU. Staff would be required to set up the equipment for the service, as well as operate the program selection to send the audio over one of the three channels.” See Dkt. No. 57–6 at ¶ 8. According to McQuade, “[u]nder current financial restraints, [where] there is reduced budget for new infrastructure projects[,] ... DOCCS does not currently have the means to accommodate Plaintiff's request, or the monetary resources to divert to...