WALTON v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

• Decision Date: 01 February 1996
• Docket Number: No. 93-CV-1275,93-CV-1275
• Citation: 670 A.2d 1346
• Parties: James WALTON, Appellant, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Appellee.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

670 A.2d 1346

James WALTON, Appellant, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Appellee.

No. 93-CV-1275.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued October 19, 1995.

Decided February 1, 1996.

THIS PAGE CONTAINED HEADNOTES AND HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.

THIS PAGE CONTAINED HEADNOTES AND HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.

APPEAL FROM THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, HAROLD L. CUSHENBERRY, JR., TRIAL JUDGE.

Robert C. Hauhart, Washington, for appellant.

Mary L. Wilson, Assistant Corporation Counsel, with whom Garland Pinkston, Jr., Acting Corporation Counsel at the time the brief was filed, and Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corporation Counsel, were on the brief, for appellee.

Before FERREN, SCHWELB, and REID, Associate Judges.

Opinion for the court by Associate Judge REID.

Concurring opinion by Associate Judge FERREN at p. 1356.

Concurring opinion by Associate Judge SCHWELB at p. 1358.

REID, Associate Judge:

This case raises issues regarding disciplinary punishment of a Lorton Correctional Facility inmate and the procedural rights governing the disciplinary process. Appellant James Walton challenges a trial court decision affirming a disciplinary ruling of the Department of Corrections. The Department subjected Walton to fourteen days of adjustment segregation for violations of regulations prohibiting possession of contraband, and abuse of privileges. Walton filed an action against the District of Columbia, the Department and officials of the Department under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1979), and under D.C. Code §§ 11-921(a)(2) and (a)(3)(C) (1981) asserting violations of the Department's regulations,¹ the Lorton Regulations Approval Act of 1982 ["LRAA"], 28 DCMR Chapter 5 (1987). The trial court remanded the matter to the Department for a written statement of findings. After considering the response of the Department to its remand, the trial court ruled that Walton's "complaint fails to state a claim of constitutional deprivation of due process rights," and concluded the "defendants have now complied with the pertinent provisions of the [LRAA]." Accordingly, the trial court granted the Department's Motion for Summary Judgment. We see no error in the trial court's ruling.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

On January 19, 1992, Officer Williams, a correctional officer at the Lorton Correctional Complex, detected a smell coming from a cell occupied by inmate Walton. Officer Williams notified the officer-in-charge, Sergeant Bonaparte, who in turn inspected Walton's cell and found gallons of a liquid substance in a plastic bag. The substance laterwas found to be grapefruit juice in the process of fermenting. Tests on the juice revealed an alcohol content of less than one percent.

A. The Department's Disciplinary Action and Procedures

The Department issued a Disciplinary Report to Walton on the same day as the incident. The Disciplinary Report, signed by Officer Williams, contained three charges against Walton: (1) possession of major contraband (a Class I offense) in violation of 28 DCMR § 502.11;² (2) possession of contraband (a Class II offense) in violation of 28 DCMR § 503.10;³ and (3) abuse of privileges (a Class III offense) in violation of 28 DCMR § 504.4.⁴ Under 28 DCMR § 505, one of the penalties that is authorized for Class I, II, and III offenses is: "Assignment to adjustment segregation . . . for a period not to exceed fourteen . . . days" (28 DCMR § 505.2) in the case of Class I and II offenses or seven days in the case of a Class III offense (28 DCMR § 505.3(a)).⁵ On January 20, 1992, the Department sent Walton a memorandum regarding the charges contained in the Disciplinary Report. The memorandum summarized the Disciplinary Report and advised Walton of the approximate date of his hearing on the charges contained in the Disciplinary Report. It also included Walton's statement concerning the charges against him, as follows: "It was not seven gallons. It was approx. two gallons." In addition, the memorandum reflects the fact that Walton asserted his "desire" to have representation at the hearing, his "desire" to have Sergeant Bonaparte at the hearing but not the writer of the Disciplinary Report, his "desire" to have witnesses present, and his "wish" to be heard by an Adjustment Board instead of a Hearing Officer.⁶ Walton's signature appears at the bottom of the January 20, 1992, memorandum.

A hearing on the charges against Walton took place on January 28, 1992, before the Adjustment Board ("the Board"); the Chair of the Board was Corporal Ernestine Tillman.⁷ Walton testified at the hearing and called two witnesses: Sergeant Bonaparte, who inspected his cell after the odor was reported by Officer Williams, and Dr. John Seipel, a medical officer at Lorton who testified regarding the fermentation of fruit juice and the possibility of intoxication from the liquid found in Walton's cell. The Department introduced the Disciplinary Report, but did not call Officer Williams (the author of the Report) to testify. In addition, the Department presented documentary evidence which revealed that the alcohol content of thegrapefruit juice in Walton's cell was less than one tenth of one percent.

The only factual disagreement during the hearing appeared to be the number of gallons of liquid found in Walton's cell. The Disciplinary Report calculated the amount as "about seven gallons." Walton insisted that only two gallons were found in his cell. During his oral testimony, Sergeant Bonaparte's estimate ranged from seven or eight to fourteen or fifteen to thirty-four gallons.⁸

After all testimony and evidence had been received, the Adjustment Board deliberated. It stated its "finding and recommendation" in writing as follows: " 'Guilty' based on documentation. Recommend fourteen days [Adjustment] segregation. Return to former status after completion of [Adjustment] segregation. Resident does wish to appeal. Return to former status . . . after time." Although the Board recommended fourteen days of adjustment segregation, it did not recommend any "forfeiture of all or part of [Walton's] earned good time" under 28 DCMR § 505.2(a).⁹ The Board informed Walton of its decision orally, and sent him a copy of the written statement.

B. Walton's Appeal to the Department

On January 31, 1992, Walton sent a letter to Douglas Stempson, the Administrator of the Maximum Facility at Lorton, appealing the Board's findings with respect to the charges of: (1) possession of major contraband and (2) possession of contraband.¹⁰ Walton contended that under the definition of "intoxicating beverage" he could not have been found guilty of "possession of major contraband", given the testimony of Dr. John Seipel. Moreover, he maintained that he could not be guilty of "possession of contraband" because (1) he had been given the juice by Department personnel, (2) Dr. Seipel testified that juice begins to ferment immediately at room temperature, and (3) the Department failed to introduce any evidence that the juice had been altered by distillation. Mr. Stempson denied Walton's appeal on February 4, 1992.¹¹ Walton raised no issue in his appeal to Mr. Stempson, regarding the issuance of the Board's written decision or the timeliness of Walton's receipt of that decision.¹²

C. Walton's Complaint and the Trial Court's Proceedings

Walton filed suit in Superior Court on July 14, 1992 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and D.C. Code §§ 11-921(a)(2) and (a)(3)(C), see, supra, note 1, naming as Defendants the District of Columbia, the Department, and Walter Ridley, Director of the Department, Douglas Stempson and Ernestine Tillman in their official capacities. His complaint labeled his claims in two categories: (1) legal claims and constitutional violations and (2) statutory violations. With respect to the first category, he invoked the Fourteenth Amendment¹³ to the United States Constitutionand asserted two basic constitutional challenges to the Board's disciplinary action: (1) "[T]he Adjustment Board gave no written statement to satisfy the minimum requirements of constitutional due process"; and (2) "[T]here was an insufficient written statement as to the evidence relied upon and the reasons for disciplinary action in Administrator Stempson's February 4, 1992, letter denying his appeal." Hence, his constitutional challenge rested, as his complaint indicated, on that aspect of Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 564, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2978, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974), which requires a "written statement by the fact finders as to the evidence relied on and reasons for the disciplinary action."

With regard to the second category of his claims, Walton's complaint asserted a violation of five sections of the LRAA pertaining to: (1) the person who should sign the disciplinary report (28 DCMR § 506.3 specifying that: "the accusing official who has investigated an alleged offense shall fill out and sign a disciplinary report. . . ."); (2) the requirement of a written report (28 DCMR § 512.7 requiring that the decision state: "its findings as to the resident's involvement, the factual information upon which the finding is based, and . . . the penalty to be imposed. . . ."); (3) the standard of review for an appeal (28 DCMR § 513.2 requiring a review based upon a reasonable assessment of the evidence presented); (4) the insufficiency of evidence to meet the definition of major contraband, as set forth in 28 DCMR § 502.11(b); and (5) the insufficiency of evidence to meet the definition of possession of contraband as defined in 28 DCMR § 503.10. Walton sought a declaratory judgment that defendants violated his constitutional and statutory rights. He also asked that the disciplinary decision against him be vacated and that any record of the matter be expunged.

In an order docketed on April 21, 1993, the trial court remanded the matter to the Department's Adjustment Board for issuance...