Waters v. Bass

• Decision Date: 12 February 2004
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A.03-1387-AM.,CIV.A.03-1387-AM.
• Citation: 304 F.Supp.2d 802
• Parties: Marcus L. WATERS, Plaintiff, v. Gary BASS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia

304 F.Supp.2d 802

Marcus L. WATERS, Plaintiff, v. Gary BASS, et al., Defendants.

No. CIV.A.03-1387-AM.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Alexandria Division.

February 12, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Marcus L. Waters, Waverly, VA, pro se.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLIS, District Judge.

Marcus L. Waters ("Waters"), a Virginia inmate, filed this action pro se under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his constitutional rights have been violated (1) because he has not been transferred from the Virginia Beach City Jail ("VBCJ") to the Virginia Department of Corrections ("VDOC"); and (2) because the VBCJ charges him one dollar per day as a room and board fee, a charge not levied on federal detainees. Both claims fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and must be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1).

Section 1915A authorizes the dismissal of prisoner complaints that are frivolous, malicious, or fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1). Frivolous complaints are those that are based on "inarguable legal conclusion[s]" or "fanciful factual allegation [s]." Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989) (examining identical language of predecessor statute to § 1915A). Whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted is determined by "the familiar standard for a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)." Sumner v. Tucker, 9 F.Supp.2d 641, 642 (E.D.Va.1998). Thus, under § 1915A, as under Rule 12(b)(6), the facts alleged in the complaint are presumed true, and the complaint should be dismissed only when "it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984).

I. Transfer to VDOC

In his complaint, Waters states that he is incarcerated at the VBCJ and has been incarcerated at this and other local jails for more than one year.¹ He argues he should have been transferred to a VDOC facility promptly and, he further claims that as a result of being incarcerated in local jails, he has been denied various amenities typically available at the VDOC facilities. Specifically, he claims that the amenities he has been denied as a result of being kept in local jails include: contact visits; educational and vocational programs; prison employment; and, an increased opportunity to earn good time credits.

The dispositive response to Waters' claim is the well-established principle that an inmate has no constitutional right to be housed in any particular prison. See Meachum v. Fano, 427 U.S. 215, 96 S.Ct. 2532, 49 L.Ed.2d 451 (1976); Khaliq v. Angelone, No. 02-7365, 2003 WL 21689152 (4th Cir.2003) (unpublished). Virginia's prison transfer regulations do not create any liberty interest in a specific housing assignment, as prison officials have, and reasonably must have, broad discretion under the regulations to determine the facility at which an inmate is housed. See Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 115 S.Ct. 2293, 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995); Olim v. Wakinekona, 461 U.S. 238, 103 S.Ct. 1741, 75 L.Ed.2d 813 (1983) (no liberty interest created under law prior to Sandin). The transfer of an inmate, even for punitive reasons, is within the range of confinement justified by a prison sentence. Sandin, 515 U.S. at 485, 115 S.Ct. 2293. Therefore, no due process rights are implicated by routine housing assignments and transfers, or absence thereof. See Cochran v. Morris, 73 F.3d 1310, 1318 (4th Cir.1996) (holding that VDOC's interstate transfer regulations are routine and create no liberty interest in any transfer); accord Sandin, 515 U.S. at 485, 115 S.Ct. 2293; Olim, 461 U.S. 238, 103 S.Ct. 1741; Meachum, 427 U.S. 215, 96 S.Ct. 2532.

Although Waters has no constitutional right to a transfer or to be housed in a VDOC facility, he does have constitutionally protected rights to certain basic amenities such as adequate food,² exercise,³ and medical care⁴ in whatever facility he is confined. Yet, Waters alleges no deprivation of these basic amenities. Instead, he claims a constitutional right to various privileges such as contact visits, educational programs, prison employment, and an increased opportunity to earn good time credits. The short and dispositive answer to Waters' claim in these respects is that these are not constitutionally required amenities for inmates serving prison sentences.

It follows, therefore, that Waters' first claim is without merit and must be dismissed.

II. Room and Board Fee

Next, Waters claims that the one dollar per day room and board fee charged by the VBCJ pursuant to VA. CODE § 53.1-131.3 violates his constitutional rights. This recently-enacted statute authorizes sheriffs and jail superintendents to establish programs to charge inmates a reasonable room and board fee, not to exceed one dollar ($1.00) per day.⁵ Virginia is not alone in allowing a fee assessment to cover the costs of incarceration; it appears that at least sixteen states⁶ have enacted laws authorizing local jails to charge inmates for all or part of the county's costs of room and board and other basic services. Many statutes specifically authorize deductions from an inmate's wages or inmate account to recoup a portion of the costs of incarceration.⁷ Federal law also allows deductions from a federal prisoner's wages for reasonable room and board fees. 17 U.S.C. § 1761(c)(2)(B). Additionally, when assessing a fine for an individual federal criminal defendant, district court judges are required to consider the expected costs to the government of any term of probation, or term of imprisonment and term of supervised release imposed. U.S. Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 5E1.2(d)(7) (Nov.2003).

On July 1, 2003, acting pursuant to the Virginia statute, the VBCJ implemented its fee program by issuing a Policy and Procedure General Order ("General Order") establishing guidelines for collecting payment of costs associated with a prisoner's keep.⁸ Specifically, the General Order provides that the cost of a prisoner's keep, not to exceed $1.00 per day, shall be deducted from the inmate accounts of all non-federal prisoners. The General Order further provides that all monies sent to, or received by, an inmate must first be applied to the amount owed for room and board. Any remaining balance will be applied to the inmate's Canteen account. If, upon release, an inmate has a negative room and board balance, he will be required to sign a financial responsibility statement. This statement serves as the first of three bills issued for a negative balance. If the inmate does not pay the negative balance, the Sheriff's Office will prepare a report for collection of the inmate's unpaid fees as part of the Set Off Debt Collection program. Payments received directly from the inmate, or through the Set Off Debt Collection process will be posted to the inmate's account. If an inmate with funds is subsequently incarcerated, those funds will be applied to any monies owed on the account first. Any balance will then be credited to the inmate's Canteen account.

Although Waters claims the one dollar per day fee amounts to a constitutional violation, he fails to specify any constitutional provision involved. Charitably construed,⁹ Waters' complaint may be read to claim that Virginia's one dollar per day room and board fee (A) constitutes (i) cruel and unusual punishment, or is (ii) an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment; (B) violates (i) due process, or (ii) equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment; or (C) is not reasonably related to a legitimate penological interest. These possible claims, separately addressed here, are all meritless.

A. Eighth Amendment

(i) Cruel and Unusual Punishment

The Eighth Amendment protects against the infliction of "cruel and unusual punishments." U.S. Const. amend. VIII.¹⁰ More specifically, this provision operates both to prohibit excessive sentences and to protect prisoners "from inhumane treatment and conditions while imprisoned." Williams v. Benjamin, 77 F.3d 756, 761 (4th Cir.1996). To establish an Eighth Amendment claim for the imposition of cruel and unusual punishment, "a prisoner must prove two elements — that `the deprivation of [a] basic human need was objectively sufficiently serious,' and that `subjectively the officials act[ed] with a sufficiently culpable state of mind.'" Shakka v. Smith, 71 F.3d 162, 166 (4th Cir.1995) (quoting Strickler v. Waters, 989 F.2d 1375, 1379 (4th Cir.1993)) (internal quotations omitted). Waters' complaint, read generously, alleges no facts that might conceivably establish these elements. Simply put, the requirement that Waters pay a very small portion of his keep in prison does not deprive him of any basic human need, nor does VBCJ's minimal fee reflect any constitutionally culpable state of mind on the part of VBCJ officials.

Although the Fourth Circuit has not squarely addressed the constitutionality of Virginia's new room and board fee, other courts have considered the issue and "have consistently found no constitutional impediment to deducting the cost of room and board from a prisoner's wages." Tillman v. Lebanon, 221 F.3d 410, 416 n. 3 (3rd Cir.2000).¹¹ Indeed, "nothing in the Eighth Amendment ... requires a state to provide an inmate, free of charge, with a necessary commodity that would not be free outside the prison walls and which the inmate has the legal means to obtain." Martin v. Debruyn, 880 F.Supp. 610, 614 (N.D.Ind.1995), aff'd, 116 F.3d 1482 (7th Cir.1997).

Consistent with this principle, it is settled that prisoners may be required to pay other expenses associated with their care, such as the cost of medical services. Thus, the Supreme Court has noted that although the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment requires the provision of medical care for persons in...