Watkins v. Kasper

• Decision Date: 06 June 2008
• Docket Number: Cause No. 3:05-CV-28-TS.
• Citation: 560 F.Supp.2d 691
• Parties: Charles E. WATKINS, Plaintiff, v. Barbara KASPER, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

560 F.Supp.2d 691

Charles E. WATKINS, Plaintiff, v. Barbara KASPER, Defendant.

Cause No. 3:05-CV-28-TS.

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana.

June 6, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Charles E. Watkins, Bunker Hill, IN, pro se.

Cory C. Voight, Juliana B. Pierce, Indiana Attorney General's Office, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

THERESA L. SPRINGMANN, District Judge.

The Plaintiff, a prison law clerk trying his "case pro se, sued the Defendant for retaliating against his exercise of the First Amendment right to complain about the Defendant's handling of his personal property and her implementation of various library policies that restricted the prison law clerks' ability to assist other inmates with their legal matters. The case was tried to a jury over three days. The jury returned a verdict for the Plaintiff and awarded him $150 in compensatory damages and $1000 in punitive damages.

The matter is now before the Court on the Defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law. The motion was made orally at trial at the close of the Plaintiffs case and at the close of all the evidence, and it was renewed after the jury returned its verdict, as required by Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The motion was directed at four issues: (1) whether the Plaintiff could recover damages for mental or emotional injuries; (2) whether the Plaintiff presented sufficient evidence that Defendant Sally Stevenson was aware that he had engaged in any constitutionally protected activity; (3) whether the Plaintiffs speech was constitutionally protected; and (4) whether the second conduct report filed against the Plaintiff can be deemed a retaliatory act. The Plaintiff did not object to the motion as it related to the first two issues. The Court granted the motion as to those issues, dismissed Sally Stevenson from the case, and took the motion under advisement as to the remaining issues. For the reasons explained in this opinion, the Defendant's renewed motion is denied.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 allows a court to enter judgment as a matter of law when the motion is first offered or to reserve judgment on the motion until after a jury has returned its verdict. Fed. R.Civ.P. 50(b). In this case, the Court reserved judgment on the Defendant's motion in part and submitted the case to the jury. A judgment as a matter of law is granted when "a party has been fully heard on an issue during a jury trial and the court finds that a reasonable jury would not have a legally sufficient evidentiary basis to find for the party on that issue." Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a). "[T]he standard for granting summary judgment `mirrors' the standard for judgment as a matter of law, such that `the inquiry under each is the same.'" Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prod, Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250-51, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

In viewing the facts presented on a motion for judgment as a matter of law, a court "must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and must draw all reasonable inference in that party's favor." Lasley v. Moss, 500 F.3d 586, 590 (7th Cir.2007). A court's role is not to evaluate the weight of the evidence, to judge the credibility of witnesses, or to determine the truth of the matter, but instead to determine whether there is a genuine issue of triable fact. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Doe v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 42 F.3d 439, 443 (7th Cir.1994). "Since judgment as a matter of law deprives the party opposing the motion of a determination of the facts by a jury, it should be granted cautiously and sparingly." 9A Charles Alan Wright & Arthur Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2524 (2d ed. 1995); see also Gower v. Vercler, 377 F.3d 661, 666 (7th Cir.2004) (a jury verdict "cannot be lightly set aside").

ANALYSIS

The Defendant's first remaining argument is that, the Plaintiff failed to demonstrate that he engaged in any constitutionally protected activity. In order to prevail on a First Amendment retaliation claim, "a prisoner must demonstrate the following: (1) that the speech or conduct at issue was protected, (2) that the defendant took adverse action against the plaintiff, and (3) that there was a causal connection between the protected speech and the adverse action." Gill v. Pidlypchak, 389 F.3d 379, 380 (2d Cir.2004).

An action taken in retaliation for the exercise of a constitutionally protected right is actionable under § 1983 even if the act, when taken for a different reason, would have been proper. This includes retaliation against an inmate for exercising his constitutional right to access the courts or to use the prison grievance process. Indeed, a prisoner can sufficiently state a claim for relief when he alleges that prison officials issued baseless disciplinary tickets against him in retaliation for pursuit of administrative grievances.

Lekas v. Briley, 405 F.3d 602, 614 (7th Cir.2005) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). Oral grievances are protected the same as written grievances. See Pearson v. Welborn, 471 F.3d 732, 741 (7th Cir.2006) ("We are also unconvinced that the form of expression—i.e., written or oral—dictates whether constitutional protection attaches."). The Defendant believes she is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the Plaintiffs speech at the February 13, 2004, meeting was not related to a matter of public concern, and because the Plaintiff failed to introduce any evidence of grievances or the content of those grievances.

Participating in the February 13 meeting were the Plaintiff, the Defendant, and a few other law clerks and prison administrators. The Plaintiff elicited testimony from several witnesses that he and the Defendant held contrasting views with regard to the manner in which library resources and inmate law clerks should be utilized in assisting other inmates with their various legal matters. Essentially, the Defendant believed that the access to the library and its resources that had been provided to inmates in the past exceeded what they were entitled to. She also believed the law clerks' only function was to retrieve books and forms that inmates requested rather than to assist the inmates with completing the forms and filing legal papers. The Plaintiff, on the other hand, believed that the law clerks should be able to provide as much assistance as possible (short of what he understood to be giving legal advice) in preparing legal documents and navigating through the judicial system.

Consistent with her views, the Defendant began instituting policies to restrict the law clerks' privileges and duties, such as prohibiting the law clerks from storing any personal property (including some legal materials) in the library and assisting other inmates beyond retrieving requested books and forms. The Plaintiff thought these changes were, at least in part, an effort to reduce the number of tort claims that inmates were filing. The Plaintiff expressed his disagreement with the new policies at the February 13 meeting.

It is true, as the Defendant points out, that the Plaintiff testified that at the February 13 meeting he complained that the new policies violated his constitutional rights and that they interfered with his ability to do his job. However, a fair evaluation of all the testimony in the Plaintiffs case-in-chief indicates that the Plaintiff was not just complaining about the alleged violation of his own constitutional rights, but also about what he believed was the violation of all the inmates' constitutional rights. He believed the inmates had a constitutional right to more substantial assistance than the Defendant would allow.

As for the evidence of other grievances, the Plaintiff points to his testimony that on February 26, 2004, he orally complained to the Defendant that she left his books and personal materials out in the open such that other prisoners could disturb or steal them. In fact, that is the complaint that he believes led to the Defendant filing a conduct report against him charging him with intimidation. He also claims that at the February 13 meeting he was both expressing his general opinion about the constitutionality of the new library policies and orally grieving the impact those policies had on him personally.

A. February 13 Meeting

The Defendant argues that to state a retaliation claim with respect to the speech during the February 13 meeting, the Plaintiff must establish that he was addressing a matter of public concern. It is not entirely clear that the First Amendment demands such a showing. However, some Seventh Circuit cases have adopted this requirement for prisoner First Amendment retaliation claims, so the Court must apply it here. The Court finds that the February 13 speech did relate to a matter of public concern. Reaching this conclusion first requires an understanding of the evolution of the public concern requirement.

1. Permissible Limitations on Speech in Various Contexts

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in relevant part, that "Congress shall make no law .. . abridging the freedom of speech." U.S. Const, amend. I. This amendment is made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. See Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147, 160, 60 S.Ct. 146, 84 L.Ed. 155 (1939). Notwithstanding the strong language of the First Amendment, speech may be abridged in certain contexts subject to various balancing tests. The factors to be balanced vary based on the competing interests that exist in different contexts.

(a) Limitations on Speech in the Public Employee Context

The requirement that a prisoner-plaintiff establish that his speech was directed at a matter of public concern to state a retaliation claim is borrowed from the branch of First Amendment jurisprudence...