Williams v. Lane

• Decision Date: 21 October 1986
• Docket Number: No. 81 C 355.,81 C 355.
• Citation: 646 F. Supp. 1379
• Parties: Willie WILLIAMS, etc., Plaintiffs, v. Michael LANE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

646 F. Supp. 1379

Willie WILLIAMS, etc., Plaintiffs, v. Michael LANE, et al., Defendants.

No. 81 C 355.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, E.D.

October 21, 1986.

Jack A. Rovner, Robert E. Shapiro, Wendi Sloane Weitman, Jeffrey N. Given, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs.

Michael Hogan, John Andrew Ward, Robert W. Cushing, Asst. Attys. Gen., Chicago, Ill., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SHADUR, District Judge.

This Court conducted an extended trial in this action January 28 through February 10, 1986 (the "Trial"). Following the Trial (but after a considerable delay occasioned by the need to obtain the final Trial transcript) the parties tendered their respective versions of proposed findings of fact ("Findings") and conclusions of law ("Conclusions"). After full consideration, in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. ("Rule") 52(a) this Court sets forth the following Findings and Conclusions,¹ which will constitute the grounds for the contemplated Order referred to at the conclusion of this memorandum opinion.²

Findings of Fact

I. Background

A. Claims

1. This action has been brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983") and state law. Plaintiffs allege defendants, as past and present administrators of the Illinois Department of Corrections ("Department") or Stateville Correctional Center ("Stateville"), have violated plaintiffs' rights under the First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution³ and under state law. Those alleged violations arise from the living conditions and institutional programs provided to inmates assigned to protective custody at Stateville (Stip. ¶ 1; Cplt.).

2. Department is an Illinois state agency created pursuant to the Unified Code of Corrections ("Code"⁴). Under the terms of and pursuant to the Code, Department is responsible for maintaining and administering all state correctional facilities and institutions, for accepting persons committed to it for care, custody, treatment and rehabilitation, and for developing and maintaining programs of control, rehabilitation and employment for such committed persons (Stip. ¶ 2; Code §§ 1001-1-1, 1003-2-2(a) and (d); PXs 1, 2).

3. Stateville is a maximum security prison located near Joliet, Illinois and administered by Department. It covers an area of 2,200 acres, of which approximately 64 are within its walls. Stateville houses approximately 2,000 inmates within five cellhouses: Cellhouse B, said to be the largest cellblock in the world; Cellhouses E and F, which are panopticons or round cellhouses; and Cellhouses H and I, two new "supermax" cellhouses. Stateville inmates are incarcerated primarily for violent crimes, such as murder and Class X felonies, and are serving sentences up to and including life imprisonment. Stateville has approximately 1,000 staff members, of whom 850 work full time (Stip. ¶ 3; PXs 4-A, 4-B; DeRobertis Tr. 109; O'Leary Tr. 6-7).

4. Protective custody is a status available to a Stateville inmate when he fears for his safety or when the Warden or the Warden's designee believes the inmate's safety may be in jeopardy. Since protective custody at Stateville was created in 1976, the number of inmates with that status has averaged about 200 or 10% of the inmate population, though the precise number varies. At the time of the Trial there were between 260 and 300 inmates in protective custody at Stateville (Stip. ¶¶ 12, 14; Pedersen Dep. 68).

B-1. Parties Plaintiff

5. Willie Williams ("Williams") is an inmate who was assigned to protective custody at Stateville from approximately November 1977 until October 13, 1983, when he was transferred to the protective custody unit at Department's Menard Correctional Center in Menard, Illinois. Williams is the representative of the plaintiff class (Williams Tr. 175-78; 96 F.R.D. 383 (N.D. Ill.1982)).

6. Plaintiff class consists of all inmates who have been assigned to protective custody at Stateville at any time since April 30, 1982 or who will be assigned there in the future. It is estimated the total number of class members exceeds 500 (Stip. ¶ 4).⁵

B-2. Parties Defendant

7. Michael Lane ("Lane") is Department's Director, a position he has held since 1981. As Director, Lane presides over and supervises Department's total operations. He is responsible for developing, approving and reviewing Department policy and is charged with implementing the statutes and regulations applicable to Department. He regularly performs inspections of the various institutions, has visited Stateville often and is aware of the types of programming available to inmates at the facility (Stip. ¶ 5; Lane Tr. 26-30).

8. Since November 18, 1983 Richard W. DeRobertis ("DeRobertis") has been Department's Assistant Deputy Director for Adult Institutions. As Assistant Deputy Director, DeRobertis is aware of the types of security and custodial measures used and the types of programming available to inmates at Stateville. Before he became Assistant Deputy Director, DeRobertis served at Stateville as Assistant Warden for Programs from June 1979 to February 1980, as Assistant Warden for Operations from February 1980 to March 1981, as Acting Warden from July 1980 to March 1981 and as Warden (also known as Chief Administrative Officer) from March 1, 1981 to November 18, 1983 (Stip. ¶ 6; DeRobertis Tr. 96-98, 103). While DeRobertis was Stateville Warden he directed the overall operations of the institution. DeRobertis' job responsibilities as Warden were controlled by statute and Department regulations and directives. He was responsible for implementing the regulations governing Department and for ensuring that his subordinates did so. He also directed all security and custodial measures and all programming for inmates. DeRobertis' staff reported to him through a regular chain of command, was subject to discipline by him, was subject to his rules and orders and performed all official duties under his authority. Through his frequent visits to the units that housed protective custody inmates and his discussions with those inmates, DeRobertis had knowledge of the conditions in the protective custody units and the programming available to protective custody inmates within those units and the institution generally (Stip. ¶ 6; Code § 1003-1-2; PX 6; DeRobertis Tr. 97-98, 150-52; O'Leary Tr. 6, 88).

9. Michael O'Leary ("O'Leary") has been Stateville Warden since November 19, 1983. O'Leary's responsibilities as Warden have been identical to those formerly held by DeRobertis in that capacity. Between February 1980 and March 1981 O'Leary served at Stateville as Assistant Warden for Programs, and between March 26, 1981 and November 19, 1983 he was Assistant Warden for Operations. In both Assistant Warden positions he was responsible for formulating operating procedures, coordinating resident programs and carrying out the policies, rules and regulations of the institution to ensure the orderly operation of the daily functions of the institution. As Assistant Warden for Operations and as Warden, O'Leary has been principally responsible for security measures within the institution. In all of his Stateville positions O'Leary has made frequent visits to the units that house protective custody inmates, has remained aware of the conditions there and has had knowledge of the programming available to protective custody inmates within those units and the institution generally (Stip. ¶ 7; O'Leary Tr. 6).

10. Salvadore Godinez ("Godinez") has been Stateville Assistant Warden for Operations since November 19, 1983, with responsibilities identical to those formerly held by O'Leary in that capacity. Between April 1981 and November 19, 1983 Godinez was Stateville Assistant Warden for Programs with responsibility for formulating operating procedures, coordinating resident programs and carrying out the policies, rules and regulations of the institution to ensure the orderly operation of the daily functions of the institution. As Assistant Warden for Programs and as Assistant Warden for Operations, Godinez has made frequent visits to the units that house protective custody inmates, has been aware of the conditions there and has knowledge of the programming available to protective custody inmates within those units and the institution generally (Stip. ¶ 8).

11. Gayle Franzen ("Franzen") was Department's Director from January 1979 to February 1981. As Director, his duties and responsibilities were identical to those described in Finding 7 for Lane (Stip. ¶ 9).

12. Marvin Reed ("Reed") was Stateville Warden from June 1979 to June 1980. As Warden his duties and responsibilities were identical to those described in Finding 8 for DeRobertis when he was Warden (Stip. ¶ 10).

13. Lou Brewer ("Brewer") was Stateville Warden from September 1978 through June 1979. As Warden his duties and responsibilities were identical to those described in Finding 8 for DeRobertis when he was Warden (Stip. ¶ 11).

C. Protective Custody

14. In 1976 Department adopted Administrative Regulation ("A.R.") 808. A.R. 808 provided for the creation of a protective custody unit in each maximum security facility operated by Department. As established by A.R. 808, protective custody is not an assignment made for disciplinary reasons or because an inmate is regarded as a threat to institutional security. Instead, an inmate is assigned to protective custody either because he believes and the Warden or the Warden's designee confirms, or because the Warden or the Warden's designee believes, protective custody is necessary for the inmate's safety (PX 1-808).

15. Under either method for protective custody placement, defendants are obligated to determine within 10 days of protective custody assignment whether an inmate's protective custody needs are substantiated. If defendants determine the inmate needs protective custody, the inmate is permitted to remain in protective custody as long as the need exists. Be...