Bills v. Henderson

446 F. Supp. 967, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19394
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 24, 1978
DocketCiv. 3-77-165
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 446 F. Supp. 967 (Bills v. Henderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bills v. Henderson, 446 F. Supp. 967, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19394 (E.D. Tenn. 1978).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

ROBERT L. TAYLOR, District Judge.

This is an action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief as well as compensatory and punitive damages for alleged vio *970 lation of their constitutional rights to due process in prison disciplinary proceedings. The named plaintiffs were, at all pertinent times, inmates at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. At all relevant times, defendant Murray Henderson was Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction and defendant Stonney Lane was Warden of Brushy Mountain.

In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(2), upon the agreement of the parties, the Court submitted this case to the United States Magistrate, sitting as a special master, for trial. Trial was held without a jury on September 20, 1977. The report of the Magistrate was filed.on December 14, 1977. Before the Court presently are objections to the Magistrate’s report filed by both sides.

I. Facts

The relevant, undisputed facts are as follows. On January 25, 1977, eight of the plaintiffs: Wendell Bills, Bobby Howard, Hastie Love, George Scanlow, Billy Ray Smith, Charles Teasley, Jerry Ward and Donald Wheeler were confined in administrative segregation. 1 Plaintiffs requested that they be permitted to meet with the defendant, Warden Lane. The request was denied. Partially as a result of this request and partially as a result of information pertaining to some of the plaintiffs given to Warden Lane by an informant, Warden Lane directed that the plaintiffs be placed in segregated confinement in “D” block. On January 25, after being placed in segregated confinement, each named plaintiff received the following written notice:

“As authorized in Section 4-601-5 of the disciplinary procedures, the resident’s institutional record indicates sufficient cause to believe that his presence in the general population would constitute a threat to the welfare of other residents and to the good of the institution.”

Plaintiffs remained in segregated confinement until January 27, 1977, at which time the plaintiffs as a group were given a hearing by the disciplinary board. Warden Lane submitted to the board in writing his reasons for placing the plaintiffs in segregated confinement. The reasons given concerned an alleged conspiracy to take hostages and alleged defiant comments directed against the Warden. Warden Lane was not available for direct testimony nor for cross-examination. After the hearings, the disciplinary board found each plaintiff guilty, based upon Warden Lane’s written testimony, and ordered that each plaintiff be placed in administrative segregation. This order was to be reviewed in thirty days. The disciplinary board did not give to any of the plaintiffs a written statement containing either the reasons for the board’s action or the evidence upon which it relied.

On April 2,1977, plaintiffs Howard, Scan-low and Bills, all of whom were involved in the previous disciplinary proceeding, along with plaintiffs James Wingard and Michael Doyle, were placed in punitive segregation. On the same date, each of these plaintiffs was presented with a form whereby he was to indicate, inter alia, whether he requested the presence of the accusing official at his hearing. At least one plaintiff did so request.

*971 A disciplinary hearing was held on April 5, 1977. 2 The accusing guards were not present at the hearing. Plaintiffs did not attempt to introduce any other witnesses. No other oral evidence was presented. Each of the plaintiffs charged was found guilty by the disciplinary board and placed in punitive segregation 3 for a period of thirty days. The disciplinary board also recommended that each plaintiff be stripped of all accrued good and honor time. This recommendation was approved by Warden Lane on April 5, 1977, and by the Commissioner of Correction on April 14, 1977. The disciplinary board did not give to any of the plaintiffs charged a written statement containing either the reasons for the board’s action, or the evidence upon which it relied. On April 27, 1977, the five plaintiffs were transferred from punitive segregation back to administrative segregation.

II. Glass Certification.

Plaintiffs have sought certification of this suit as a class action. The proposed class is to consist of:

“all individuals incarcerated in correctional institutions under the control of the Tennessee Department of Corrections who are now, have been, or will be locked in segregated confinement by procedures which violate the Department’s rules and regulations as set forth in Section 4.600 et seq. of the Manual of Adult Service Policies and Procedures for the Department of Corrections.” (“the Guidelines”).

By far the largest part of the proposed class, those who “will be” subject to segregation, may lack standing to sue in their own right. Each individual seeking to sue as a member of this subclass will have to show sufficient likelihood of injury to demonstrate a personal stake in the outcome of the suit. See Laird v. Tatum, 408 U.S. 1, 13, 92 S.Ct. 2318, 33 L.Ed.2d 154 (1972). On the other hand, the standing of the representative plaintiffs to maintain this action is clear since they have suffered serious consequences as a result of allegedly unconstitutional actions. Because of this difference in the standing to sue, the representative plaintiffs need not prove all the necessary elements of this subclass’ claim in proving their own claim. Accordingly, the claim of the representative plaintiffs is not “typical” of this part of the proposed class. See Amswiss International Corp. v. Heublin, Inc., 69 F.R.D. 663, 667 (N.D.Ga.1975).

Insofar as the remainder of the proposed class is concerned, plaintiffs have failed to show that those who are or have been segregated by procedures violative of department regulations constitute a class “so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). The Court also notes that because of the many procedural rights set forth in the Guidelines, the claims of the named plaintiffs in all likelihood would prove to be “typical” of only a small part of those claims which might be raised by inmates who are or have been subject to disciplinary proceedings. Accordingly, the Court denies plaintiffs’ request for class certification.

III. Liability of Defendants Henderson and Lane

The Magistrate concluded that defendant Henderson should not remain as a defendant, but that a basis for liability had been stated against defendant Lane.

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Bluebook (online)
446 F. Supp. 967, 1978 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bills-v-henderson-tned-1978.