Daniels v. Shaw

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided August 23, 2019·No. 3:18-cv-05101·Unknown

Opinion

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON © || BURT DANIELS, Case No. C18-5101 RBL-TLF Plaintiff, v. REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ALINA SHAW, Noted for September 13, 2019 Defendant. This suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 has been referred to Magistrate Judge Theresa L. Fricke. Mathews, Sec’y of H.E.W. v. Weber, 423 U.S. 261 (1976); 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B); Local Rule MJR 4(a)(4). Pending before the Court are Plaintiff Burt Danicl’s (Dkt. 23) and Defendant Alina Shaw’s (Dkt. 32) motions for summary judgment. After considering the parties’ arguments and factual declarations, the Court recommends that defendant’s motion for summary judgment be granted and plaintiff's motion for summary judgment be denied. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiff Burt Daniels has been civilly committed as a sexually violent predator since March 25, 2003, at the state of Washington’s Special Commitment Center (SCC). Dkt. 36, Declaration of Jennifer Ritchie, at 1, and Ex. 1, Order of Commitment: Dkt. 36-1, at 1. During his commitment, he has received treatment for his diagnosed sexual sadism disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and cannabis use disorder, with the aim of reducing his potential to offend and eventually rendering him eligible for conditional or unconditional release. Dkt. 36, Ex. 2: Dkt. 36-2, at 13-15; Dkt. 34, Declaration of Dr. Alina Shaw, at 3.

l Defendant Dr. Alina Shaw was plaintiff's assigned therapist and case manager from November 2016 to January 2019. Dkt. 34, at 2. As part of plaintiff’s overall treatment regime, defendant authored regular treatment plans for plaintiff, in which defendant reviewed plaintiff s past annual reviews, prior treatment plans, individual and group progress notes, observation and inspection notes, and Washington Department of Corrections discovery records. /d. In these treatment plans, defendant’s task was to assess plaintiff's progress over time in managing thoughts, feelings, attitudes and behaviors associated with plaintiff's risk of reoffending. Jd. at 3. A treatment plan is one component of a resident’s clinical progress and informs how a resident may be advanced through the phases of treatment to eventual “community transition.” Dkt. 35, Declaration of Dr. Elena Lopez, SCC Chief of Resident Treatment, at 5. Each resident’s Senior Clinical Team, which includes the resident’s case manager, ultimately decides whether to advance a resident through the phases of treatment. /d. at 4-5. If a resident’s condition improves with treatment during progress through the phases, the SCC’s Chief Executive Officer has the authority to grant the resident the ability to petition for an order of conditional or unconditional release from Superior Court. Rev. Code Wash. § 71.09.090; Dkt. 32, at 16; Dkt. 31, Declaration of Joshua P. Weir, Ex. C: Dkt. 31-1, Notice of Authorization to Petition for Conditional Release to Less Restrictive Alternative, at 28. However, a treatment plan is not a prescription of tasks that lead in mechanical sequence to an individual’s transition to release. Dkt. 35 at 5. Defendant Shaw wrote plaintiff's January 2018 “Core Sex Offense Treatment Plan.” Dkt. 33, Second Declaration of Joshua P. Weir, at 2, and Ex. B: Dkt. 33-2. In drafting this treatment plan, she reviewed plaintiff’s records, including those of his current self-reports and past offending behavior, and consulted with her group co-facilitators and her direct supervisor. Dkt. 34 at 2. The treatment plan broadly assessed plaintiffs mental and social condition and assigned

him goals in his further treatment. /d. The plan identified plaintiffs “dynamic risk factors” (‘deviant sexual interests and hostility toward women’) and encouraged plaintiff to continue treatment in line with addressing those risks. Dkt. 33-2 at 2-7. As part of a long-term goal of maximizing plaintiffs receptiveness to treatment, the treatment plan included a focus on increased transparency regarding his actual sexual interests, habits, and desires. Dkt. 33-2, at 6. Defendant wrote that plaintiff was guarded about sharing more than vague and formulaically glib statements about his current sexual interests or experiences in therapy, and that defendant had recently “encouraged [him] to open up,” though plaintiff had not been receptive to the suggestion. /d. at 1-2. The treatment plan noted that by way of response, plaintiff had merely provided defendant with a positive 2004 report from a previous treatment provider. /d. at 2. In connection with the discussion on plaintiff's transparency, the treatment plan acknowledged that plaintiff accepts responsibility for six adjudicated rapes during treatment sessions and that plaintiff is willing to discuss those rapes as “evidence of old patterns he has } overcome.” Dkt. 33-2 at 2. The report went on to add the following two sentences: “However, Daniels] does not acknowledge or take responsibility for non-adjudicated or dismissed charges, such as the one he committed approximately 1972 at the age of 17, or the rape he committed while on parole between 1976 and 1978.” /d. Plaintiff, who has consistently resisted claims that he engaged in any sexual wrongdoing beyond the six rapes for which he was convicted, claims that these statements supply the basis for this § 1983 complaint. Prior to the January 2018 treatment plan, plaintiff had been granted permission to petition for conditional release as of May 26, 2017 by former SCC CEO Bill Van Hook. Dkt. 31-1, 28. The treatment plan notes how, by the time of writing, plaintiff's counsel had been advocating for

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