Gattis v. Phelps

344 F. App'x 801
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 14, 2009
DocketNo. 08-3090
StatusPublished

This text of 344 F. App'x 801 (Gattis v. Phelps) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gattis v. Phelps, 344 F. App'x 801 (3d Cir. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Robert Gattis, a prisoner proceeding pro se, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in the District Court, alleging that certain Delaware Department of Corrections policies infringe on his constitutional rights. Gattis also filed a request for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order, as well as a motion for appointment of counsel. The District Court dismissed the action under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (“PLRA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and § 1915A(b)(l), and denied Gattis’ requests for injunctive relief and counsel, reasoning that his claims were frivolous and failed to state a cognizable claim. Gattis now appeals that decision. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Gattis is on death row at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (“JTVCC”) in Delaware. In his § 1983 complaint, Gattis alleged that two policies of the JTVCC violate his constitutional rights.1 First, he contended that the JTVCC’s policy of prohibiting prisoners from possessing sexually explicit magazines, as applied to inmates on death row, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Second, Gattis argued that his Eighth Amendment rights were violated when the JTVCC altered its exercise policies for death row inmates, reducing their exercise schedule from four to three days per week and forcing them to exercise indoors if outdoor space was unavailable. In addition to preliminary in-junctive relief, Gattis sought permanent injunctive relief, nominal damages, punitive damages, and costs. The District Court dismissed the complaint under § 1915 and § 1915A, reasoning that Gattis’ damages claims were barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity, and that his remaining claims were legally frivolous.

When reviewing a complaint dismissed under § 1915, this Court applies the same standard provided for in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See Tourcher v. McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir.1999). In determining whether a district court properly dismissed a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), this Court must “accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir.2008) (quoting Pinker v. Roche Holdings Ltd., 292 F.3d 361, 374 n. 7 (3d Cir.2002)). This standard requires that a plaintiff allege in his complaint “ ‘enough fact[s] to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of the necessary element[s]” of a cause of action. Phillips, 515 F.3d at 234 (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)).

Gattis presents three arguments on appeal. First, he argues that the District Court erred in dismissing all of his monetary damages claims. The Eleventh Amendment bars a suit for money damages against a state agency and state officials sued in their official capacities. See Melo v. Hafer, 912 F.2d 628, 635 (3d Cir. [804]*8041990). However, the Eleventh Amendment does not bar such claims against state officials sued in their individual capacities. See id. Nor does the PLRA prohibit prisoners from seeking nominal or punitive damages in § 1983 actions. See Allah v. Alr-Hafeez, 226 F.3d 247, 251-52 (3d Cir.2000). Thus, though we agree with the District Court that Eleventh Amendment immunity bars any monetary claims against the JTVCC and its employees in their official capacities, we note that Gattis correctly argues that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar his damages claims against the defendants inasmuch as he sued them in their individual capacities.

Second, Gattis argues that the District Court erred in dismissing his First Amendment claim. In determining whether a prison regulation infringes on a prisoner’s constitutional rights, courts apply the four-part framework established in Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89-91, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987). See Waterman v. Farmer, 183 F.3d 208, 212-213 (3d Cir.1999).2 In concluding that Gattis’ claim was frivolous, the District Court did not expressly conduct a new analysis under Turner. Rather, it relied on two District of Delaware cases, Jolly v. Snyder, No. 00-041, 2003 WL 1697539 (D.Del. Mar.22, 2003) (applying Turner to the JTVCC policy prohibiting sexually explicit material), and Stevenson v. Snyder, No. 00-732, 2004 WL 422693 (D.Del. March 4, 2004) (relying on Jolly’s application of Turner to the same ban). Gattis argues that Jolly and Stevenson are not controlling because they do not contemplate the ban as it relates to death penalty prisoners, who are subject to special conditions, including administrative segregation. We agree that an analysis of the Turner factors, as applied to Gattis’s specific circumstances, is warranted.

The explicit materials policy involved in Jolly, Stevenson, and the present case applies broadly to all prisoners. The Jolly and Stevenson decisions rested on the argument that “the policy is necessary to maintain prison security and to further rehabilitative goals. Specifically, Defendants urge that possession of pornographic materials by prisoners, especially sex offenders, can lead to sexual harassment of female officers and can undermine the safety of both prison guards and other inmates.” Jolly, 2003 WL 1697539, at *3. Neither case explains whether the plaintiffs involved were, like Gattis, death row inmates, or whether they were housed in the general prison population. While the reasoning of Jolly and Stevenson might reasonably be applied to the JTVCC inmate population at large, it may or may not hold up when applied to death row inmates in administrative segregation: the record does not reveal the extent to which death penalty inmates have close contact with guards, female officers, and other inmates, so the degree to which the prison security issues involved in Jolly and Stevenson are also in play here is unclear. Moreover, since Gattis is on death row, further analysis is required to demonstrate that rehabilitation is a legitimate penological interest. Given the possibility of clemency or other relief that could change Gattis’s sentence, we do not say that rehabilitation concerns are irrelevant.

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344 F. App'x 801, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gattis-v-phelps-ca3-2009.