Hershberger v. Scaletta

861 F. Supp. 1470, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20426, 1993 WL 733762
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedOctober 4, 1993
DocketC 91-0191
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 861 F. Supp. 1470 (Hershberger v. Scaletta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hershberger v. Scaletta, 861 F. Supp. 1470, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20426, 1993 WL 733762 (N.D. Iowa 1993).

Opinion

ORDER

JARVEY, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter comes before the court pursuant to trial on the merits conducted March 9, *1472 1993, at the Iowa Men’s Reformatory at Anamosa, Iowa (IMR). By order dated June 25, 1993, the parties consented to have this matter tried before the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge. Three of the seven plaintiffs were present at the time of trial and were represented by Philip Mears. The defendants were represented by Kristin Ensign.

INTRODUCTION

In this ease, the plaintiffs challenge institutional rules that (1) deny free legal postage to indigent inmates, (2) apply monthly service charges to inmates whose accounts have negative balances due to demands for legal postage, and (3) set a presumptive limit on prisoner indebtedness to the institution beyond which prisoners ordinarily cannot incur debt for legal postage. In addition, the plaintiffs challenge the postage regulations at the institution claiming they deny rights of familial privacy. Finally, the plaintiffs challenge regulations governing inmates in long-term disciplinary detention statuses that require them to keep moving while exercising and which permit institutional officials to rescind exercise privileges without due process in response to misbehavior in the exercise area.

The policy of denying free postage to indigent inmates for legal mail is unconstitutional and is hereby enjoined. Similarly, the practice of charging inmates 50 cents per month for having a negative balance in their account is enjoined. The policy of forbidding inmates to exceed $7.50 in the red is unconstitutional as applied. However, as it pertains to the issue of postage for personal correspondence, the policy is not violative of inmate rights. Finally, the exercise regulations are rationally related to legitimate penological interests and do not violate inmates’ Eighth or Fourteenth Amendment rights.

FINDINGS OF FACT

There are seven plaintiffs in this case. Five of them have been discharged from the Iowa penal system between the filing of this case and trial. Only Ernest Douglas and Scott Olmstead remain incarcerated. Inmates Steven Schakel, Thomas Sherwood, Kenneth Wheeler, and Thomas Rayer failed to appear for trial. Accordingly, the court knows little about their claims. Their claims were not subject to cross-examination. These four plaintiffs’ cases are dismissed for want of prosecution.

Ernest Douglas

Ernest Douglas came to the IMR in May 1991. He was sent to another institution in June 1992 but was sent back in September 1992. He has been in a disciplinary detention status between May 9, 1991 and June 4, 1992. He was also in a disciplinary detention status between September 22,1992 and October 1, 1992. 1

Plaintiff Douglas is indigent. Although he earns $2.30 a day, 20% of his pay is automatically deducted for restitution and an additional 75% is deducted as restitution for an October 1991 incident involving an assault on a correctional officer. Inmate Douglas has had four actions pending at times pertinent to this case. They include three civil rights actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and a post-conviction relief action filed in state district court.

Ernest Douglas experienced difficulty with receiving legal postage upon reaching the $7.50 limit when he returned to Living Unit D, the third floor 2 from the disciplinary detention unit in December 1991. He requested an envelope to write to his attorney regarding a § 1983 action. An unknown official on the third floor Living Unit refused to give him the postage. The court is unable to place a dollar value on any harm suffered by Douglas as a result of the mail policy.

While in disciplinary detention, Douglas was disciplined for misbehavior in the exer-

*1473 cise pen on several occasions. These instances included situations where he lost the remaining portion of his one-hour exercise period for failing to keep moving at all times in the exercise pen and one situation where he lost four days exercise while waiting to see the adjustment committee on a major disciplinary report for fighting in the exercise pen.

Scott Olmstead

Inmate Scott Olmstead has been at the Iowa Men’s Reformatory since February 1991. He has been in a disciplinary detention status since April 1991. Accordingly, he has no prison employment. He does not receive money from outsiders. He is indigent. He also has had three civil rights claims under § 1983 pending together with a post-conviction relief action in state court.

Inmate Olmstead is deeply indebted financially to the IMR. On April 10, 1992, Assistant Warden John Sissel informed him that he was $30.78 in debt for postage and copies. See Plaintiffs Exhibit 16. On one occasion in 1992, he needed a legal envelope to mail a civil rights ease to the court and received it. However, on other occasions when the plaintiff had exceeded the $7.50 limit on indebtedness, he asked Lt. Lewis for postage and was refused because of the $7.50 limit and because plaintiff faced no imminent deadlines or other emergencies. He once requested legal postage from Captain Salviati who did not respond to his kite. Finally, Assistant Warden Sissel replied to a kite and, while it appears that plaintiff did not receive any free postage, arrangements were made for Olmstead to talk with his attorney. 3 On another occasion, when an attorney wrote a letter asking Olmstead to respond to some questions, Lt. Lewis denied free postage as Olmstead had reached the $7.50 limit. At that time, plaintiff was attempting to mail documents necessary to intervene in this case as a plaintiff. Ultimately, plaintiff borrowed an envelope from another inmate (a violation of institutional rules) and mailed the document. The court is unable to place a dollar value on any harm suffered by Olmstead as a result of the mail policy.

While in detention statuses, Olmstead has lost the remaining portion of his exercise period and the following exercise period on several occasions because he violated the institutional rule that requires inmates to keep moving in disciplinary detention exercise pens. He also received a major report for misbehavior in the exercise pen and was denied exercise between the time of the report and his hearing before the adjustment committee. Part of this period fell on a weekend so plaintiff was deprived of two days of exercise during this four-day period. 4

Jeffrey Hershberger

Inmate Jeffrey Hershberger was an inmate at the IMR for nine years before his release in 1993. He was continuously in a detention status between November 1990 and September 1992. During that time, he had no institutional income but did receive money from friends and family. Hershberger has also had several civil rights cases pending as well as a post-conviction relief action in state court.

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Related

Hershberger v. Scaletta
33 F.3d 955 (Eighth Circuit, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
861 F. Supp. 1470, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20426, 1993 WL 733762, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hershberger-v-scaletta-iand-1993.