Lyon v. Grossheim

803 F. Supp. 1538, 1992 WL 249498
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedOctober 30, 1992
Docket4:88-cv-31689
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 803 F. Supp. 1538 (Lyon v. Grossheim) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lyon v. Grossheim, 803 F. Supp. 1538, 1992 WL 249498 (S.D. Iowa 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BENNETT, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Everett Roy Lyon, (“Lyon”), is an inmate at the Iowa State Penitentiary-at Fort Madison, Iowa (“ISP”). Lyon asserts that his First Amendment rights under the United States Constitution were violated by Defendant, Paul W. Grossheim (“Grossheim”) 1 denying him certain religious comic books. In denying Lyon these religious publications, Grossheim relied upon administrative regulations providing that an inmate may be denied a publication if the publication “is likely to be disruptive or produce violence.” Grossheim and other prison administrators claim that the religious publications at issue are “anti-Catholic,” “blatant bigotry” and are, therefore, likely to be disruptive. Lyon challenges the constitutionality of the regulations, both facially and as applied. Lyon requests declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney fees.

Lyon initially filed this action pro se pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Grossheim, the Director of the Iowa Department of Corrections. 2 Counsel was subsequently appointed for Lyon. This case was initially referred to a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) for proposed findings of fact and recommendations for the disposition. The parties subsequently consented to a trial of this matter before a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). The case was tried without a jury, post trial briefs were filed, and the case is now fully submitted.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT A. Regulations

Iowa Administrative Code r. 291-20.-6(4)(a) (1989) provides that an authorized reason for denying a publication to an inmate is that the publication “[i]s likely to bé disruptive or produce violence.” 3 Rule 20.6(4)(a) is identical to State of Iowa, Department of Corrections policy IN-V-80 (4). 4 Lyon challenges the constitutionality of the regulations, both facially and as applied.

A publication review committee (“the committee”), made up of three members appointed by the Director of the Iowa Department of Corrections, is authorized to determine whether a publication should'be allowed into the correctional facility. See Iowa Admin.Code r. 291-20.6(2)-(3) (1989). At all times relevant to this litigation, the three members of the Committee were John Sissel, the Deputy Warden at the Iowa State Men’s Reformatory in Anamosa, Iowa; Paul Hedgepeth, the Deputy *1541 Warden at ISP in Ft. Madison; and Linda Robertson, a librarian from Des Moines, Iowa. A list of publications which have been rejected by the committee is maintained at ISP called the Denied Publications list. If a publication is rejected, an inmate has ten days following the committee’s decision to appeal to the Director of the Department of Corrections. See Iowa Admin.Code r. 291-20.6(7) (1989). 5

B. Facts Relating to the Parties

On June 2,1988, Lyon received a “Notice of Rejection of Correspondence” indicating that fifteen publications he had ordered from Chick Publications (“Chick”) had been disapproved by the committee, and were being held in the mailroom. 6 The notice stated that the staff person responsible for this decision was James Helling. On the same date, Lyon also received a notice that six additional publications were being referred to the committee for their inspection. 7 Altogether, Lyon ordered twenty-one publications from Chick Publications. 8 *1542 Eighteen of these publications were on the Denied Publications list for June 1988. 9

On June 28, 1988, Lyon received a letter from Charles W. Lee, Deputy Director of Institutions, Iowa Department of Corrections, stating that the committee had approved his receiving the following six Chick publications: Reverend Wonderful, Witnessing Effectively to Mormons, Operation Bucharest, The Big Betrayal, The Last Missionary, and Who Are They Gonna Remember. 10 On June 30, 1988, Lyon filed an inmate grievance in which he sought to receive the remainder of the Chick publications he had ordered.

On July 5, 1988, Lyon received a response to his inmate grievance from Sgt. P. *1543 Wachtendorf in which she explained that, pursuant to policy, the publication review decisions were not subject to inmate grievances, but that Lyon could appeal to the committee. In a letter dated July 7, 1988, Lyon appealed the denial of the Chick publications to the committee. As of July 12, 1988, two members of the committee, John Sissel and Paul Hedgepeth, voted on a review form that seven of the Chick publications ordered by Lyon should be denied because they violated standard “A” and were deemed to be “Anti-Catholic literature, blatant bigotry, potentially disruptive.” 11 The review form was returned to Grossheim after the committee had reviewed the publication. 12

Lyon timely appealed the committee’s decision denying him the Chick publications. Grossheim, in a letter dated July 28, 1988, affirmed the decision of the committee. As a result, Lyon was forced to send the rejected Chick publications to an attorney in Des Moines, Iowa. The Denied Publications list for November 1988, proscribed the same eighteen Chick publications as the June 1988 list. See supra note 9. Lyon filed the instant action on December 6, 1988.

On April 17, 1991, Chick Publications mailed to Lyon two packs of material, the “comic pack” and the “inmate information pack.” On April 24,1991, a notice of rejection of correspondence was issued to Lyon indicating that sixteen Chick publications had been rejected, and one publication was being referred to the committee. 13 . On April 24, 1991, Lyon received the Chick publications Operation Bucharest and The Force. Lyon had previously been denied The Force in 1988.

Another inmate at ISP, Milton Weir, had ordered the same materials from Chick pri- or to Lyon’s order. Weir’s receipt of these materials was initially denied.

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Bluebook (online)
803 F. Supp. 1538, 1992 WL 249498, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lyon-v-grossheim-iasd-1992.