Oswalt v. Godinez

894 F. Supp. 1181, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12178, 1995 WL 490888
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 15, 1995
Docket94 C 2259
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 894 F. Supp. 1181 (Oswalt v. Godinez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oswalt v. Godinez, 894 F. Supp. 1181, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12178, 1995 WL 490888 (N.D. Ill. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER AND OPINION

GETTLEMAN, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Alvin Oswalt, an inmate in the Illinois prison system, proceeding pro se, filed a complaint alleging officials 1 at State-ville Correctional Center (“Stateville”) violated his constitutional rights as protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, plaintiff charges that defendant Godinez failed to protect his due process rights by illegally extending his period of confinement under investigative status and that defendant Schonauer violated his constitutional rights by delaying an investigation into plaintiff’s role in a possible escape attempt. Plaintiff also alleges that defendant Johnson unlawfully barred certain witnesses and documents from consideration at a prison hearing. Plaintiff further claims that defendants DelPriore and King failed to participate in plaintiffs grievance hearings and that the hearing was conducted in a manner biased against plaintiff. Plaintiff finally claims that a prison hearing committee violated his due process rights by finding him guilty of offenses that it was impossible for him to have committed. 2

Plaintiff filed his complaint on April 7, 1994. Defendants have moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiff responded with a motion to dismiss defendants’ motion to dismiss. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants defendant’s motion to dismiss in part and denies it in part.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

When considering a defendant’s motion to dismiss, the court must view the *1184 plaintiffs allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1686, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974); Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 43, 78 S.Ct. 99, 100, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). All well-pleaded facts and allegations in the plaintiffs complaint must be taken as true. Ed Miniat, Inc. v. Globe Life Insurance Group, Inc., 805 F.2d 732, 733 (7th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 915, 107 S.Ct. 3188, 96 L.Ed.2d 676 (1987). The plaintiff is entitled to all reasonable inferences that can be drawn therefrom. Ellsworth v. Racine, 774 F.2d 182, 184 (7th Cir.1985). Additionally, a court must construe pro se pleadings liberally. Cain v. Lane, 857 F.2d 1139, 1142 (7th Cir.1988). Mere vagueness or lack of detail does not constitute sufficient grounds for a motion to dismiss a pro se complaint. Strauss v. City of Chicago, 760 F.2d 765 (7th Cir.1985).

FACTS

From September 29, 1992 until April 17, 1993, plaintiff occupied a cell at Stateville previously used to house transfer inmates. In April 1993 plaintiff shared the cell with four other inmates. On April 17, 1993, a “shakedown” inspection of plaintiffs cell revealed that a portion of a metal window frame had been sawed apart, creating an opening in the window of several inches. The frame had been glued back in place and repainted to camouflage any alterations. Paint matching that used on the window frame and glue were found in the cell.

Immediately following the discovery, plaintiff was removed from the cell and placed in a prison segregated confinement facility known as I House. There plaintiff was informed by the prison superintendent that an investigative report (the “Investigative Report”) had been written against him and that plaintiff had been placed into investigative confinement status pending an investigation into his involvement in an attempted escape. Plaintiff did not receive a copy of the Investigative Report until April 27, 1993.

On April 24, 1993, plaintiff was moved from I House to an isolation room in the prison infirmary. On May 12, 1993, State-ville’s warden, defendant Salvador Godinez, authorized a thirty-day continuation in plaintiffs confinement in investigative status, effective May 15, pursuant to Illinois Department of Corrections Rules 504A — Discipline and Grievances, Subsection 504.50 Part A, Subpart 7. On June 2, 1993, plaintiff was informed by a correctional officer that the pending investigation was complete, and he was moved to a general prison population room in the infirmary. The next day this fact was confirmed by the prison’s chief investigator, defendant Thomas Schonauer.

On June 9,1993, plaintiff was moved out of the infirmary and into a general prison population cell. Soon thereafter plaintiff was summoned to defendant Godinez’s office. There he was informed that the investigation was complete. On July 7, 1993, plaintiff approached his prison counselor regarding several grievances filed in relation to his incarceration and its effects. The counselor forwarded them to assistant warden Springborn that same day.

The next day, plaintiff was served with a disciplinary report (the “Disciplinary Report”) written by defendant Schonauer, dated July 7, 1993, charging him with three offenses: Escape; Conspiracy to Attempt Escape; and, Damage/Misuse of property. On July 9, 1993, plaintiff delivered a request to the prison Adjustment Committee (the “Adjustment Committee”), in accordance with prison regulations, for certain witnesses to be called at his disciplinary hearing.

On July 14, 1993, the Adjustment Committee held a hearing on the Disciplinary Report. Defendant Adrienne Johnson presided and defendants Carol DelPriore and Mary King sat as members. Plaintiff pled not guilty to the charges against him. He was informed by defendant Johnson that the Adjustment Committee would hear only from witnesses who shared plaintiff’s cell on the day of the shakedown inspection. Plaintiff alleges that defendant Johnson ignored his written statement regarding the charges against him and conducted the hearing in a biased manner. He further claims that defendants DelPriore and King remained silent throughout the hearing and did not participate in any meaningful way.

*1185 On July 15,1993, plaintiff was again placed in segregated confinement in I House by order of the Adjustment Committee, pending its decision. On July 16, 1993, plaintiff filed a grievance alleging a violation of due process rights regarding the investigation surrounding the alleged escape. On August 10, 1993, plaintiff received a copy of the Adjustment Committee’s finding that he was guilty of the three charges against him.

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Bluebook (online)
894 F. Supp. 1181, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12178, 1995 WL 490888, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oswalt-v-godinez-ilnd-1995.