Richard W. Spence v. Hal Farrier

807 F.2d 753, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 35094, 55 U.S.L.W. 2400
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedDecember 24, 1986
Docket85-1902
StatusPublished
Cited by123 cases

This text of 807 F.2d 753 (Richard W. Spence v. Hal Farrier) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Richard W. Spence v. Hal Farrier, 807 F.2d 753, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 35094, 55 U.S.L.W. 2400 (8th Cir. 1986).

Opinions

STROM, District Judge.

The appellants, prisoners at the Iowa State Penitentiary, appeal from the order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa granting summary judgment against them. They allege they were deprived of constitutional rights arising under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by virtue of drug testing policies and procedures at the Penitentiary.

I. BACKGROUND

Appellants filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. They sought declaratory and injunctive relief for deprivation, under color of state law, of their Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable search and seizure and their Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law. They contend their rights were violated as a result of urinalysis testing for drugs at the Penitentiary.

Iowa State Penitentiary conducts urinalysis testing of inmates to detect and deter the use of contraband drugs. In addition to testing those suspected of using drugs, the Penitentiary tests approximately ten per cent (10%) of the prison population on a monthly basis. Inmates tested are chosen by unit managers who randomly pull cards from an index card file. There are no allegations that the selection of appellants herein was not random.

The Penitentiary uses the EMIT (Enzyme Multiple Immunoassay Test) for urinalysis testing. Any positive results are retested on the EMIT. Disciplinary reports are written on inmates who have positive EMIT results. Inmates are allowed to present defenses at a disciplinary board hearing, although they are not allowed to call expert witnesses or to have a confirmatory test by alternate methodology. Those found guilty of ingesting drugs can be subjected to sanctions, including loss of good time, transfer to a maximum security unit (ad[755]*755ministrative segregation), and disciplinary detention (solitary confinement).

Appellants, who had been disciplined as a result of EMIT tests, challenged the constitutionality of the procedures. The district court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment, holding: (1) plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment expectation of privacy in body fluids was not offended by the random selection process and that the method of generating random samples was not so susceptible to abuse as to be inherently unreasonable; (2) defendants’ use of the results of EMIT without independent confirmatory tests did not violate due process as long as the positive test results provide some evidence to support the disciplinary board’s decision; and (3) defendants were not required to run corroborative tests or to allow plaintiffs to call testing personnel or expert witnesses to challenge EMIT results and that failure to do so did not create an irrebuttable presumption in violation of due process. The district court did not address plaintiffs’ contentions of insufficient notice for the reason that the issue was not raised in the pleadings. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Fourth Amendment

Appellants first assert that the district court erred in finding that the random testing procedures at issue are reasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. A urinalysis constitutes a search or seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. See, McDonell v. Hunter, 746 F.2d 785 (8th Cir.1984), on remand, 612 F.Supp. 1122, 1127 (S.D.Iowa 1986). See also, Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 767-68, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 1834, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966); United States v. Williams, 787 F.2d 1182, 1185 n. 5 (7th Cir.1986); and Storms v. Coughlin, 600 F.Supp. 1214, 1217-18 (S.D.N.Y.1984). Therefore, the searches must be conducted in a reasonable manner. Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. at 771-72, 86 S.Ct. at 1836. However, prison administrators are accorded “wide-ranging deference in the adoption and execution of policies and practices that in their judgment are needed to preserve internal order and discipline and to maintain institutional security.” Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 547, 99 S.Ct. 1861, 1878, 60 L.Ed.2d 447 (1979). A reasonableness analysis involves “[bjalaneing the significant and legitimate security interests of the institution against the privacy interests of the inmates....” Id. at 560, 99 S.Ct. at 1885.

With that balancing test in mind, we hold that the procedure at issue is reasonable. The unauthorized use of narcotics is a problem that plagues virtually every penal and detention center in the country. Block v. Rutherford, 468 U.S. 576, 588-89, 104 S.Ct. 3227, 3234, 82 L.Ed.2d 438 (1984). Because of the prison’s security needs, the prisoner’s expectation of privacy in his or her body is diminished. Storms v. Coughlin, 600 F.Supp. at 1224. The prisoners’ limited expectation of privacy does not forbid random urine collection and analysis. Id. at 1223. However, it is important to insure that when the state chooses to employ such intrusive random searches as these, the procedures for selecting the inmates to be tested are truly random. Id. There is no evidence herein that unit managers are aware of the names of the prisoners chosen, nor are there any allegations that appellants were not selected purely at random. Under the circumstances, we are unable to say that the procedure used unnecessarily exposes prisoners to the risk of harassment or that the practice lends itself to abuse. But cf., Storms at 1223 (procedure whereby watch commander is aware of the name of the prisoner he selects to be tested lends itself to abuse).

B. Due Process

Appellants next assert that the district court erred in finding that the testing procedures satisfied the requirements of due process. In that regard, appellants argue (1) that refusal to allow inmates to have confirmatory tests performed violates due process in that it creates an irrebuttable presumption of guilt and (2) unconfirmed [756]*756EMIT tests are inadmissible absent a showing that the test has been accepted in the scientific community.

The requirements of due process are flexible and depend on a balancing of interests affected by the relevant government action. Superintendent, Massachusetts Correctional Institution v. Hill, 53 U.S.L.W. 4778, 4781 (1985). This interest must be accommodated in the distinctive setting of a prison, where disciplinary proceedings “take place in a closed, tightly controlled environment peopled by those who have chosen to violate the criminal law and have been lawfully incarcerated for doing so.” Id. (quoting Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 561, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 2977, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974)). “Prison disciplinary proceedings take place in a highly charged atmosphere, and prison administrators must often act swiftly on the basis of evidence that might be insufficient in less exigent circumstances.” Id. The requirements of due process are satisfied if some evidence supports the decision by the prison disciplinary board. Id.; Rushing v. State,

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Bluebook (online)
807 F.2d 753, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 35094, 55 U.S.L.W. 2400, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/richard-w-spence-v-hal-farrier-ca8-1986.