Searcy v. Simmons

68 F. Supp. 2d 1197, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814, 1999 WL 760268
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedAugust 13, 1999
DocketCivil Action 97-3421-KHV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 68 F. Supp. 2d 1197 (Searcy v. Simmons) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Searcy v. Simmons, 68 F. Supp. 2d 1197, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814, 1999 WL 760268 (D. Kan. 1999).

Opinion

*1199 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VRATIL, District Judge.

Plaintiff brings suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that defendants violated his constitutional rights by reducing his inmate incentive level after he refused to enter into a recommended rehabilitation program at Hutchinson Correctional Facility. This matter comes before the Court on plaintiffs “[Motion For Preliminary Injunction And Temporary Restraining Order ]” (Doc. # 48) filed September 14, 1998, 1 and plaintiffs Motion For Leave To File Reply Out Of Time (Doc. # 98) filed June 25, 1999. For reasons stated more fully below, plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction is overruled. 2

Facts 3

Plaintiff is an inmate at Hutchinson Correctional Facility [“HCF”], serving a 65 month sentence after pleading nolo conten-dere, in January 1997, to charges of sexual exploitation of a child. As part of plaintiffs rehabilitation program, officials of the Kansas Department of Corrections [“KDOC”] determined that plaintiff should be placed in the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program [“SATP”] at HCF. In order to participate in the SATP, an inmate must sign an “Admission of Responsibility” form. The form requires the inmate to list all past behavior that may have constituted a sex offense, regardless whether the inmate was ever arrested, charged or convicted as a result of the conduct. An inmate who participates in the SATP must also submit to polygraph and penile pleth-ysmograph examinations which are videotaped. 4

On February 5, 1997, the SATP coordinator at HCF interviewed plaintiff for the program which was scheduled to begin March 2, 1997. During the interview plaintiff refused to fill out and sign the “Admission of Responsibility” form. Because of his refusal, KDOC officials did not allow him to participate in the SATP. Furthermore, because of his nonparticipation, they reduced plaintiffs incentive level from Level 3 to Level 1.

Internal Management Policy and Procedure 11-101 [“IMPP 11-101”] governs inmate privileges and incentives, and distinguishes several levels of privileges. At Level 1, an inmate receives limited activities, limited expenditures, limited incentive *1200 pay, and only limited access to personal property. To move to a higher level, an inmate must participate in recommended programs for at least 120 days. IMPP 11-101 states that an inmate’s privilege level should be automatically reduced to Level 1 if he refuses to participate in recommended programs.

Plaintiff alleges that because of this reduction he lost privileges, personal property and incentive pay, and suffered physical and emotional injury. Plaintiff also alleges that defendants have denied him “good time credits” which he would otherwise receive if he had signed the “Admission of Responsibility” form. Plaintiff seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent defendants from withholding privileges and benefits or penalizing him for refusing to provide potentially incriminating information related to past sexual behavior or offenses, and to prevent defendants from withholding privileges and benefits or penalizing him for not participating in polygraph or plethysmograph examinations. Plaintiff also seeks a preliminary injunction to compel defendants to restore him to the privilege level that he held before he refused to sign the “Admission of Responsibility” form.

Preliminary Injunction Standard

The purpose of a preliminary injunction is “to preserve the status quo pending the outcome of the case.” Tri-State Generation & Transmission Ass’n, Inc. v. Shoshone River Power, Inc., 805 F.2d 351, 355 (10th Cir.1986). A prelimi nary injunction is a drastic and extraordinary remedy, and courts do not grant it as a matter of right. See Paul’s Beauty College v. United States, 885 F.Supp. 1468, 1471 (D.Kan.1995); 11A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Injunctions § 2948, at 128-29 & nn. 3, 6-7 (1995). The Court must deny injunctive relief if the moving party fails to establish any requisite element, see Packerware Corp. v. Corning Consumer Prods. Co., 895 F.Supp. 1438, 1446 (D.Kan.1995), and the moving party must establish that it is entitled to injunctive relief by clear and unequivocal proof. See Penn v. San Juan Hosp., Inc., 528 F.2d 1181, 1185 (10th Cir.1975); Paul’s Beauty College, 885 F.Supp. at 1471.

In order to obtain a preliminary injunction, plaintiff must establish that (1) he will suffer irreparable injury unless the injunction issues; (2) the threatened injury outweighs whatever damage the proposed injunction may cause defendants; (3) the injunction, if issued, will not be adverse to the public interest; and (4) there is a substantial likelihood that plaintiff will eventually prevail on the merits. See Resolution Trust Corp. v. Cruce, 972 F.2d 1195, 1198 (10th Cir.1992); Tri-State, 805 F.2d at 355 (citing Lundgrin v. Claytor, 619 F.2d 61, 63 (10th Cir.1980)); Heatron, Inc. v. Shackelford, 898 F.Supp. 1491, 1498 (D.Kan.1995).

Analysis

I. Plaintiff Is Not Substantially Likely To Prevail On The Merits

Plaintiff claims that he is entitled to a preliminary injunction because defendants’ conduct violates his constitutional right against self-incrimination and his constitutional right to the free exercise of religion and privacy and bodily integrity. The Court finds that plaintiff is not likely to prevail on any of his claims, however, and that he therefore is not entitled to the injunctive relief which he seeks.

A. Self-Incrimination

Plaintiff argues that by requiring him to complete an “Admission of Responsibility” form, the SATP compels him to reveal potentially incriminating information about his sexual history and thus violates his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Plaintiff claims that his “refusal to provide this incriminating information was the sole motivating factor for his loss of privileges and denial of good time benefits,” see Supplemental Memorandum In Support Of Motion For Preliminary *1201 Injunction/Temporary Restraining Order (Doc. # 83) filed May 7, 1999, at 10, and concludes that defendants violated his Fifth Amendment right by penalizing him for invoking that right. See, e.g., United States v. Oliveras, 905 F.2d 623, 626-28 (2d Cir.1990); United States v. Perez-Franco,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Wares v. Simmons
524 F. Supp. 2d 1313 (D. Kansas, 2007)
Schnitzler v. Reisch
518 F. Supp. 2d 1098 (D. South Dakota, 2007)
Searcy v. Simmons
97 F. Supp. 2d 1055 (D. Kansas, 2000)
Ainsworth v. Edda Cantor Commissioner
2000 DNH 036 (D. New Hampshire, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
68 F. Supp. 2d 1197, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814, 1999 WL 760268, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/searcy-v-simmons-ksd-1999.