Shore v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

168 A.3d 374, 2017 WL 3222400, 2017 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 541
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 31, 2017
DocketB. Shore v. PA Dept. of Corrections - 653 M.D. 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by80 cases

This text of 168 A.3d 374 (Shore v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shore v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 168 A.3d 374, 2017 WL 3222400, 2017 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 541 (Pa. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION BY

JUDGE McCULLOUGH

Before the Court in our original jurisdiction are the preliminary objections filed by the Department of Corrections (Department) to the petition for review (Petition) filed by Brian Shore. We grant the Department’s objections and dismiss Shore’s Petition.

Background

On November 21,2016, Shore, an inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Albion (SCI-Albion), filed his Petition against the Department, alleging that the procedure used by prison officials to deny him access to photographs sent through the mail was unconstitutional. Specifically, Shore averred that on June 14, 2016, SCI-Albion’s mailroom issued him three notification forms, advising that a total of forty-three photographs were being withheld for violating section 3.3.c of Department policy DC-ADM 803, currently promulgated and codified at 37 Pa.Code § 93.2(g)(3)(iv), both of which prohibit inmates from pos *378 sessing publications containing “nudity.” 1 (Petition, ¶¶ 1, 6-6.) .

Shore 'stated that, after receiving the notifications, he initiated the Department’s internal grievance procedure on June 20, 2016, 2 claiming that the photographs did not meet the definition of “nudity” and therefore SCI-Albion could not confiscate them. On August 18, 2016, SCI-Albion’s Superintendent reviewed Shore’s grievances and denied them, finding that the photos contained “nudity and exposed genitalia.” (Petition, ¶ 5) (quoting Ex. C). On August 29, 2016, Shore appealed to the Office of Policy, Grants, and Legislative Affairs. On October 17, 2016, the Department’s Chief Grievance Officer denied Shore’s final appeal in the grievance process, concluding that contrary to Shore’s contention, the photographs showed “nudity in the form of bare breasts, vaginal and anal areas.” (Petition, ¶ 6) (quoting Ex. D),

In ■ the Petition, Shore argues that the photographs are outside the scope of DC-ADM 803 and that the grievance adjudicators denied him possession based upon their own- “individualized benchmarks of morality”. (Petition, ¶ 12). Shore further contends that the time in which it took the Superintendent and the Chief Grievance Officer to decide his grievances, 66 and 36 days, respectively, contravened the 15-day and 30-day time limitations in DC-ADM 804. Finally, Shore asserts that the Department’s procedure to review incoming mail is “inherently unfair” because, during the initial review and grievance process, he was not “permitted to physically view the publication,” i.e., the photographs. (Petition, ¶¶ 8-10,13).

Based upon these allegations, Shore asserts constitutional claims against the Department “as the sole respondent in this case,” (Petition, ¶ 3), opting not to sue any employees in either their individual or official capacity. In terms of his cause of action, Shore maintains that the Department violated his First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process rights. For relief, he seeks a decree stating that the Department’s procedure to review incoming mail is unconstitutional; compensatory damages in the form of losses incurred; an order in mandamus requiring SCL-Albion to return the photographs; and an order requiring the Department to implement a new grievance procedure in which an inmate is afforded the opportunity “to physically review the publication ... and present oral argument.” Id. at Wherefore Clause, ¶¶1-4.

Oh December 6, 2016, the Department filed preliminary objections in the nature of a demurrer and Shore thereafter filed a reply. The parties then filed briefs in support of-and opposition to the preliminary objections and the matter is now ripe for disposition.

Discussion

In ruling on preliminary' objections in the nature of a demurrer, the *379 Court must accept as true all well-pleaded material facts and all inferences reasonably deducible therefrom. Barndt v. Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 902 A.2d 589, 592 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2006). However, the Court is not required to accept as true legal conclusions, unwarranted factual inferences, argumentative allegations, or expressions of opinion. Armstrong County Memorial Hospital v. Department of Public Welfare, 67 A.3d 160, 170 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2013) (en banc).

First Amendment

In his filings, Shore contends that he has alleged a viable First Amendment claim because the photographs do not depict nudity. Although Shore concedes, somewhat ambiguously, that the case law holds that DC-ADM 803 and 37 Pa.Code § 93.2 do not run afoul of the First Amendment, he contends that he has “a constitutional right to receive non-nude photographs sent to him,” (Shore’s brief at 9), and claims that the Superintendent and the Chief Grievance Officer erred, as a matter of fact, in denying his grievances.

“[T]he First Amendment to the United States Constitution has long been interpreted by 'the courts as including a general right to communicate by mail.” Bussinger v. Department of Corrections, 29 A.3d 79, 84 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2011). This right, however, does not come without qualifications and circumscription, especially in the prison context. To be sure, inmates do not have an absolute right to acquire and keep any property they desire and the Department is permitted to deprive inmates of property if doing so is reasonably related to a legitimate penological interest. Thornburgh v. Abbott, 490 U.S. 401, 414-18, 109 S.Ct. 1874, 104 L.Ed.2d 459 (1989); see Iseley v. Beard, 841 A.2d 168, 174 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004).

In Brittain v. Beard, 601 Pa. 409, 974 A.2d 479 (2009), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined whether the Department provided sufficient penological justification for then DC-ADM 803-1 to withstand First Amendment scrutiny. Like current DC-ADM 803, then DC-ADM 803-1 prohibited inmates from possessing “nudity” and defined that term in language virtually identical to the present definition contained in 37 Pa.Code § 93.2(i). 3 The petitioner in Brittain argued that “DC-ADM 803-1 improperly prohibited inmates from possessing materials depicting mere nudity, including artwork, drawings, photographs, and Playboy Magazine, without any legitimate penological purpose.” 974 A.2d at 481. In response, the Department set forth what it contended to be a valid, rational connection between the policy and legitimate governmental interests. Specifically, the Department asserted that the prohibition on poinographic material serves to foster the rehabilitation of inmates; is consistent with inmate treatment objectives; discourages inmates from objectifying persons; and minimizes the risk of inappropriate, sexual behavior. Ultimately, our Supreme Court concluded that these reasons advanced legitimate peno-logical interests,' and because the petitioner failed to prove that the proffered reasons and goals were unreasonable, upheld the constitutionality of DC-ADM 803-1 against a First Amendment challenge.

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Bluebook (online)
168 A.3d 374, 2017 WL 3222400, 2017 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shore-v-pennsylvania-department-of-corrections-pacommwct-2017.