Sweet v. Northern Neck Regional Jail

857 F. Supp. 2d 595, 2012 WL 1448620, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68513
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedApril 18, 2012
DocketNo. 1:12cv38 (GBL/TRJ)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 857 F. Supp. 2d 595 (Sweet v. Northern Neck Regional Jail) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sweet v. Northern Neck Regional Jail, 857 F. Supp. 2d 595, 2012 WL 1448620, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68513 (E.D. Va. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GERALD BRUCE LEE, District Judge.

Jorge Jose Sweet, who apparently is now residing in Washington, D.C., has filed a civil rights action, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking damages for being prevented from praying in Arabic during Jumah prayer services at the Northern Neck Regional Jail (“NNRJ”). Plaintiff has submitted an application to proceed in forma pauperis in this action. After re[596]*596viewing plaintiffs complaint, the claims against defendants must be dismissed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to state a claim.1

I.

Plaintiff alleges that on Friday, December 23, 2011, Sgt. Baserap stated that NNRJ inmates could not use the Arabic language in conducting their Jumah prayer service in the chapel. Plaintiff asserts that inmates are allowed to practice their religions so long as it does not interfere with any safety hazard or promote terrorism, and on the date in question neither of those actions occurred. Plaintiff describes himself as a “5 year devoted Sunni Muslim” who practiced] peace not terrorism,” and that “[e]very Friday at a specific time the Arabic language is being used around the world to conduct Jumah prayer.”

Plaintiff has supplied a copy of a grievance he submitted on December 29, 2011, seeking the ability to “be able to practice [his] religion how it was taught to” him. On December 30, a Captain responded:

Mr. Sweet, due to their [sic] being several different housing units and classification levels congregating together, the Jail does not allow the services or prayers to be spoken in Arabic, it must be spoken in English. However, the Jail will allow you to pray in Arabic in your housing unit if you like but not in the library as a group.

In this action pursuant to § 1983, plaintiff names as defendants the NNRJ and Sgt. Baserap. He seeks an award of monetary damages in the amount of $250,000.

II.

In reviewing a complaint pursuant to § 1915(e), a court must dismiss a prisoner complaint that is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted is determined by “the familiar standard for a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).” Sumner v. Tucker, 9 F.Supp.2d 641, 642 (E.D.Va.1998). Thus, the alleged facts are presumed true, and the complaint should be dismissed only when “it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations.” Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984). To survive a 12(b)(6) motion, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. However, “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice” to meet this standard, id., [597]*597and a plaintiffs “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level ... Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Moreover, a court “is not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949-1950.

Court may also consider exhibits attached to the complaint. United States ex rel. Constructors, Inc. v. Gulf Ins. Co., 313 F.Supp.2d 593, 596 (E.D.Va.2004) (citing 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1357, at 299 (2d ed. 1990)). Moreover, where a conflict exists between “the bare allegations of the complaint and any attached exhibit, the exhibit prevails.” Gulf Ins. Co., 313 F.Supp.2d at 596 (citing Fayetteville Investors v. Commercial Builders, Inc., 936 F.2d 1462, 1465 (4th Cir.1991)).

III.

To state a cause of action under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege facts indicating he was deprived of rights guaranteed by the Constitution or laws of the United States and that this deprivation resulted from conduct committed by a person acting under color of state law. See West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988). Since the NNRJ is not a “person” within the meaning of this authority, it can have no liability to plaintiff under § 1983 for the harm he asserts, and plaintiffs claim against it is subject to dismissal pursuant to § 1915A(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to state a claim.

As to plaintiffs claim against Sergeant Baserap, plaintiff in this case is not the first NNRJ detainee to challenge its policy of not allowing inmates to speak in Arabic during communal Jumah prayer services. In McCoy v. Frazier, 2010 WL 2975747 (E.D.Va. July 6, 2010) (Davis, J.), an inmate alleged as plaintiff does here that an officer ended Jumah prayer services at NNRJ because they were being said in Arabic. Consistent with the response to plaintiffs grievance in this case, Plf. Ex. 1, the Court noted in McCoy that NNRJ has a policy that allows Muslin inmates from different housing units and security levels to congregate for Jumah services. However, because the inmates are of different housing units and security levels, they must be supervised and they may not speak in Arabic, because NNRJ has no officers who speak Arabic. Evidence presented in McCoy indicated that “NNRJ’s policy requiring Jumah prayers to be in English stems from the concern that inmates could plot riots, escapes, or espouse extremism, and officers would be unable to understand what was being said.” 2010 WL 2975747 at *1. However, as is also indicated by plaintiffs exhibit in this case, “[t]his policy only applies when inmates from different housing units and of different security levels are together. In their housing units, inmates may gather to worship and pray in Arabic.” Id.

It is well established that a prisoner’s sincere desire to practice a religion may be burdened upon a showing that the restriction is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. See O’Lone v. Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342, 349, 107 S.Ct. 2400, 96 L.Ed.2d 282 (1987) (citing Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89, 107 S.Ct. 2254, 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987)).

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Bluebook (online)
857 F. Supp. 2d 595, 2012 WL 1448620, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sweet-v-northern-neck-regional-jail-vaed-2012.