MILLER, SUPERINTENDENT, PENDLETON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, ET AL. v. FRENCH ET AL.
No. 99-224
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 18, 2000-Decided June 19, 2000
530 U.S. 327
*Together with No. 99-582, United States v. French et al., also on certiorari to the same court.
Deputy Solicitor General Underwood argued the cause for the United States in No. 99-582. With her on the briefs were Solicitor General Waxman, Acting Assistant Attorney General Lee, Irving L. Gornstein, and Mark L. Gross.
Kenneth J. Falk argued the cause for respondents in both cases. With him on the brief were Jacquelyn E. Bowie, Hamid R. Kashani, Steven R. Shapiro, and Elizabeth Alexander.†
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) establishes standards for the entry and termination of prospective relief in civil actions challenging prison conditions.
I
A
This litigation began in 1975, when four inmates at what is now the Pendleton Correctional Facility brought a class action under
The Court of Appeals affirmed the amended remedial order as to those aspects governing overcrowding and double celling, the use of mechanical restraints, staffing, and the quality of food and medical services, but it vacated those portions pertaining to exercise and recreation, protective custody, and fire and occupational safety standards. Id., at 1258. This ongoing injunctive relief has remained in effect ever since, with the last modification occurring in October 1988, when the parties resolved by joint stipulation the remaining issues related to fire and occupational safety standards. 1 Record, Doc. No. 14.
In 1996, Congress enacted the PLRA. As relevant here, the PLRA establishes standards for the entry and termination of prospective relief in civil actions challenging conditions at prison facilities. Specifically, a court “shall not grant or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right.”
“In any civil action with respect to prison conditions, a defendant or intervener shall be entitled to the immediate termination of any prospective relief if the relief was approved or granted in the absence of a finding by the court that the relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right.”
A court may not terminate prospective relief, however, if it “makes written findings based on the record that prospective relief remains necessary to correct a current and ongoing violation of the Federal right, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of the Federal right, and that the prospective relief is narrowly drawn and the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation.”
Finally, the provision at issue here,
“Any motion to modify or terminate prospective relief made under subsection (b) shall operate as a stay during the period-
“(A)(i) beginning on the 30th day after such motion is filed, in the case of a motion made under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b); ...
“(ii) ... and
“(B) ending on the date the court enters a final order ruling on the motion.”
As one of several 1997 amendments to the PLRA, Congress permitted courts to postpone the entry of the automatic stay for not more than 60 days for “good cause,” which cannot include general congestion of the court‘s docket.
C
On June 5, 1997, the State filed a motion under
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the District Court‘s order, concluding that although
We granted certiorari, 528 U. S. 1045 (1999), to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals as to whether
II
We address the statutory question first. Both the State and the prisoner class agree, as did the majority and dissenting judges below, that
Nonetheless, the Government contends that reading the statute to preserve courts’ traditional equitable powers to enter appropriate injunctive relief is consistent with this text because, in its view,
Such an interpretation, however, would subvert the plain meaning of the statute, making its mandatory language merely permissive. Section
Viewing the automatic stay provision in the context of
The critical flaw in this construction, however, is that
The Government contends that if Congress’ goal were to prevent courts from circumventing the PLRA‘s plain commands, mandamus would have been a more appropriate remedy than appellate review. But that proposition is doubtful, as mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that is “granted only in the exercise of sound discretion.” Whitehouse v. Illinois Central R. Co., 349 U. S. 366, 373 (1955). Given that curbing the equitable discretion of district courts was one of the PLRA‘s principal objectives, it would have been odd for Congress to have left enforcement of
Finally, the Government finds support for its view in
Thus, although we should not construe a statute to displace courts’ traditional equitable authority absent the “clearest command,” Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U. S., at 705, or an “inescapable inference” to the contrary, Porter v. Warner Holding Co., 328 U. S. 395, 398 (1946), we are con-
III
The Constitution enumerates and separates the powers of the three branches of Government in Articles I, II, and III, and it is this “very structure” of the Constitution that exemplifies the concept of separation of powers. INS v. Chadha, 462 U. S. 919, 946 (1983). While the boundaries between the three branches are not ” ‘hermetically’ sealed,” see id., at 951, the Constitution prohibits one branch from encroaching on the central prerogatives of another, see Loving v. United States, 517 U. S. 748, 757 (1996); Buckley v.
Respondent prisoners contend that
Hayburn‘s Case arose out of a 1792 statute that authorized pensions for veterans of the Revolutionary War. See
Unlike the situation in Hayburn‘s Case,
We concluded that this retroactive command that federal courts reopen final judgments exceeded Congress’ authority. Id., at 218-219. The decision of an inferior court within the Article III hierarchy is not the final word of the department (unless the time for appeal has expired), and “[i]t is the obligation of the last court in the hierarchy that rules on the case to give effect to Congress‘s latest enactment, even when that has the effect of overturning the judgment of an inferior court, since each court, at every level, must ‘decide according to existing laws.’ ” Id., at 227 (quoting United States v. Schooner Peggy, 1 Cranch 103, 109 (1801)). But once a judicial decision achieves finality, it “becomes the last word of the judicial department.” 514 U. S., at 227. And because Article III “gives the Federal Judiciary the power, not merely to rule on cases, but to decide them, subject to review only by superior courts in the Article III hierarchy,” id., at 218-219, the “judicial Power is one to render dispositive judgments,” and Congress cannot retroactively command Article III courts to reopen final judgments, id., at 219 (quoting Easterbrook, Presidential Review, 40 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 905, 926 (1990) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
Plaut, however, was careful to distinguish the situation before the Court in that case-legislation that attempted to reopen the dismissal of a suit seeking money damages-from legislation that “altered the prospective effect of injunctions entered by Article III courts.” 514 U. S., at 232. We emphasized that “nothing in our holding today calls ... into question” Congress’ authority to alter the prospective effect of previously entered injunctions. Ibid. Prospective relief under a continuing, executory decree remains subject to alteration due to changes in the underlying law. Cf. Land-
In Wheeling Bridge I, we held that a bridge across the Ohio River, because it was too low, unlawfully “obstruct[ed] the navigation of the Ohio,” and ordered that the bridge be raised or permanently removed. 13 How., at 578. Shortly thereafter, Congress enacted legislation declaring the bridge to be a “lawful structur[e],” establishing the bridge as a ” ‘post-roa[d] for the passage of the mails of the United States,’ ” and declaring that the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company was authorized to maintain the bridge at its then-current site and elevation. Wheeling Bridge II, supra, at 429. After the bridge was destroyed in a storm, Pennsylvania sued to enjoin the bridge‘s reconstruction, arguing that the statute legalizing the bridge was unconstitutional because it effectively annulled the Court‘s decision in Wheeling Bridge I. We rejected that argument, concluding that the decree in Wheeling Bridge I provided for ongoing relief by “directing the abatement of the obstruction” which enjoined the defendants’ from any continuance or reconstruction of the obstruction. Because the intervening statute altered the underlying law such that the bridge was no longer an unlawful obstruction, we held that it was “quite plain the decree of the court cannot be enforced.” Wheeling Bridge II, supra, at 431-432. The Court explained that had Wheeling Bridge I awarded money damages in an action at law, then that judgment would be final, and Congress’ later action could not have affected plaintiff‘s right to those damages. See 18 How., at 431. But because the decree entered in Wheeling Bridge I provided for prospec-
Applied here, the principles of Wheeling Bridge II demonstrate that the automatic stay of
By establishing new standards for the enforcement of prospective relief in
The entry of the automatic stay under
For the same reasons,
Here, the prisoners argue that Congress has similarly prescribed a rule of decision because, for the period of time until the district court makes a final decision on the merits of the motion to terminate prospective relief,
Finally, the prisoners assert that, even if
In contrast to due process, which principally serves to protect the personal rights of litigants to a full and fair hearing, separation of powers principles are primarily addressed to the structural concerns of protecting the role of the independent Judiciary within the constitutional design. In this action, we have no occasion to decide whether there could be a time constraint on judicial action that was so severe that it implicated these structural separation of powers concerns. The PLRA does not deprive courts of their adjudicatory role, but merely provides a new legal standard for relief and encourages courts to apply that standard promptly.
Through the PLRA, Congress clearly intended to make operation of the automatic stay mandatory, precluding courts from exercising their equitable powers to enjoin the stay. And we conclude that this provision does not violate separation of powers principles. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is reversed, and the action is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
It is so ordered.
JUSTICE SOUTER, with whom JUSTICE GINSBURG joins, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I agree that
A prospective remedial order may rest on at least three different legal premises: the underlying right meant to be secured; the rules of procedure for obtaining relief, defining requisites of pleading, notice, and so on; and, in some cases, rules lying between the other two, such as those defining a required level of certainty before some remedy may be ordered, or the permissible scope of relief. At issue here are rules of the last variety.2
Congress has the authority to change rules of this sort by imposing new conditions precedent for the continuing enforcement of existing, prospective remedial orders and requiring courts to apply the new rules to those orders. Cf. Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc., 514 U. S. 211, 232 (1995). If its legislation gives courts adequate time to determine the applicability of a new rule to an old order and to take the action necessary to apply it or to vacate the order, there seems little basis for claiming that Congress has crossed
Whether this constitutional issue arises on the facts of this action, however, is something we cannot yet tell, for the
JUSTICE BREYER, with whom JUSTICE STEVENS joins, dissenting.
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) says that “any party or intervener” may move to terminate any “prospective relief” previously granted by the court,
We here consider a related procedural provision of the PLRA. It says that “[a]ny motion to modify or terminate prospective relief . . . shall operate as a stay” of that prospective relief “during the period” beginning (no later than) the 90th day after the filing of the motion and ending when the motion is decided.
The majority interprets the words “shall operate as a stay” to mean, in terms of my example, that the 1980 injunction must become ineffective after the 90th day, no matter what. The Solicitor General, however, believes that the view adopted by the majority interpretation is too rigid and calls into doubt the constitutionality of the provision. He argues that the statute is silent as to whether the district court can modify or suspend the operation of the automatic stay. He would find in that silence sufficient authority for the court to create an exception to the 90-day time limit where circumstances make it necessary to do so. As so read, the statute would neither displace the courts’ traditional equitable authority nor raise significant constitutional difficulties. See Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U. S. 682, 705 (1979) (only “clearest” congressional “command” displaces courts’ traditional equity powers); Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Constr. Trades Council, 485 U. S. 568, 575 (1988) (the Court will construe a statute to avoid constitutional problems “unless such construction is plainly contrary to the intent of Congress“).
I agree with the Solicitor General and believe we should adopt that “reasonable construction” of the statute. Ibid. (quoting Hooper v. California, 155 U. S. 648, 657 (1895), stating “‘every reasonable construction must be resorted to, in order to save a statute from unconstitutionality‘“).
At the outset, one must understand why a more flexible interpretation of the statute might be needed. To do so, one must keep in mind the extreme circumstances that at least some prison litigation originally sought to correct, the complexity of the resulting judicial decrees, and the potential difficulties arising out of the subsequent need to review those decrees in order to make certain they follow Congress’ PLRA directives. A hypothetical example based on actual circumstances may help.
In January 1979, a Federal District Court made 81 factual findings describing extremely poor—indeed “barbaric and shocking“—prison conditions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Morales Feliciano v. Romero Barcelo, 497 F. Supp. 14, 32 (PR 1979). These conditions included prisons typically operating with twice the number of prisoners they were designed to hold; inmates living in 16 square feet of space (i. e., only 4 feet by 4 feet); inmates without medical care, without psychiatric care, without beds, without mattresses, without hot water, without soap or towels or toothbrushes or underwear; food prepared on a budget of $1.50 per day and “tons of food . . . destroyed because of . . . rats, vermin, worms, and spoilage“; “no working toilets or showers,” “urinals [that] flush into the sinks,” “plumbing systems . . . in a state of collapse,” and a “stench” that was “omnipresent“; “exposed wiring . . . no fire extinguisher, [and] poor ventilation“; “calabozos,” or dungeons, “like cages with bars on the top” or with two slits in a steel door opening onto a central corridor, the floors of which were “covered with raw sewage” and which contained prisoners with severe mental illnesses, “caged like wild animals,” sometimes for months; areas of a prison where mentally ill inmates were “kept in cells naked, without beds, without mattresses, without any private possessions, and most of them without toilets that work and without drinking water.” Id., at 20-23, 26-
The District Court held that these conditions amounted to constitutionally forbidden “cruel and unusual punishment.” Id., at 33-36. It entered 30 specific orders designed to produce constitutionally mandated improvement by requiring the prison system to, for example, screen food handlers for communicable diseases, close the “calabozos,” move mentally ill patients to hospitals, fix broken plumbing, and provide at least 35 square feet (i. e., 5 feet by 7 feet) of living space to each prisoner. Id., at 39-41.
The very pervasiveness and seriousness of the conditions described in the court‘s opinion made those conditions difficult to cure quickly. Over the next decade, the District Court entered further orders embodied in 15 published opinions, affecting 21 prison institutions. These orders concerned, inter alia, overcrowding, security, disciplinary proceedings, prisoner classification, rehabilitation, parole, and drug addiction treatment. Not surprisingly, the related proceedings involved extensive evidence and argument consuming thousands of pages of transcript. See Morales Feliciano v. Romero Barcelo, 672 F. Supp. 591, 595 (PR 1986). Their implementation involved the services of two monitors, two assistants, and a Special Master. Along the way, the court documented a degree of “administrative chaos” in the prison system, Morales Feliciano v. Hernandez Colon, 697 F. Supp. 37, 44 (PR 1988), and entered findings of contempt of court against the Commonwealth, followed by the assessment and collection of more than $74 million in fines. See Morales Feliciano v. Hernandez Colon, 775 F. Supp. 487, 488, and n. 2 (PR 1991).
Prison conditions subsequently have improved in some respects. Morales Feliciano v. Rossello Gonzalez, 13 F. Supp. 2d 151, 179 (PR 1998). I express no opinion as to whether, or which of, the earlier orders are still needed. But my
It is at least possible, then, that the statute, as the majority reads it, would sometimes terminate a complex system of orders entered over a period of years by a court familiar with the local problem—perhaps only to reinstate those orders later, when the termination motion can be decided. Such an automatic termination could leave constitutionally prohibited conditions unremedied, at least temporarily. Alternatively, the threat of termination could lead a district court to abbreviate proceedings that fairness would otherwise demand. At a minimum, the mandatory automatic stay would provide a recipe for uncertainty, as complex judicial orders that have long governed the administration of particular prison systems suddenly turn off, then (perhaps selectively) back on. So read, the statute directly interferes with a court‘s exercise of its traditional equitable authority, rendering temporarily ineffective pre-existing remedies aimed at correcting past, and perhaps ongoing, violations of the Constitution. That interpretation, as the majority itself concedes, might give rise to serious constitutional problems. Ante, at 350.
The Solicitor General‘s more flexible reading of the statute avoids all these problems. He notes that the relevant language says that the motion to modify or terminate prospective relief “shall operate as a stay” after a period of 30 days, extendable for “good cause” to 90 days.
Is this interpretation a “reasonable construction” of the statute? Edward J. DeBartolo Corp., 485 U.S., at 575. I note first that the statutory language is open to the Solicitor General‘s interpretation. A district court ordinarily can stay the operation of a judicial order (such as a stay or injunction), see Scripps-Howard Radio, Inc. v. FCC, 316 U. S. 4, 9-10, and n. 4 (1942), when a party demonstrates the need to do so in accordance with traditional equitable criteria (irreparable injury, likelihood of success on the merits, and a balancing of possible harms to the parties and the public, see Doran v. Salem Inn, Inc., 422 U. S. 922, 931 (1975); Yakus v. United States, 321 U. S. 414, 440 (1944)). There is no logical inconsistency in saying both (1) a motion (to terminate) “shall operate as a stay,” and (2) the court retains the power
Nor does this more flexible interpretation deprive the procedural provision of meaning. The filing of the motion to terminate prospective relief will still, after a certain period, operate as a stay without further action by the court. Thus, the motion automatically changes the status quo and imposes upon the party wishing to suspend the automatic stay the burden of demonstrating strong, special reasons for doing so. The word “automatic” in the various subsection titles does not prove the contrary, for that word often means self-starting, not unstoppable. See Websters Third New International Dictionary 148 (1993). Indeed, the Bankruptcy Act uses the words “automatic stay” to describe a provision stating that “a petition filed . . . operates as a stay” of certain other judicial proceedings—despite the fact that a later portion of that same provision makes clear that under certain circumstances the bankruptcy court may terminate, annul, or modify the stay.
Further, the legislative history is neutral, for it is silent on this issue. Yet there is relevant judicial precedent. That precedent does not read statutory silence as denying judges authority to exercise their traditional equitable powers. Rather, it reads statutory silence as authorizing the exercise of those powers. This Court has said, for example, that “[o]ne thing is clear. Where Congress wished to deprive the courts of this historic power, it knew how to use apt words—only once has it done so and in a statute born of the exigencies of war.” Scripps-Howard, supra, at 17. Compare Lockerty v. Phillips, 319 U. S. 182, 186-187 (1943) (finding that courts were deprived of equity powers where the statute explicitly removed jurisdiction), with Scripps-Howard, supra, at 8-10 (refusing to read silence as depriving courts of their historic equity power), and Califano, 442 U. S., at 705-706 (same). These cases recognize the importance of permitting courts in equity cases to tailor relief, and related
Finally, the more flexible interpretation is consistent with Congress’ purposes as revealed in the statute. Those purposes include the avoidance of new judicial relief that is overly broad or no longer necessary and the reassessment of pre-existing relief to bring it into conformity with these standards. But Congress has simultaneously expressed its intent to maintain relief that is narrowly drawn and necessary to end unconstitutional practices. See
The upshot is a statute that, when read in light of its language, structure, purpose, and history, is open to an interpretation that would allow a court to modify or suspend the automatic stay when a party, in accordance with traditional equitable criteria, has demonstrated a need for such an exception. That interpretation reflects this Court‘s historic reluctance to read a statute as depriving courts of their traditional equitable powers. It also avoids constitutional difficulties that might arise in unusual cases.
For these reasons, I believe that the Solicitor General‘s more flexible reading is the proper reading of the statute before us. I would consequently vacate the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand this action for further proceedings.