Richard A. FRENCH et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
Robert E. HEYNE, Individually and in his official capacity
as Commissioner of the Indiana Department of
Correction, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 75-1883.
United States Court of Appeals,
Seventh Circuit.
Argued June 11, 1976.
Decided Dec. 22, 1976.
Jerold S. Solovy, Barry Sullivan, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs-appellants.
Theodore L. Sendak, Atty. Gen., Thomas J. Campbell, Deputy Atty. Gen., Indianapolis, Ind., for defendants-appellees.
Before SWYGERT, SPRECHER and WOOD, Circuit Judges.
WOOD, Circuit Judge.
This appeal is from an order dismissing for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted a pro se petition filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by several inmates presently incarcerated at the Indiana State Reformatory in Pendleton, Indiana. The petition alleges that conditions at the reformatory are violative of plaintiffs' rights under the First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Specifically plaintiffs allege that: 1) educational programs at the reformatory are obsolete, defective, and do not reform or rehabilitate; 2) vocational training programs at the reformatory are offered only to those inmates with short indeterminate sentences, and are never provided to inmates with longer indeterminate and determinate sentences; 3) instructors and teachers offer only compulsory assistance, and that only inmates who already possess self-motivation learn from the program; 4) in-classroom experience and instruction is almost non-existent; 5) educational programs are made available to those who do not already possess high school degrees but are not available to those with high school degrees; 6) vocational programs are available to those who do not already possess a vocational trade, and those who already possess a vocational trade are denied participation in vocational programs; 7) inmates at the reformatory are prohibited from soliciting funds from interested corporations and individuals for educational programs; 8) a study release program was discontinued for no good reason; and 9) veterans are denied use of their benefits due to the lack of educational programs.
In its order dismissing the complaint the district court held that decisions by state administrators regarding educational services do not raise federal constitutional questions or constitute proper subjects for relief under § 1983. See United States ex rel. Cleggett v. Pate,
We approach the questions raised in this appeal mindful that "a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson,
EQUAL PROTECTION
Plaintiffs submit that the allegations regarding the limitation of vocational training programs to those prisoners with short indeterminate sentences and the denial of any vocational or educational programs to those inmates who already possess a vocational trade or high school degree are sufficient to state a claim for violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Defendants' answer to this argument is threefold. First, defendants contend that because there exists no constitutional right to education or rehabilitation, see San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriquez,
It is well settled that equal protection does not require absolute equality or precisely equal advantages. Ross v. Moffitt,
Defendants' contention that equal protection is violated only when a classification deprives a group of rights otherwise secured by the Constitution is erroneous. An examination of equal protection cases reveals that although the involvement of certain fundamental rights invokes the more stringent "compelling interest" test it is by no means essential that the benefits deprived or burdens bestowed by the different treatment be otherwise guaranteed by the Constitution. See, e. g., James v. Strange,
In McGinnis v. Royster,
We do not wish to inhibit state experimental classifications in a practical and troublesome area, but inquire only whether the challenged distinction rationally furthers some legitimate, articulated state purpose. McGinnis, supra, at 270,
Defendants' assertion that the distinction drawn between prisoners with short indeterminate sentences and those with longer indeterminate and determinate sentences is rational on its face and therefore warranted dismissal is also without merit.4 The Supreme Court has on many occasions stated that where reform measures are involved, a state need not choose between curing all evils or none, Dandridge v. Williams,
We note first that there has been no investigation into the purpose for limiting vocational rehabilitation to prisoners with short indeterminate sentences in this litigation. Nor have we found, and the parties have not brought to our attention, any cases from the Indiana courts explaining the basis for the distinction or deciding the question of its rationality. Indeed, defendants suggest that to require a showing that a rational basis exists for awarding vocational training to inmates based upon the date of their release into society would be an exercise of frivolity. We might surmise that defendants are operating with a severely limited budget and accordingly concentrated their vocational training programs to benefit that class of prisoners who could derive the most benefit. It is equally possible, however, that defendants have concluded that prisoners with determinate and long term indeterminate sentences are not likely to derive any benefit at all from vocational training and will therefore not be provided with such programs, or that defendants are withholding such benefits as additional penalty for incurring harsher sentences. We cannot agree, therefore, that a rational basis for the classification with regard to vocational programs is apparent on the face of the classification itself. In the absence of an articulated purpose for the distinctions drawn here, we cannot indulge in supplying an imaginary purpose or basis for the classification, McGinnis, supra,
Defendants' third argument must be rejected because it is based upon a faulty premise. In Townsend v. Swank,
FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Plaintiffs contend that by prohibiting them from soliciting funds for the implementation of educational studies defendants are violating plaintiffs' right of free speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment.5 We think that in a nonprisoner context the First Amendment would protect such solicitation. Although some decisions have recognized that the difference between the expression of ideas and solicitation for their support or implementation allows the state to impose certain restrictions on solicitation so long as they do not interfere with the content of expression, the presence of such considerations that justify those restrictions, e. g., fraud, have not been raised here. See generally Hynes v. The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Oradell,
It is now well settled that although upon incarceration a prisoner loses many rights and privileges, Price v. Johnston,
"(A) prison inmate retains those First Amendment rights that are not inconsistent with his status as a prisoner or with the legitimate penological objectives of the corrections system. Thus, challenges to prison restrictions that are asserted to inhibit First Amendment interests must be analyzed in terms of the legitimate policies and goals of the corrections system . . . ."
Defendants assert categorically that solicitation by plaintiffs of funds for educational programs is inconsistent with plaintiffs' status as prisoners and therefore does not fall within the ambit of those First Amendment rights retained by prisoners. The analysis applied in prior cases involving restrictions on First Amendment interests, however, militates against our adoption of this unsupported proposition.
In Pell v. Procunier, supra, the Court reversed a three-judge district court holding that invalidated as violative of the prisoners' First Amendment freedoms a regulation prohibiting inmates from face-to-face communication with journalists. Proceeding with the hypothesis that "(U)nder some circumstances the right of free speech includes the right to communicate a person's views to any willing listener . . ." Pell v. Procunier, supra, at 822,
Neither the asserted inconsistency between plaintiffs' solicitation of funds and their status as prisoners, nor potential interference with prison administration which we can at this time only conjecture might result from allowing such solicitation, is so striking as to relieve defendants from their burden of justifying the challenged restriction or this court from its duty to balance the respective interests at hand.8 Upon remand defendants may well be able to demonstrate that the prohibition against solicitation by plaintiffs is justified by legitimate penological objectives. We cannot, however, on this record alone, hold that there is no set of facts which would entitle plaintiffs to relief under § 1983. Insofar as defendants contend "not that the regulations are justified by a legitimate governmental interest but that they do not need to be", Procunier v. Martinez, supra,
Although defendants do not urge this point on appeal, the district court rejected the plaintiffs' First Amendment claim on grounds that prisoners possess no constitutionally protected right to educational programs. The extent to which First Amendment rights are retained by prison inmates is not, however, necessarily limited to those instances where the content of speech is related to a separate constitutionally protected area. It is true that the courts have given special consideration to practices involving religious correspondence,9 correspondence with lawyers, courts, public officials, and the press,10 and correspondence restricted because of race.11 This court has recognized, however, that First Amendment rights of prisoners may exist independent of those areas traditionally accorded special protection because of the subject matter of the correspondence or the identity of the correspondent. See Morales v. Schmidt,
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
Plaintiffs argue that the totality of conditions at the reformatory as described in their complaint are so counter-rehabilitative that they constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Specifically it is alleged that existing programs and facilities are obsolete; that a study release program has been discontinued for no apparent reason other than security; that veterans who have already finished high school are denied the opportunity to take full advantage of G.I. or V.A. benefits; that the educational and rehabilitative benefits that do exist are allocated unfairly; and that their First Amendment rights are violated by denying them the right to solicit funds for prison programs.
Plaintiffs concede that prisoners possess no abstract right to rehabilitation and that the failure to provide rehabilitative programs does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment in the absence of other infirmities. McCray v. Sullivan,
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the dismissal of plaintiffs' complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is hereby vacated as it relates to plaintiffs' claims under the First Amendment and under the Fourteenth Amendment, and this cause is remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion respecting those claims. The dismissal of plaintiffs' claim under the Eighth Amendment is affirmed.
Affirmed in part. Vacated and remanded in part with instructions.
Notes
This lawsuit was filed as a class action seeking $100 in monetary damages as well as injunctive and declaratory relief. No determination regarding the propriety of the class was made below
Neither party suggests that fundamental constitutional rights are at stake here, or that the plaintiffs are members of a suspect class so as to invoke the compelling state interest test
Nor did the Court consider whether or not the good time credits constituted a "right" or "grievous loss" as required to invoke procedural due process. See generally, Wolff v. McDonnell,
Although defendants have not relied on any statutory authority in their motion to dismiss or their briefs before this court, the relevant Indiana statute here, cited in plaintiffs' response to defendants' motion to dismiss, provides:
11-1-1.1-26 (13-2526). Human relations education of prisoners. The director of the division of classification and treatment shall supervise in each correctional institution a program of human relations and of prison education designed in the broadest sense to bring about the rehabilitation of the inmates. The objective of these programs shall be the return of the inmates to society with a more wholesome attitude toward living and with a desire to support themselves and their dependents through honest labor. To this end, each inmate shall be given a program of education which is deemed most likely to further the process of rehabilitation and each staff member in contact with inmates shall be instructed in human relations. The time devoted daily to education shall be as much as is required for meeting the above objectives. (IC 1971, 11-1-1.1-26, as added by Acts 1971, P.L. 152, § 1, p. 632.)
We are not called upon here to decide whether this particular statute requires defendants to provide each inmate with a program of education as plaintiffs suggested in the district court. We do note, however, that a mere violation of state statute does not constitute a violation of the Federal Constitution. Snowden v. Hughes,
Indiana statute provides:
The director of classification and treatment, subject to the direction of the commissioner, and after consultation with the state superintendent of public instruction, shall develop the curricula and educational programs which are required to meet the needs of each institution within the department. The board of corrections may apply for and receive program grants from public and private sources. IC 11-1-1.1-27 (1971) (Burns Indiana Statutes § 13-2527).
Defendants do not contend that such possibilities justify the regulation, but rather that they are not required to justify the regulation. In any event, there is nothing in this record to suggest the occurrence of such dangers. See North Carolina Prisoners' Labor Union, Inc. v. Jones,
We do not think that the solicitation desired by plaintiffs here may be characterized as "direct personal correspondence between inmates and those who have a particularized interest in communicating with them," Procunier v. Martinez,
While prisoners clearly do not possess the right to take part in the decision making process necessary to effectuate the educational programs they desire, the solicitation of funds should not be equated with participation in the decision to institute or decline to institute those programs. To the extent that the delegation of power to the board of corrections "(to) apply for and receive program grants from public and private sources" may be asserted to preempt plaintiffs' First Amendment rights, Martinez requires some showing justifying such preemption
See, e. g., Cruz v. Beto,
See, e. g., Bach v. People of the State of Illinois,
Jackson v. Godwin,
The complaint does not contain any suggestion that plaintiffs desire to physically receive or hold, or in any way control the disposition of those funds actually contributed. We emphasize, therefore, that plaintiffs have stated a cause of action only for the prohibition against solicitation and in no way suggest that plaintiffs possess any other rights with respect to the funds
