Waymoth v. Sinclair, No. 4:2020cv05224 - Document 32 (E.D. Wash. 2021)
Court Description: ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 18 , GRANTING DEFENDANT'S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 21 , AND DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO CONTINUE 29 . The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal of this Order would not be taken in good faith and would lack any arguable basis in law or fact. Plaintiffs in forma pauperis status is hereby REVOKED. The file is CLOSED. Signed by Judge Thomas O. Rice. (LLH, Courtroom Deputy) **12 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL** (Harry Waymoth, Prisoner ID: 405656)
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Waymoth v. Sinclair Doc. 32 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.166 Page 1 of 12 1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 6 7 HARRY KENNETH WAYMOTH, NO. 4:20-CV-5224-TOR Plaintiff, 8 9 10 11 v. STEVEN SINCLAIR, Defendant. ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE 12 13 BEFORE THE COURT are Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF 14 No. 18), Defendant’s Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 21), and 15 Plaintiff’s Motion for Continuance and to Compel Required Documents (ECF No. 16 29). These matters were submitted for consideration without oral argument. The 17 Court has reviewed the record and files herein, and is fully informed. For the 18 reasons discussed below, Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 18) 19 is DENIED, Defendant’s Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 21) is 20 ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 1 Dockets.Justia.com Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.167 Page 2 of 12 1 GRANTED, Plaintiff’s Motion for Continuance and to Compel Required 2 Documents (ECF No. 29) is DENIED. 3 4 BACKGROUND Plaintiff is incarcerated in Washington State at the Coyote Ridge Corrections 5 Center. ECF No. 9. Plaintiff challenges the facility’s cross-gender pat search 6 policy. Id. On November 18, 2020, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, 7 Plaintiff filed his initial complaint against Defendant Washington State Department 8 of Corrections (“DOC”). ECF No. 1. On December 23, 2020, the Court ordered 9 Plaintiff to amend or voluntarily dismiss his complaint. ECF No. 8. On February 10 2, 2021, Plaintiff filed his first amended complaint against Defendants Steven 11 Sinclair, Charlotte Headley, and Daniel Hollibaugh alleging two Counts: Count 1, 12 cruel and unusual punishment by Hollibaugh; and Count 2, equal protection under 13 law by all three named Defendants. ECF No. 9. On March 23, 2021, the Court 14 dismissed Defendants Headley and Hollibaugh (thus, necessarily dismissing Count 15 1, which was only alleged against Hollibaugh). ECF No. 10. On May 18, 2021, 16 Sinclair, the only remaining Defendant, answered the amended complaint. ECF 17 No. 13. 18 On August 20, 2021, Plaintiff filed the present motion for summary 19 judgment. ECF No. 18. Defendant responded and cross-moved for summary 20 judgment. ECF No. 21. Defendant provided Plaintiff with the required notice to ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 2 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.168 Page 3 of 12 1 pro se litigants to respond to the cross motion for summary judgment. ECF No. 2 24. Plaintiff filed a response to Defendant’s motion, ECF No. 25, as well as a 3 motion to continue to obtain certain documents, ECF No. 29. Defendant filed a 4 response to Plaintiff’s second motion to continue. ECF No. 30. The facts alleged are straightforward and not in dispute.1 Coyote Ridge 5 6 Corrections Facility has the following DOC Policy 420.310 on routine pat 7 searches, which serves the essential purpose of maintaining safety and security 8 within DOC facilities. ECF No. 23 at 3, ¶ 5. The policy states: 9 Pat searches will be conducted by trained employees/contract staff. Pat searches of female offenders will only be conducted by female employees/contract staff, except in emergent situations …. When a male employee/contract staff pat searches a female offender, a report will be completed in the Incident Management Reporting System (IMRS) before the end of shift. The distribution will include the PREA Coordinator. 10 11 12 13 ECF No. 18 at 1. The facility does not have a parallel policy on cross-gender 14 searches for male offenders. Id. 15 16 1 Plaintiff failed to submit a statement of material facts not in dispute to 17 support his motion for summary judgment. LCivP 56(c)(1)(A). As pro se 18 pleadings are construed liberally, the Court considers Plaintiff’s facts asserted in 19 the motion as well as Defendant’s statement of material facts in support of the 20 cross motion for summary judgment. ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 3 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR 1 ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.169 Page 4 of 12 There are nearly 15,000 male inmates incarcerated in ten DOC facilities in 2 Washington. ECF No. 23 at 3, ¶ 6. There are just over 1,000 female inmates in 3 two facilities. Id. There are no mixed-gender facilities. Id. To supervise these 4 inmates, DOC employs 3,098 corrections officers, 2,498 of which are male and 5 600 of which are female. ECF No. 23 at 4, ¶ 7. 6 7 8 9 10 Plaintiff, a male inmate, alleges he has panic attacks when he is pat searched by female officers. ECF No. 18 at 3. DISCUSSION A. Summary Judgment Standard The Court may grant summary judgment in favor of a moving party who 11 demonstrates “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that the 12 movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). In ruling 13 on a motion for summary judgment, the court must only consider admissible 14 evidence. Orr v. Bank of America, NT & SA, 285 F.3d 764 (9th Cir. 2002). The 15 party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of showing the 16 absence of any genuine issues of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 17 317, 323 (1986). The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to identify 18 specific facts showing there is a genuine issue of material fact. See Anderson v. 19 Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256 (1986). “The mere existence of a scintilla 20 ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 4 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.170 Page 5 of 12 1 of evidence in support of the plaintiff’s position will be insufficient; there must be 2 evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Id. at 252. 3 For purposes of summary judgment, a fact is “material” if it might affect the 4 outcome of the suit under the governing law. Id. at 248. Further, a dispute is 5 “genuine” only where the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could find in 6 favor of the non-moving party. Id. The Court views the facts, and all rational 7 inferences therefrom, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Scott v. 8 Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378 (2007). Summary judgment will thus be granted 9 “against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of 10 an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the 11 burden of proof at trial.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322. 12 “Courts should construe liberally motion papers and pleadings filed 13 by pro se inmates and should avoid applying summary judgment rules 14 strictly.” Thomas v. Ponder, 611 F.3d 1144, 1150 (9th Cir. 2010). “This rule 15 exempts pro se inmates from strict compliance with the summary judgment rules, 16 but it does not exempt them from all compliance.” Soto v. Unknown Sweetman, 17 882 F.3d 865, 872 (9th Cir. 2018) (emphasis in original). 18 19 20 B. Equal Protection Plaintiff moves for summary judgment on his equal protection claim on the grounds that “the policy denying protection of cross-gender pat searches to male ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 5 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.171 Page 6 of 12 1 offenders violates the Equal Protection” requirements of the (1) Universal 2 Declaration of Human Rights, (2) Fourteenth Amendment of the United States 3 Constitution and (3) Washington State Constitution Article I §§ 12, 29, Article 4 XXXI § 1. ECF No. 18 at 1-2. Defendants cross-move for summary judgment on 5 the same issue under Plaintiff’s claim under the Fourteenth Amendment, seeking 6 dismissal with prejudice. ECF No. 21 at 5. 7 1. Applicable Law 8 As an initial matter, Plaintiff’s amended complaint states the cause of action: 9 “Right to equal protection under law.” ECF No. 9 at 6. The Court construes this 10 as a Section 1983 claim for violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United 11 States Constitution. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 393-94 (1989). 12 Plaintiff alleges rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 13 Washington State Constitution for the first time on summary judgment, with no 14 briefing of the standards involved. ECF No. 18 at 1-2. The Court finds that 15 Plaintiff has failed to state any factual allegations for claims arising under the 16 treaty or state constitution, and determines they are irrelevant to this federal civil 17 rights lawsuit for which this Court has jurisdiction. 18 2. Fourteenth Amendment 19 Plaintiff moves for summary judgment in favor of his equal protection claim 20 under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. ECF No. 18 at ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 6 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR 1 ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.172 Page 7 of 12 2. Defendant cross-moves for summary judgment on this claim. ECF No. 21. 2 “The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment commands that 3 no State shall ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the 4 laws,’ which is essentially a direction that all persons similarly situated should be 5 treated alike.” Harrison v. Kernan, 971 F.3d 1069, 1075 (9th Cir. 2020) (internal 6 citation omitted). In order to state a Section 1983 claim based on an equal 7 protection violation, the plaintiff “must show that the defendants acted with an 8 intent or purpose to discriminate against the plaintiff based upon membership in a 9 protected class.” Thornton v. City of St. Helens, 425 F.3d 1158, 1166 (9th Cir. 10 2005). “The first step in equal protection analysis is to identify the [defendants’ 11 asserted] classification groups.” Id. (internal citation and quotation marks 12 omitted). The groups must be made up of similarly situated persons. Id. at 1167. 13 The Ninth Circuit recently held that intermediate scrutiny applies to prison 14 regulations that facially discriminate on the basis of gender, so that “such 15 regulations are constitutional only if the government demonstrates they serve[] 16 important governmental objectives and that the discriminatory means employed are 17 substantially related to the achievement of those objectives.” Harrison, 971 F.3d 18 at 1071 (citation and quotation marks omitted). When gender-based distinction are 19 made by prison officials, courts should not disregard the special difficulties that 20 arise in the prison context.” Id. at 1079 (citation and quotation marks omitted). ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 7 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.173 Page 8 of 12 1 1. Similarly Situated Individuals 2 Plaintiff’s motion cites to no evidence that male and female inmates are 3 similarly situated. See ECF No. 18. In his reply, Plaintiff alleges he is similarly 4 situated to female inmates because he has been the victim of sexual assault. ECF 5 No. 26 at 3. Plaintiff also submits declarations from two inmates who identify as 6 transgender, who were able to give a preference of an officer’s gender who 7 conducts their pat searches. ECF No. 25 at 7-8. Even taking Plaintiff’s own 8 alleged personal sexual assault history as true, the group is not similarly situated 9 based on actual history of sexual assault – it is the propensity to disproportionately 10 experience sexual assault that distinguishes the group. See Laing v. Guisto, 92 F. 11 App’x 422, 423 (9th Cir. 2004) (citing Jordan v. Gardner, 986 F.2d 1521, 1526, 12 n.5 (9th Cir. 1993) (“[B]ecause women are disproportionately victims of rape and 13 sexual assault, women have a stronger incentive to be concerned with sexual 14 behavior…. Men, who are rarely victims of sexual assault, may view sexual 15 conduct in a vacuum without a full appreciation of the social setting or the 16 underlying threat of violence that a woman may perceive.”). Similarly, Plaintiff 17 fails to demonstrate how he is similarly situated to transgender inmates. 18 Plaintiff’s evidence is insufficient to demonstrate male inmates are similarly 19 situated to female inmates with respect to pat searches by guards of the opposite 20 sex. Even if Plaintiff were to establish that he is similarly situated, Plaintiff creates ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 8 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.174 Page 9 of 12 1 no issue of material fact as whether DOC’s policy is substantially related to an 2 important government objective. 3 2. Substantially Related Means for Important Government Objective 4 “Reduction of the disparity in economic condition between men and women 5 caused by the long history of discrimination against women has been recognized as 6 such an important governmental objective.” Califano v. Webster, 430 U.S. 313, 7 317 (1976). 8 Defendant asserts that the considerations for the pat search policy include 9 weighing the rights of inmates, the institutional need for security, the employment 10 rights of corrections officers, and the applicable state and federal laws. ECF No. 11 21 at 10. The vast majority of individuals incarcerated in DOC are male. Id. Out 12 of the twelve DOC facilities, only two facilities exclusively house females. Id. at 13 10-11. If female officers are not able to conduct pat searches at the ten facilities 14 housing males, employment opportunities would be “significantly diminished.” Id. 15 at 11. Moreover, prison resources and security would be disrupted if male officers 16 were required to respond in place of a female officer every time a pat search of a 17 male inmate were required. Id. 18 The Court finds there are no issues of material fact as to whether DOC’s 19 gender-based policy on pat searches substantially serves an important government 20 interest in promoting equal employment opportunities to female officers and ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 9 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.175 Page 10 of 12 1 maintaining DOC security. See Grummett v. Rushen, 779 F.2d 491, 495-96 (9th 2 Cir. 1985) (“Similarly, routine pat-down searches, which include the groin area, 3 and which are otherwise justified by security needs, do not violate the fourteenth 4 amendment because a correctional officer of the opposite gender conducts such a 5 search. . . . [W]e are satisfied that prison official in this case have struck an 6 acceptable balance among the inmates’ privacy interests, the institution’s security 7 requirements, and the female guards’ employment rights.”); and Michenfelder v. 8 Sumner, 860 F.2d 328 (9th Cir. 1988). Therefore, summary judgment on 9 Plaintiff’s equal protection claim is appropriate. 10 11 C. Motion for Continuance While the cross-summary judgments were pending, Plaintiff filed a Motion 12 for Continuance and to Compel Required Documents, seeking “Employee Conduct 13 Policies, DOC Standard Operating Procedures (“SOP”), and the PREA Screening 14 Questions for Transgender Offenders.” ECF No. 29 at 1. 15 Here, Plaintiff filed a response to Defendant’s cross-motion for summary 16 judgment and reply to his own motion. ECF No. 25. As this matter is fully 17 briefed, there is no basis for the Court to continue this matter. Moreover, Plaintiff 18 must go through discovery channels to obtain the documents he seeks, and 19 Defendant represents that he has made no such request for any discovery. ECF 20 No. 30 at 3; See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26, 34, 37. Plaintiff has not established that a ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 10 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.176 Page 11 of 12 1 continuance is necessary according to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d). Therefore, Plaintiff’s 2 motion for a continuance is denied. 3 4 D. Revocation of In Forma Pauperis Status Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), “[a]n appeal may not be taken in forma 5 pauperis if the trial court certifies in writing that it is not taken in good faith.” The 6 good faith standard is an objective one, and good faith is demonstrated when an 7 individual “seeks appellate review of any issue not frivolous.” See Coppedge v. 8 United States, 369 U.S. 438, 445 (1962). For purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1915, an 9 appeal is frivolous if it lacks any arguable basis in law or fact. Neitzke v. Williams, 10 11 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). The Court finds that any appeal of this Order would not be taken in good 12 faith and would lack any arguable basis in law or fact. Accordingly, the Court 13 hereby revokes Plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status. If Plaintiff seeks to pursue an 14 appeal, he must pay the full requisite filing fee. 15 ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 16 1. Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 18) is DENIED. 17 2. Defendant’s Cross Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 21) is 18 19 20 GRANTED. 3. Plaintiff’s Motion for Continuance and to Compel Required Documents (ECF No. 29) is DENIED. ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 11 Case 4:20-cv-05224-TOR 1 ECF No. 32 filed 10/29/21 PageID.177 Page 12 of 12 4. Plaintiff’s Equal Protection claim in violation of the Fourteenth 2 Amendment of the United State Constitution is DISMISSED with 3 prejudice. Thus, the remainder of the First Amended Complaint is 4 DISMISSED with prejudice. 5 5. The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal of 6 this Order would not be taken in good faith and would lack any arguable 7 basis in law or fact. Plaintiff’s in forma pauperis status is hereby 8 REVOKED. 9 10 11 The District Court Executive is directed to enter this Order and Judgment accordingly, furnish copies to the parties, and close the file. DATED October 29, 2021. 12 13 THOMAS O. RICE United States District Judge 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING DEFENDANT’S CROSS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO CONTINUE ~ 12
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