Federal Defenders of New York, Inc. v. Federal Bureau of Prisons et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT against Federal Bureau of Prisons, Herman Quay, filed by Federal Defenders of New York, Inc.. (Attachments: #1 Civil Cover Sheet) (Davis, Kimberly)

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U.S. Uiomiv_,i

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

t.u.N.Y.

FEB 0 ^ 2019

PROOKLYN OFFICE

FEDERAL DEFENDERS OF NEW YORK,INC.,
on behalf of itself and its clients detained at the

Metropolitan Detention Center- Brooklyn,
Plaintiff,

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ass

Na

FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS and

WARDEN HERMAN QUAY,in his official
capacity.

BRODIE, J.
GOLD, MJ.

Defendants.

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Plaintiff Federal Defenders of New York, Inc.(the "Federal Defenders"), by and through

its undersigned counsel, for its Complaint against Defendants Federal Bureau ofPrisons("BOP")
and Warden Herman Quay, alleges as follows:
INTRODUCTION

1.

There is a humanitarian crisis taking place at the main federal detention facility in

this District. The conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York
("MDC"), are inhumane, violate the constitution, and are causing irreparable harm to both MDC
detainees and the Federal Defenders.

2.

On Sunday, January 27, 2019, there was a fire at the MDC.The fire affected the

power source for the MDC's West Building, which houses male inmates, and resulted in what
the BOP has characterized as a "partial power outage."

3.

Defendants' response to the fire has been woefully inadequate. They have been

slow to acknowledge the problem and have not taken sufficient steps to obtain temporary

supplies of electricity or heat, or to repair the damage.

tSt

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4.

Critically, since January 27,there has been near-total cancellation of legal and

family visiting for male inmates at the MDC. Defendants cancelled legal visiting each day
between January 27 and February 2, and substantially curtailed visiting on February 3.
5.

Further, Defendants have issued misleading statements to the public and to the

courts about the significantly deleterious conditions facing MDC inmates.
6.

Defendants' misstatements were made manifest when a Federal Defenders

attorney was given access to the MDC—access which Defendants granted only following the
issuance ofan administrative order by the Chief Judge ofthis District. That visitation revealed
that the Defendants' response to the fire has caused significant and serious deprivations ofthe
constitutional rights ofthe MDC detainees.

7.

The Defendants' deprivation of MDC detainees' constitutional rights has caused

and is causing irreparable harm to the Federal Defenders and its clients.
THE PARTIES

8.

Plaintiff Federal Defenders ofNew York, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit

corporation with offices in Brooklyn, Central Islip, Manhattan, and White Plains, New York.
Federal Defenders is dedicated to offering public defense services to indigent persons in federal
criminal cases in the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.

9.

Defendant BOP is a component ofthe United States Department of Justice. It is

the federal agency that administers federal jail and prison facilities. It is responsible for the
custody and care of more than 180,000 inmates nationwide.
10.

Defendant Herman Quay is the Warden ofthe MDC in Brooklyn.

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JURISDICTION AND VENUE

11.

The Court has subject matterjurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C.§ 1331 and 5 U.S.C.

§ 702. The Federal Defenders seek declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 706
and 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202.

12.

Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) and (e)(1) because a substantial

part ofthe events and/or omissions giving rise to the claims asserted herein occurred within this
District, the Federal Defenders reside in this District, and Defendants are officers, employees, or

agencies ofthe United States acting in their official capacity.
BACKGROUND
A.

The MDC

13.

The MDC is the principal federal pre-trial detention facility in this District. It is

operated by Defendant BOP and led by Defendant Herman Quay,the warden ofthe facility.

14.

The vast majority ofthe more than 1,600 detainees held at the facility are being

held prior to trial and thus are presumed innocent ofthe crimes for which they may ultimately be
tried.

15.

The MDC is located in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It

consists oftwo buildings, the West Building, which houses male inmates, and the East Building,
which houses female inmates. BOP regulations, and an Institution Supplement for MDC issued
by Defendant Quay, set forth specific and detailed rules for legal and social visitation.
16.

The MDC's standard practice is to allow for attorney visitation from 8:00 a.m. to

8:00 p.m. seven days per week.

17.

MDC inmates rely heavily on electricity beyond just the basic services related to

heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. For example, inmates rely on CorrLinks, the BOP's e-

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mail system, to communicate with counsel and family, and also use electronic platforms to
submit medical requests, prescription refills, and administrative grievances.
B.

The Fire at the MDC

18.

On January 27, 2019, a power source in the switch gear room in the West

Building ofthe MDC caught fire, leading to partial yet wide-ranging power outages.
19.

Following the fire, MDC inmates reported to attorneys at the Federal Defenders

that there was little or no heating, no or limited hot water, minimal access to electricity, and near
total lack of access to certain medical services, telephones, televisions, computers, laundry, or
commissary. Inmates also reported that they smelled noxious fumes; some reported seeing BOP
officers wearing masks. No masks were supplied to inmates.
20.

Further, the BOP cancelled both legal and social visiting in the aftermath ofthe

21.

Legal and social visiting were cancelled entirely on January 28, January 29,

fire.

January 30, January 31, February 1, and February 2.

22.

On February 2, 2019, the BOP informed the Federal Defenders that legal visiting

would resume at MDC the next day. On February 3, however, less than four hours after legal

visiting resumed, visiting attorneys began to smell a strong chemical scent, and started coughing,
when pepper spray was dispersed in the visiting room. Legal visits were then abruptly cut short,
and the visiting attorneys were escorted out ofthe MDC.Public reports indicate that BOP
officials pepper sprayed individuals that had assembled in the lobby ofthe MDC.
23.

As a result, for each day since the fire, up to the date ofthis Complaint, the people

housed at MDC were prevented from meeting with the attorneys that were representing them in
pending criminal proceedings.

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C.

The BOP's Stonewalling and False Statements

24.

During the week following the fire, attorneys at the Federal Defenders sought to

engage with BOP officials regarding troubling reports they had received from people held at
MDC.

25.

BOP officials were largely non-responsive. They refused to provide detailed or

accurate information about the conditions at MDC or the reasons that legal visitations were
cancelled.

26.

Specifically, BOP officials frequently did not respond to certain inquiries by

attorneys at the Federal Defenders, and, when they did respond, they offered explanations that
were inconsistent with the conditions that had been described by the MDC inmates. For example,

one BOP attorney represented to a Federal Defenders attorney on two separate occasions that he

was "informed that the power outage did not impact the heating in the institutions" and that "the
heat is operational." As discussed below, however, the power outage following the fire had a
significant impact on the MDC's heating system.
27.

On January 30,2019, a BOP official informed an attorney at the Federal

Defenders that legal visitation rights would resume "as soon as [the visiting room in the West

Building] is usable," but represented that "if visitation is not returned to normal by next week, a
temporary procedure will be implemented to allow for legal visits to take place in the east

visiting room." The BOP has never explained why that temporary procedure was not put in place
immediately. That procedure is, in fact, routinely used for co-defendant meetings.
28.

On February 1,2019, Defendant Quay,the warden ofthe MDC,provided a

purported update as to the conditions at the MDC to the United States District Court for the
Southern District of New York. Defendant Quay reported the following:

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Inmates have not been confined to their cells and are still allowed

leisure/recreational activities. There is currently no TV/Internet.
Inmates still have access to Public Defender Phones which are

working. Heat has never been impacted and is monitored regularly
due to the cold weather. Heat is in the high 60s and low 70s. Hot
water has not been impacted as it is on the same system as the heat.
There are no problems with meals, prisoner are still receiving hot
meals. There is no problem with medical, medications are still
delivered twice daily. The only issue related to medication is that
the computers are not working so you can not request medical
through the computers. Medical still can be requested through their
units and also during the twice daily medical runs. The visiting
room is without power which is why there was no visitations. The
staff has temporary wiring in place and should have attorney
visiting up today.

29.

Later that day, following an order from Chief Judge Irizarry, Deirdre von

Domum,Attomey-in-Chief ofthe Federal Defenders for the Eastern District, visited the MDC.

As set forth in detail in her declaration accompanying the Federal Defender's application for a
temporary restraining order, filed contemporaneously herewith and incorporated by reference
herein, von Domum discovered that much of what Defendant Quay told the Southern District

was materially false and/or misleading. For example, the attorney at Federal Defenders witnessed
the following:

a.

the facility was very cold (including one unit in which cold air was

blowing from facility vents), such that BOP officers were wearing
multiple layers and scarves around their heads, yet many inmates were
wearing only short-sleeved shirts and light cotton pants;

b.

the lights were not functioning in individual cells, leaving the cells in total
darkness;

c.

inmates widely reported that they had been unable to fill medical

prescriptions or request new medical care because the medical computer

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system was not in operation, leading to numerous instances in which
serious medical conditions were not receiving necessary treatment;
d.

inmates were unable to submit administrative grievances;

e.

inmates had not received clean clothing or bedding since the fire, forcing
one inmate, for example, to sleep on bedding that was made bloody due to
his ulcerative colitis;

f.

large fluctuations in water temperature and potability;

g.

one MDC official reported that certain inmates had not been allowed
outside of their cells at all since the date ofthe fire; and

h.

certain inmates received only cold food for the several days following the
fire.

30.

Despite what was witnessed by von Domum,the BOP issued a press release the

following day, February 2, 2019, which repeated certain ofthe materially false or misleading
statements made by Defendant Quay. Most notably, the BOP press release represented that
"medical services continue to be provided," even though numerous inmates reported not
receiving needed medical care.

31.

On February 3,2019,the BOP updated its press release, including three principal

additions. First, that heating to the building "was not affected by the power outage." Second, that
"[m]edical staff have checked and continue to check each inmate cell-by-cell periodically and
continue to dispense required medications and address the medical needs ofthe inmate
population." Third, that "[l]egal visits will be available today." Ofcourse, those first two

representations wholly contradict what von Domum learned and observed during her visit two
days earlier. As for the third, as noted above, limited legal visits were permitted in the moming

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before legal visitation was abruptly cut short and the visiting attorneys were escorted out ofthe
MDC.
D.

The Harm to the Federal Defenders and Their Clients

32.

The events described above have significantly impacted the Federal Defenders'

ability to achieve the organization's principal objectives. The Federal Defenders have been

unable to meet with or speak privately with their clients detained at the MDC,which has
impaired client representation in several ways.
33.

For example, the Federal Defenders have been unable to review discovery files

with clients who are deciding whether to go to trial, how to plead, and how to frame a sentencing
strategy. Additionally, presentence interviews with Federal Defenders' clients, as well as expert

interviews, have been cancelled, which will significantly delay these clients' access to Justice.
Meeting cancellations also have lengthened Federal Defenders' clients' stays at MDC because
clients being considered for reentry programs could not be interviewed and thus released into
those programs.
34.

The events described above have caused a significant drain on the Federal

Defenders' resources. The Federal Defenders have been forced to spend significant time, focus,
and resources in addressing the issues at the MDC and attempting to visit clients there.

35.

The Federal Defenders(and their clients at MDC)will be irreparably harmed if

the above conduct is not preliminarily and permanently enjoined.
CLAIMS

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION

(Violation of the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel)

36.
forth herein.

The Federal Defenders incorporate all ofthe preceding paragraphs as if fully set

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37.

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that "[i]n all criminal

prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right...to have the Assistance of Counsel for his
defence." Actions that substantially interfere with the right to counsel constitute a violation of
the Sixth Amendment.

38.

Defendants have cancelled nearly all legal visiting in the West Building ofthe

MDC since January 27 until the date ofthis Complaint. Their refusal to provide detailed
information about these cancellations to defense counsel, as well as the dire conditions in which

MDC inmates find themselves, have only made it more difficult for inmates to access their
attorneys.
39.

These actions constitute substantial interference with Federal Defender clients'

right to counsel, in violation ofthe Sixth Amendment.
SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION

(Violation of the Administrative Procedure Act)

40.

The Federal Defenders incorporate all ofthe preceding paragraphs as if fully set

forth herein.

41.

BOP regulations require wardens to "provide the opportunity for pretrial inmate-

attorney visits on a seven-days-a-week basis." 28 C.F.R. §551.117(a).
42.

BOP regulations also prohibit any limitation of"the frequency of attorney visits"

for all inmates, and obligate wardens to "make every effort to arrange for a visit" even when an
attorney is unable to provide prior notification. 28 U.S.C. § 543.13(b),(d).
43.

The BOP's failure to follow its own regulations is arbitrary and capricious and

contrary to the law, and thus a violation ofthe Administrative Procedure Act. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2).

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REQUEST FOR RELIEF

44.

WHEREFORE,Plaintiff respectfully requests that the Court:

a.

Declare that Defendants' denial of legal visiting violates the Sixth

Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by improperly interfering with the right to counsel;
b.

Declare that Defendants' denial of legal visiting arbitrarily and

capriciously fails to comply with the BOP's own regulations, in violation ofthe
Administrative Procedure Act;

c.

Preliminarily and permanently enjoin Defendants and their officers,

agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting in concert or
participation with them, from talcing any actions to prevent legal visiting from taking
place on a daily basis at the MDC,and from taking any action to prevent social visiting
for all inmates from occurring in accordance with the MDC's normal schedule and
procedures for such visits;

d.

Hold a hearing to evaluate the conditions ofconfinement that are

infnnging the constitutional rights ofinmates at the MDC and require the Defendants to
supply information about those conditions;
e.

Appoint a special master to inspect the MDC and undertake the

factfinding necessary to determine whether Defendants are protecting the constitutional
rights ofinmates in their custody;
f.

Award Plaintiffs attorneys' fees, costs, and other expenses to the extent

permitted by law; and

g.

Award such other and further relief as the Court determines to be Just and

proper.

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Dated: Brooklyn, New York
February 4, 2019
Respectfully submitted.

Sean Hecker
Jenna M. Dabbs
Joshua Matz
Derek Wikstrom

Matthew J. Craig
Benjamin D. White {admission pending)
Kaplan,Hecker & Fink LLP
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7110
New York, New York 10118
[phone]

[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Counselfor PlaintiffFederal Defenders ofNew
York, Inc.

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