Roberts v. Thrasher et al
Filing
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ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez re 27 Motion for TRO, filed by Joe JW Roberts, Jr. The Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation, Dkt. #36. Plaintiffs Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Dkt. #27, is DENIED without prejudice. **7 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL**(Joe Roberts, Prisoner ID: 394089)(SG)
Case 2:20-cv-00376-RSM Document 70 Filed 10/14/20 Page 1 of 7
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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JOE JW ROBERTS, JR.,
Plaintiff,
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CASE NO. C20-0376-RSM-BAT
Defendants.
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ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION AND
DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
ORDER
v.
TIM THRASHER, et al.,
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I.
INTRODUCTION
This matter comes before the Court on the Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) of the
Honorable Brian A. Tsuchida, United States Magistrate Judge. Dkt. #36. The R&R recommends
denial of Plaintiff Joe JW Roberts, Jr.’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Dkt. #27.
Having considered the R&R, Plaintiff’s Objections, Dkt. #37, the Government’s Response, Dkt.
#41, and the remainder of the record, the Court ADOPTS the R&R and DENIES Plaintiff’s motion.
II.
BACKGROUND
The Court adopts and incorporates by reference the factual background set forth in the
R&R. Dkt. #36 at 2-3. Plaintiff Joe JW Roberts, Jr., proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis,
was confined at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (“SCCC”) and recently moved to the Monroe
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RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
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Correctional Complex (“MCC”). See Dkt. #45. Plaintiff brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights
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complaint against 29 employees of the Washington Department of Corrections (“DOC”), including
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staff at the MCC, the Washington State Penitentiary (“WSP”), and ten unnamed male and female
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nurses. Dkt. #21. On September 2, 2020, this Court dismissed several of Plaintiff’s claims as
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duplicative of the claims raised in his other pending actions. Dkt. #28. The remaining claims
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allege events spanning the period 2017 to 2020 against the DOC Housing Coordinator Director,
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Tim Thrasher, DOC Director of Mental Health, Karie Rainer, and DOC Prisons Command
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Director, Scott Russell.
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Plaintiff’s motion states that he was approved by Defendant Rainer to receive mental health
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treatment in the Residential Treatment Unit (“RTU”) after signing a contract dated May 19, 2020.
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Dkt. #27. Pursuant to this contract, Plaintiff argues, Defendant Rainer agreed to place him in the
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RTU if he completed sixty days of treatment in the Intensive Management Unit (“IMU”). Plaintiff
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states that despite completing his sixty days in the IMU and Defendant Rainer approving him for
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placement in the RTU on July 14, 2020, he has not yet been transferred. Id. As a result, he has
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been in solitary confinement for approximately 1,092 days and only allowed outside his cell twice
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a week for a total of five hours. Plaintiff alleges that his current conditions exacerbate his mental
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illness, have induced bleeding ulcers from stress, and have precluded him from receiving adequate
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mental health treatment. For these reasons, he requests “an injunction against defendants Rainer
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and Thrasher” that orders his immediate transport to the RTU for his approved mental health
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treatment. Id. at 4.
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On September 10, 2020, Judge Tsuchida issued an R&R finding that Plaintiff failed to
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meet the standard for prospective relief as set forth under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. Dkt.
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#36 at 4-8 (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3626(a)(1)(A)). Parties seeking injunctive relief must show that
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RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
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they are likely to succeed on the merits, that they are likely to suffer irreparable harm without
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preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in their favor, and that an injunction is in the
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public interest. Winter v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008). Here, the R&R
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concluded that Plaintiff failed to demonstrate likelihood of success on the merits or likelihood of
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irreparable harm. See Dkt. #36 at 6-8. Specifically, the R&R found that Plaintiff’s assertions in
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his complaint and motion regarding his worsening mental health symptoms and concerns about
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self-harm were “largely conclusory” and lacked specific facts as to the conditions of confinement
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at SCCC, his location at the time of filing his motion for prospective relief, and whether such
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conditions are inadequate to keep him safe or place him “at risk of real and immediate harm.” Id.
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at 6. Furthermore, because Defendants presented evidence that Plaintiff’s request for transfer to
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RTU at the MCC–Special Offender Unit was being processed, the R&R concluded “it appears
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plaintiff will receive the relief he is requesting through the DOC administrative process without
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intervention by the Court.” Id. at 7. The record reflects that as of the date of this order, Defendant
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has already been transferred to the MCC. Dkt. #45.
III.
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DISCUSSION
A. Legal Standard
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A district court has jurisdiction to review a Magistrate Judge’s report and recommendation
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on dispositive matters. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b). “The district judge must determine de novo
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any part of the magistrate judge’s disposition that has been properly objected to.” Id. “A judge
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of the court may accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations
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made by the magistrate judge.” 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). The Court reviews de novo those portions
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of the report and recommendation to which specific written objection is made. United States v.
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Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir. 2003) (en banc).
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Plaintiff’s Objections, which vastly exceed the five-page length set forth in the R&R,
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object to the R&R on the basis that (1) he has proof that his current conditions exacerbate his
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mental illness and place him at risk of irreparable harm; (2) transfer to the MCC–Special Offender
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Unit in an Intensive Treatment Unit (“ITU”) is not the same as transfer to an RTU, and will not
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remedy his mental illness; and (3) Defendants have no reason to keep him at maximum custody
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level. Dkt. #37. The Court will address each objection in turn.
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Plaintiff attaches several documents to his Objections as proof that defendants “continue
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to falsify documentation and lie and continue to punish” Plaintiff, thereby exacerbating his mental
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illness. Dkt. #37 at 15. These documents include (a) kite communications between Plaintiff and
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prison personnel inquiring as to his transfer to the MCC upon completion of the 60-day treatment;
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(b) grievances submitted by Plaintiff between April 2020 and May 2020 alleging use of force and
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falsification of medical records, including appeals of his earlier grievances; (c) emergency
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complaints that Plaintiff submitted to health services from August 2019 through April 2020; (d)
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a primary encounter report detailing Plaintiff’s mental health diagnoses; and (e) custody review
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documents. See id. at 19-48. These documents, which reference incidents occurring between fall
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2019 and spring 2020, fail to demonstrate Plaintiff’s current risk of irreparable harm. Indeed, the
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April 4, 2020 self-harm incident that Plaintiff describes in his Objections occurred at the WSP,
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where Plaintiff is no longer housed. Id. at 9. Furthermore, in finding that Plaintiff failed to
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demonstrate likelihood of irreparable harm, the R&R also considered that Defendants had
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initiated his transfer process to the RTU at the MCC. See id. at 7 (“The fact that the transfer
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process is not moving as quickly as plaintiff would like is not an adequate basis, without more,
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for granting injunctive relief.”)
Consistent with this assessment, Plaintiff has since been
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RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
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transferred to the MCC. See Dkt. #45. For these reasons, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s claims
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that he faces immediate and irreparable harm are not sufficiently supported by the record.
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Next, Plaintiff objects that his approved transfer to the MCC–Special Offender Unit
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(“SOU”) is not a transfer to an RTU due to his current custody classification. See Dkt. #37 at 1-2
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(“[F]or Max custody inmates such as myself who go to SOU at MCC. The Max custody inmates
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go to a mental health treatment facility called the Intensive Treatment Unit “ITU” at the SOU-
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MCC, NOT RTU.”). Although Plaintiff directs the Court to DOC Policy 630.500 to explain the
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difference between an RTU and an ITU, the policy merely describes the three facilities, including
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the MCC, that offer residential treatment for offenders with significant mental health disorders.
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See DOC Policy 630.500(IV)(B).1 The Government, in response, maintains that the Special
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Offender Unit of the MCC is an RTU. Dkt. #41 at 2 (citing Dkt. #35 at ¶ 7 (“DOC has two mental
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health residential treatment units (RTUs) for male offenders; one is the Special Offender Unit
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[SOU] at the Monroe Correctional Complex [MCC] and one is located in the Baker-Adams-
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Rainier Units at the Washington State Penitentiary [WSP].”). The Government also clarifies that
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at the MCC, residential treatment is provided at the Special Offender Unit. See Dkt. #35 at ¶ 7.
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For these reasons, the Court finds Plaintiff’s objection unsupported by the record.
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Relatedly, Plaintiff objects to his custody classification level and argues that irreparable
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harm will not be prevented unless his custody level is changed. See Dkt. #37 at 12 (“Defendants
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have no reason to keep me on max and continue this prolonged torture of isolation”). As an initial
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matter, Plaintiff’s motion makes no mention of lowering his custody level. See Dkt. #27 at 4
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Pursuant to Fed. R. Evid. 201(c)(1), the Court takes judicial notice sua sponte of DOC Policy 630.500,
available on DOC’s website. See Gustavson v. Wrigley Sales Co., No. 12-CV-01861-LHK, 2014 WL
60197, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 7, 2014) (taking judicial notice of documents available through government
agency websites).
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(Requesting immediate order for transport to RTU at MCC and provision of approved mental
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health treatment). Moreover, to the extent Plaintiff now requests changes to his custody level, his
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assertions that Defendants “have no reason to keep [him] on max” are conclusory and unsupported
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by the record. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has acknowledged the Government’s discretion
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to determine the best placement for individuals within its custody. See, e.g., Meachum v. Fano,
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427 U.S. 215, 227 (1976) (“[T]ransfer [between prisons] in a wide variety of circumstances is
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vested in prison officials . . . .”); Hewitt v. Helms, 459 U.S. 460, 467 (1982), overruled in part on
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other grounds by Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472 (“[P]rison officials have broad administrative
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and discretionary authority over the institutions they manage”). In light of this broad authority,
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the Court cannot conclude that granting this requested relief based on the current record would
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favor the public interest.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
Having reviewed the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Brian A. Tsuchida,
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United States Magistrate Judge, Plaintiff’s Objections, the Government’s Response, and the
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remaining record, the Court finds and ORDERS:
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(1)
The Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation, Dkt. #36.
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(2)
Plaintiff’s Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, Dkt. #27, is DENIED
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without prejudice.
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(3)
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Tsuchida.
The Clerk is directed to send copies of this Order to the parties and to Judge
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ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
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Dated this 14th day of October, 2020.
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A
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RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION AND DENYING
MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING
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