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Parties Involved:
Jari Askins
Appellee
Carolyn Crump
Appellee
Marzee Douglas
Appellee
Carl B. Hamm
Appellee
Farrell Hatch
Appellee
Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board
Appellee
Isa Abdullah Ramadan Shabazz
Appellant

Document Text:

.FILED 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

Umtm Staws Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 

OCT O 3 1991 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

ISA ABDULLAH R. SHABAZZ, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v. 

JERRY JOHNSON, Deputy Director; 

STEPHEN KAISER, Warden, 

Defendants-Appellees. 

ISA ABDULLAH RAMADAN SHABAZZ, 

Plaintiff-Appellant, 

v. 

JARI ASKINS; CAROLYN CRUMP; 

MARZEE DOUGLAS; CARL B. HAMM; 

FARRELL HATCH; OKLAHOMA PARDON 

AND PAROLE BOARD, 

Defendants-Appellees. 

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Clerk . 

Nos. 91-6005 & 91-6054 

(Civ-90-429-W) 

(W.D. Okla.) 

No. 91-6169 

(Civ. No. 91-CV-457-W) 

(W.D. Okla.) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

Before McKAY, Chief Judge, SEYMOUR, and EBEL, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of these appeals. See Fed. R. App. P. 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except 

for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 1 
34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. Therefore, these cases are ordered 

submitted without oral argument. 1 

Appeal Nos. 91-6005 and 91-6054 

BACKGROUND 

Although the factual history of this case is somewhat 

lengthy, a detailed recitation is necessary in order to understand 

the merits of the issues raised on appeal. On March 16, 1990, the 

plaintiff-appellant, Isa Abdullah R. Shabazz, filed a civil rights 

suit under 42 u.s.c. § 1983 in the United States District Court 

for the Western District of Oklahoma against the Deputy Director 

and the Warden of Lexington Correctional Center prison, the 

defendants-appellees, alleging interference with his First 

Amendment religious freedoms. Specifically, he claimed that 

prison officials were denying him the opportunity to practice his 

religious briefs on a weekly basis in a designated meeting place. 

He further claimed that he was denied access to various religious 

books, video cassettes, and tapes. Finally, he claimed that he 

was denied the opportunity to conduct fund raising activities so 

that his religious sec t could purchase religious materials. 

Shabazz requested declaratory and injunctive relief as well as 

compensatory and punitive damages. 

On July 19, 1990, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss 

stating that the religious materials Shabazz requested were 

already available. In addition, the defendants claimed that 

1 As a threshold matter, we do not find that the district court 

abused its discretion in refusing to appoint counsel to represent 

Shabazz in either case. Therefore, we AFFIRM the district court's 

decision in both cases to reject Shabazz's request that it do so. 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 2 
Shabazz's initial request for permission to create a group called 

the "Black Arts and Craft Club," which would sell various trinkets 

to visitors in order to raise funds to purchase materials, was 

rejected on the grounds that it was racially discriminatory. 

On August 16, 1990, Shabazz filed a supplemental complaint, 

in which he restated the original claims and added an additional 

claim that prison officials were infringing on his religious 

rights by referring to him by his "Christian slave name" and not 

by his Islamic name. Shabazz noted that he had legally changed 

his name from Jimmy Phillips to Isa Abdullah Ramadan Shabazz after 

the date of his incarceration following his conversion to be a 

Nubian Islamic Hebrew Muslim. 

In response to his supplemental complaint, the defendants 

once again claimed that the religious accommodations afforded to 

Shabazz were constitutionally sound. Further, they claimed that 

Shabazz had never formally requested the prison to assist him in 

obtaining materials that were otherwise not available at the 

prison: 

Contrary (sic] to the allegations in Plaintiff's 

complaint, he has never requested and thus, has never 

been denied any request for religious materials for use 

by the Islamic inmates .... (T]here is no record that 

Chaplain Vaughn received a request from Plaintiff which 

Plaintiff claims he submitted to the Chaplain on July 

19, 1990. Had such a request been received, it would 

not have been summarily denied on the basis of Plaintiff 

claiming to be a Nubian Islamic Hebrew Muslim. 

Brief in Support of Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Supplemental and 

Original Complaints at 6, R. Vol. I, Doc. 37 (emphasis added). 

With respect to Shabazz's claim that the defendants were using his 

"Christian slave name," the defendants noted that pursuant to an 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 3 
opinion issued by the General Counsel for the Oklahoma Department 

of Corrections, Shabazz's Islamic name would be recognized by the 

prison: "As a result of this opinion, the Department of 

Corrections [sic] records will not be changed, however benefits 

and services will not be denied any inmate who .has had a legal 

name change." Id. at 7. 

On November 30, 1990, the district court in a memorandum 

opinion and order dismissed Shabazz's claims that the defendants 

were violating his First Amendment rights by not providing him 

with religious materials and not allowing his sect to conduct fund 

raising activities to purchase religious materials. With respect 

to the additional claim Shabazz raised in his supplemental 

complaint, the court noted that Shabazz had produced copies of 

documents indicating that the prison was still refusing to 

acknowledge his Islamic name. Therefore, the court postponed 

reaching a decision on Shabazz's claim that his right to be 

referred to by his Islamic name was being infringed. 

Shabazz filed a motion for reconsideration. He cited to a 

letter he received from Warden Kaiser dated July 24, 1990, in 

which the Warden responded to his grievance/request that his First 

Amendment rights were being infringed upon. The Warden rejected 

his grievance: "I am returning your grievance dated July 24, 

1990, and attachments for resubmission due to too many 

attachments. Please note the highlighted area on the form: '(Use 

back side of page and, if necessary, no more than one attached 

8 1/2 x 11 page.)' [sic] Also, when filing documents within the 

DOC system, please use your incarcerated name. Failure to do so 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 4 
will also impede the progress of your requests." Letter from 

Warden to Shabazz, Exhibit to Shabazz's Amended Civil Rights 

Complaint, R. Vol. I., Doc. 29 (emphasis added). 

The district court rejected Shabazz's motion for 

reconsideration. With respect to Shabazz's remaining claim, the 

defendants explained that as a result of a delay in receiving the 

General Counsel's Opinion pertaining to inmate name changes, a few 

matters raised by Shabazz in which he used his Islamic name "fell 

through the cracks." The district court accepted this explanation 

and noted that the defendants had implemented new policies which 

recognized an inmate's right to use his legal name to procure 

prison benefits and services, even though his legal name may have 

been changed after the date of incarceration. As a result, the 

district court dismissed Shabazz's name-based constitutional 

claim. In addition, the district court rejected Shabazz's request 

for damages to compensate him for the deprivation of his First 

Amendment rights as a result of the defendants' past refusal to 

recognize his Islamic name. 

DISCUSSION 

The gravamen of Shabazz's claim is that he has been denied 

the right to practice his religious beliefs. The defendants have 

argued all along that they have never denied him his First 

Amendment rights because Shabazz never officially aired his 

grievances to them. In addition, following Shabazz's request that 

he be allowed to use his Islamic name, the prison has changed its 

policy to accommodate his (as well as others similarly situated) 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 5 
desires. Unfortunately, there was a time lag and as a result, it 

appears that the defendants may have disregarded Shabazz's 

grievance because he was not using his former name. In any event, 

given the defendants' apparent acceptance of Shabazz's right of 

access to prison services and benefits by using his prison name, 

it appears that Shabazz's name-based First Amendment claim may no 

longer have viability. 

In light of the defendants' admission that they would not 

summarily deny Shabazz's request for religious programs were it 

properly submitted, 2 

we VACATE AND REMAND to the district court 

with instructions that it order the defendants to consider 

Shabazz's request (1) that he be allowed access to various 

religious materials; (2) that he be allowed to participate in fund 

raising activities in order to procure funds for purchasing 

religious materials; and (3) that he be allowed a weekly 

opportunity to practice his religious beliefs. Once defendants 

have had an opportunity to consider and rule on plaintiff's 

request, they should report back to the district court. That 

report should further state fully and unequivocally the 

defendants' policy regarding Shabazz's request to use, and to 

require the prison to use, his Islamic name to the exclusion of 

any other name. Once the defendants' position is clearly 

established, the district court will then be in a position to 

determine whether there is any merit to Shabazz's constitutional 

claims and whether he is entitled to any relief. 

2 See Appellees' Appellate Br. at 7 & Brief in Support of Motion 

to Dismiss Plaintiff's Supplemental and Original Complaints at 6, 

R. Vol. I, Doc. 37. 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 6 
Appe al No. 91-6169 3 

In Civil Action No. 91-CIV-457-W, Shabazz asserts a claim 

under 42 u.s.c. § 1983 based upon alleged unconstitutional actions 

taken against him by members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole 

Board in retaliation for earlier suits that he has filed against 

prison officials. The district court characterized Shabazz's 

claims in this case as being in essence a claim that the Parole 

Board should ignore or disregard his prior criminal and litigative 

history under his present and former names. The district court 

concluded that this is the same claim that was raised by Shabazz 

and decided against him in No. 90-CIV-429-W. Accordingly, the 

district court dismissed that case as frivolous. 

We believe the district court has mischaracterized Shabazz's 

claims in this case. In Civil Action 91-CIV-457-W Shabazz is 

alleging a retaliation claim against the Oklahoma Pardon and 

Parole Board stemming from earlier litigation by Shabazz against 

prison officials. 4 In Civil Action 90-CIV-429-W, Shabazz raised 

claims seeking the opportunity to practice and pursue his 

litigation in certain ways, seeking the right to create a "Black 

Arts & Crafts Club," and to require the prison to deal with him 

using his Islamic name. Those claims in the two suits are 

separate and distinct. 

The district court should consider Shabazz's claim in Civil 

Action 91-CIV-457-W on its merits. Accordingly, we VACATE the 

3 Shabazz's petition to proceed informa pauperis is granted. 

4 We can not say that such a claim fails to state a claim as a 

matter of law. See Clark v. State of Ga. Pardons and Parole Bd., 

915 F.2d 636 (11th Cir. 1990). 

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Appellate Case: 91-6169 Document: 010110090749 Date Filed: 10/03/1991 Page: 7 
district court order in this case and REMAND for further 

proceedings consistent with this order. 

Therefore in appeals Nos. 91-6005 and 91-6054, which review 

the district court orders in No. 90-CIV-429-W, we VACATE and 

REMAND with instructions that the district court order the 

defendants promptly to consider the claims made by Shabazz in that 

lawsuit and to report back to the district court in a timely 

fashion. The district court should retain jurisdiction of that 

case so that it can take such further action as may be warranted 

after receiving back from the defendants the response requested 

herein. In appeal No. 91-6169, which reviews the district court's 

order in No. 91-CIV-457-W, we VACATE and REMAND with instructions 

that the district court consider the allegations in that complaint 

on its merits. 

Entered for the court: 

David M. Ebel 

Circuit Judge 

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