Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/671-f-2d-892-597266894
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 22:53:12+00:00

Document:
Party Name: Hayes WILLIAMS and Arthur Mitchell, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. David C. TREEN, Governor of the State of Louisiana, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
This is the latest chapter in the continuing saga of litigation concerning conditions at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Louisiana. In Williams v. Edwards, 1 547 F.2d 1206 (5th Cir. 1977), this Court upheld the imposition of broad injunctive relief intended to remedy the unconstitutional conditions at that facility. Now we are called upon to determine whether any of the defendants named in that action may be held personally liable for monetary damages. Specifically, we are asked whether, on this record, the defendant state officials have shown that they are entitled to an immunity from personal liability.
This action was brought against an array of Louisiana state officials 2 on behalf of four Angola State Penitentiary inmates: Lazarus Joseph, Lee Stevenson, Arthur Mitchell, and Hayes Williams. The plaintiffs filed their complaint in 1971, 3 alleging that as the result of illegal conditions and practices countenanced by the defendant officials, the inmates had suffered numerous deprivations of their constitutional rights. Specifically, each of the plaintiffs claimed that a policy of racial segregation at Angola violated his right to equal protection secured by the Fourteenth Amendment, and that overall conditions at Angola constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Plaintiff Mitchell claimed that on a specific occasion he was denied adequate medical treatment, a deprivation which he characterized as cruel and unusual punishment and as a denial of his rights to due process.
In December of 1973, the District Court conducted an inquiry into overall conditions at Angola in order to determine the need for injunctive relief. Evidence and testimony brought forward in this 1973 proceeding provided a voluminous record detailing the hellish conditions at the prison. Based upon this evidence, U. S. District Judge E. Gordon West found that conditions at Angola "shock(ed) the conscience of any right thinking person" and "flagrantly violate(d) basic constitutional requirements as well as applicable state laws." He further found that "state authorities (were) either failing or refusing to take the necessary steps to correct these conditions." Williams v. Edwards, 547 F.2d 1206, 1209 (5th Cir. 1977). Accordingly, Judge West granted broad injunctive relief designed to improve overall conditions at the facility. Williams v.
McKeithen, C.A. 71-98 (M.D.La., 1975). It was this 1975 order which we affirmed in Williams v. Edwards, supra.
The District Court did not consider the individual damage claims in its 1975 order. Instead, Judge West bifurcated the action, noting that the claims for monetary damages would be considered in a separate proceeding which was still yet to come. 4 Although the 1975 order held out the promise that there would be a trial on the merits of the individual damage claims, the record indicates that no further evidentiary hearing ever occurred. From 1971 until 1980, the plaintiffs' damage claims awaited adjudication.
Finally, on August 6, 1980, U. S. District Judge Frank J. Polozola 5 issued a ruling with respect to the individual damage claims. Citing to the Supreme Court's decision in Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 98 S.Ct. 855, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978), Judge Polozola held that insofar as the rights allegedly violated by the prison officials had not been "clearly established" at the times in question, the defendants were immune from personal liability. He therefore dismissed each of the damage claims.
on this record the defendant officials have shown that they are entitled to the protections of a Procunier immunity.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.

 v. 
 v.