Opinion ID: 2785909
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: October 17, 2011 Shower Request

Text: On October 17, 2011, Mr. Goguen was housed in a cell on the bottom tier in E-pod. He asked to go upstairs to shower and was told that he was not allowed to go to the upper tier for any reason and that, as a lower-tier inmate, he could not shower after the top of the hour. Later Mr. Goguen, along with another inmate named Gill, argued with Officer Rizzo about the shower rules.23 The following day, Officer Rizzo wrote a disciplinary report and a notice of infraction for a violation of B–13, “Provocation,” in connection with the shower incident. Officer Eddie Jacques investigated the incident and spoke to Mr. Goguen. The officer told Mr. Goguen the nature of the alleged violation, asked for Mr. Goguen’s version of the events, and gave Mr. Goguen a copy of the notice. On October 20, 2011, Mr. Goguen received notice that a disciplinary hearing was scheduled for October 25, 2011. The hearing actually occurred 22 R.56-11 (SCJ Policy-“Inmate Discipline”) at 73. 23 Mr. Goguen does not allege that the rules did not exist or that they were being enforced in an arbitrary manner. ‐22‐ on October 31, 2011, with Officer Jeffrey Jacques as hearing officer. The officer heard testimony from Mr. Goguen and also considered video footage and the written responses to questions posed by Mr. Goguen to Llewellyn Eaton, Officer Julie Hayden, and Officer Rizzo.24 Officer Jeffrey Jacques found Mr. Goguen guilty of the provocation violation and imposed three days of disciplinary segregation. Major Allen denied Mr. Goguen’s appeal. 7. Miscellaneous Incidents, Grievances, and Requests Throughout September and October 2011, Mr. Goguen filed a number of grievances concerning the actions of SCJ officers. One grievance concerned a book entitled, “The Prisoner’s Self Help Litigation Manual.” According to Mr. Goguen, the book had been delivered to him at the beginning of September. When he returned from recreation on September 6, however, the book, as well as Mr. Goguen’s personal notes on the book, had been removed from his cell, allegedly by Officer Shawn Maguire. Mr. Goguen filed a grievance concerning the missing book. On September 21, Officer Maguire wrote a 24 Mr. Goguen also had posed questions to another inmate, Gill, but Gill had been released so was unavailable to respond to questions. ‐23‐ memorandum responding to this and four other grievances. Subsequently, Mr. Goguen filed grievances concerning his lack of access to various resources including law library books, prison policies, Title 34–A of the Maine Revised Statutes, and the self-help litigation manual; he also filed grievances concerning the staff at SCJ opening his legal mail.25 One of these subsequent grievances, filed on September 29, concerned the actions of Officer Rizzo. According to Mr. Goguen’s grievance, Officer Rizzo refused to have someone examine the documents that Mr. Goguen intended to bring to a meeting with his attorney. 25 Non-legal mail is opened and inspected for contraband. Any mail that is determined to be legal mail is not to be opened, but is attached to a legal mail inspection form and forwarded to the housing unit. The following day an officer in the housing unit delivers the mail and opens any legal mail in the presence of the inmate. Once the officer determines that the mail does not contain contraband, the legal mail is turned over to the inmate. Inmates are not allowed to have sealed envelopes in their cells, and there is no exception for legal mail. SCJ policy does permit inmates to send sealed envelopes without censoring, inspection, or restriction to certain recipients. According to the defendants, if an inmate in A-pod has outgoing legal mail, A-pod officers go around on the night shift with a sealed box for the inmate to place any legal mail in the box. The inmate seals the envelope immediately before placing it in the box. For inmates in E-pod, there is a box for mail in the pod. This box is picked up daily. The inmate can seal any mail right before placing it in the box. Mr. Goguen maintains that there is no rule about having to seal or not seal any envelopes. ‐24‐ According to Mr. Goguen, Officer Rizzo both denied his request and taunted him in doing so. On October 12, Officer Margaret Kelly confiscated Mr. Goguen’s legal file as he arrived for a meeting with his attorney, although the documents already had been examined for contraband and had been authorized for use at the meeting. The file was returned to Mr. Goguen later, but he did not have the benefit of his research and documentation in discussing his criminal case with counsel. 8. October 21, 2011 Placement in A-pod On October 21, 2011, Lieutenant Bugbee placed Mr. Goguen in administrative segregation and transferred him to A-pod because he “pose[d] a serious threat [to the] security or orderly running of the institution.”26 The “factual basis for [the] placement” was that Mr. Goguen had not “adjust[ed] to the rules and regulations set forth by this facility” and had continued to argue with and “be[] confrontational with Staff.”27 This placement was reviewed by non-defendant Sergeant Pullen on October 24, 2011, who determined that Mr. Goguen should remain 26 R.56-3 (Administrative Segregation Status Placement dated 10/21/11) at 23. 27 Id. ‐25‐ in administrative segregation; Mr. Goguen was provided with notice of this decision the day it issued. 9. Maximum Security Classification On October 26, 2011, Mr. Goguen was reclassified from medium security to maximum security because it was determined that he was a danger to the safety and security of the facility. Mr. Goguen received notice of his reclassification, and he appealed the reclassification decision. The appeal hearing was held on November 1, 2011. At the appeal hearing, the classification committee consisted of Officer Theresa Brown, Lieutenant Bugbee and two non-defendant officers, Stephen Giggey and Chris Murray. Mr. Goguen was present and testified at the hearing. The classification committee reviewed log entries concerning Mr. Goguen dated between July 23, 2011, and October 21, 2011. It determined that Mr. Goguen would remain in maximum security because he was very argumentative and disrespectful to officers and because he was unable to follow the rules of the facility. The classification committee makes its determinations based on majority vote. ‐26‐ Mr. Goguen was told that he could appeal his classification decision to Major Allen, but he did not do so.28 According to Mr. Goguen, an appeal would have been futile because it was Major Allen who had reclassified him to maximum security only five days earlier. Mr. Goguen remained in A-pod from October 21, 2011, until he was transferred out of SCJ in December 2011. Maximum security inmates are allowed the same amount of recreation, time for showers, and time for phone calls as inmates in administrative segregation. However, corrections officers place maximum security inmates in four-point restraints when they use the library cart and make phone calls. Mr. Goguen maintains that Sergeant Plourd imposed this requirement only on him, and this practice prevented him from accessing the library cart.29 He testified that this practice was enforced by Lieutenant Bugbee and Officer Jessica Almeida as well.30 28 An inmate is permitted to request review of classification status by a classification supervisor every sixty days. An inmate’s classification status is automatically reviewed every ninety days. 29 See R.83 (Goguen Dep.) at 42. 30 See id. at 43, 100. ‐27‐ 10. Other Incidents Among the other bases for Mr. Goguen’s complaints is that a drawing he made was confiscated as contraband because it contained gang symbols. Mr. Goguen had left the drawing inside a magazine in his cell, and the magazine with the drawing still in it was found in the possession of another inmate. Color drawings are considered contraband at the SCJ because some colored drawings have been used to conceal drugs; the inmates lick or swallow the colored paper to get high. Mr. Goguen maintains that there were no gang symbols in the drawing and questions whether inmates are able to hide drugs in a drawing made inside the SCJ. Mr. Goguen also testified that, on November 6, 2011, after being reclassified as a maximum-security inmate, Officers Eddie Jacques and Meunier ordered him to turn his back to the cell door and put his hands together out through a door slot. They then handcuffed him and pulled the door open suddenly, wrenching his arms and shoulders and causing severe pain in his shoulder and back.31 31 See id. at 94–95. ‐28‐ Finally, Mr. Goguen recounted that, in December 2011, he was moved by Officer Meunier from an observation cell to another A-pod cell that had blood, vomit, and feces in it. According to Mr. Goguen, both Officer Meunier and Officer Kelly denied him supplies to clean the cell.