Opinion ID: 2929088
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Fourteenth Amendment – Procedural Due Process

Text: Hall next argues Appellees violated his Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process right when placing Hall into seclusion. We disagree. “To set forth a procedural due process violation, a plaintiff, first, must establish that his protected liberty or property interest is at stake.” Gordon v. Hansen, 168 F.3d 1109, 1114 (8th Cir. 1999) (per curiam). “Second, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant deprived him of such an interest without due process of law.” Id. In this case, Hall asserts the Appellees unconstitutionally placed Hall in seclusion as a form of punishment, in violation of his constitutionally protected liberty interest. To support his position, Hall cites to the standard applicable to “conditions of confinement” claims by pretrial detainees. There, “[t]he proper inquiry is whether . . . conditions amount to punishment of the detainee, for, under the Due Process Clause, a detainee may not be punished prior to an adjudication of guilt.” Smith v. Copeland, 87 F.3d 265, 268 (8th Cir. 1996) (citing Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 535, 99 S. Ct. 1861, 60 L. Ed. 2d 447 (1979)). But “not every disability imposed during . . . detention amounts to ‘punishment’ in the constitutional sense.” Id. Instead, “if a particular condition or restriction of . . . detention is reasonably related to a legitimate governmental objective, it does not, without more, amount to ‘punishment.’ ” Id. -8- We have not previously decided whether the “conditions of confinement” standard for pretrial detainees applies to involuntarily committed individuals. We now apply that standard. See, e.g., Doe v. Gaughan, 808 F.2d 871, 879-80 n.9 (1st Cir. 1986) (applying the “conditions of confinement” standard to “the confinement of dangerously mentally ill men” at a “strict security” facility); Lynch v. Baxley, 744 F.2d 1452, 1461 (11th Cir. 1984) (same for “emergency detainees” placed in jail while “awaiting civil commitment proceedings”). Thus, we examine whether the record supports Hall’s claim that Appellees placed Hall in seclusion as “punishment” and not to serve a legitimate governmental objective. We have held “[t]he Government has legitimate interests that stem from its need to manage the facility in which the individual is detained.” Smith, 87 F.3d at 268. Further, in Whitfield v. Dicker, we held placing a pretrial detainee in segregation prior to a hearing did not violate his Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process because the purpose of the segregation was “for institutional security”—a legitimate governmental objective. 41 F. App’x 6, 7 (8th Cir. 2002) (per curiam) (unpublished). Here, the video footage shows Hall was engaging in disruptive behavior with regard to his use of the telephone. Hall was told not to call 911 and the restriction visibly angered Hall. Hall proceeded to make another telephone call. Hall’s behavior occurred around the time other patients were being discharged. Sworn statements by Leifeld state Hall was placed in seclusion “because he was uncooperative and unable to follow directions.” Further, Hall’s seclusion lasted for less than two hours. Based upon the record, the Detox Center had a legitimate governmental interest in maintaining order and efficiently managing the facility. Placement of Hall in seclusion for a short period of time was a reasonable means of meeting the objective. Therefore, Hall failed to show his seclusion was a form of “punishment” violating his constitutional rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. -9-