Opinion ID: 152142
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Program Statement 1290.04

Text: Finally, the plaintiffs contend that the decision not to evacuate after Hurricane Rita violated nondiscretionary policy duties imposed by Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 1290.04, titled Correctional Statements and Accreditation. Program Statement 1290.04 requires federal correctional institutions to obtain accreditation from the American Correctional Association (ACA), a private, nonprofit organization. The ACA will grant accreditation if the correctional institution meets a certain number of mandatory and nonmandatory standards promulgated by the ACA. Full compliance with nonmandatory standards is not necessary to obtaining accreditation. See AM. CORRECTIONAL ASS'N, STANDARDS FOR ADULT CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS xviii (4th ed.2003). Throughout their briefing, the plaintiffs cite to a superseded version of this publication. The current, 2003 version sets out the standards that were applicable when Hurricane Rita made landfall in September 2005. In the current edition, the standards have been renamed Expected Practices and have been renumbered. In discussing the standards the plaintiffs have cited, we refer to both the superseded and renumbered versions. Program Statement 1290.04 sets out the requirement of ACA accreditation; the time frame for obtaining accreditation; the circumstances under which the time for accreditation may be extended or waived; procedures for annual recertification; and the methods through which compliance will be monitored and audited. It does not set out the particular mandatory and nonmandatory standards that the ACA considers in granting accreditation, nor does it incorporate them by reference. The plaintiffs do not allege that Maldonado's decision not to evacuate after Hurricane Rita resulted in a failure to obtain accreditation or recertification for the Penitentiary. They therefore have not alleged that Maldonado's decision violated nondiscretionary duties imposed by Program Statement 1290.04. In any event, the majority of the ACA standards that the plaintiffs allege to have been violated are nonmandatory. [10] And as to the mandatory statements that the plaintiffs allege were violated, none imposes duties that were violated by the decision not to evacuate. The plaintiffs cite Expected Practice 4-4332 (formerly Standard 3-4313), which requires institutions to provide[] for the control of vermin and pests, as evidence that the Penitentiary officials were required to remediate the mold that grew on the Penitentiary walls in the damp aftermath of the storm. But the plaintiffs do not cite a dictionary definition or otherwise explain how mold qualifies as a vermin or pest. The plaintiffs next cite Expected Practice 4-4330 (formerly Standard 3-4311), which requires an institution's potable water to be in compliance with jurisdictional laws and regulations, and contend that under this Expected Practice, the Penitentiary officials were required to comply with the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. But, as discussed above, the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act were suspended by law in the aftermath of the storm. Finally, the plaintiffs cite Expected Practice 4-4344 (formerly Standard 3-4331), which requires that [u]pon arrival at the facility, all offenders [be] informed about how to access health services and the grievance system. There is no allegation that the Penitentiary officials failed to inform inmates about health system access. In sum, Maldonado's decision not to evacuate did not violate any nondiscretionary duties imposed by the standards that the plaintiffs cite. The parties agree that in deciding not to evacuate after the storm, Maldonado was acting within the discretion accorded by 18 U.S.C. § 4042(a). The plaintiffs have not pointed to any nondiscretionary duties that were violated by the exercise of this discretion. Accordingly, the decision meets the first prong of the Berkovitz test.