Court Opinion

ID: 9489540
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:18:16.432813+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:35.178261
License: Public Domain

RYMER, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part, dissenting in part:
I agree that Hiser may pursue his claim for damages, as he was not incarcerated in Alaska when Cleary was decided and the actions about which he complains did not occur until almost a year later. Under these circumstances, the Cleary judgment cannot be dispositive of his individual claim, and I concur in the majority’s conclusion in this respect.
However, I do not agree that Hiser’s claims for declaratory and injunctive relief survive. Hiser complains about the right to photocopy. While photocopying was not an issue in Cleary, copying was. Alaska’s policy regarding photocopying of legal and other materials for inmates has remained unchanged since at least 1988. It therefore could have been raised as part of the class challenge that inmates were denied access to the courts in part on account of the policy on copying. Particularly in light of the extensive nature of the Cleary litigation and the comprehensive settlement reached so recently in that case (including, as it did, a specific provision on access to copying facilities), it is not inappropriate to expect a claimant seeking systemic relief with respect to copying to return to the Cleary court.
Nor can I agree with the majority that Ferguson v. Dep’t of Corrections, 816 P.2d 134 (Alaska 1991), stands for the broad proposition that we must disregard the principles of res judicata whenever a non-named class member wishes to start anew. Rather, Ferguson simply tells us that “there must have been a full and fair opportunity to litigate the issue before res judicata can be applied,” and that such an opportunity has been provided where, as here, “the class representatives are found to have made a competent attempt to protect the interests of the individual who now seeks to litigate the issue.” Id. at 138.
I would, therefore, affirm the district court on this issue.