Court Opinion

ID: 9793751
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:52:21.620778+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:06:43.718083
License: Public Domain

GRODIN, J., Concurring and Dissenting.
As the majority observes, the Legislature has enacted a variety of statutes to protect the religious freedom of both juvenile wards and adult prisoners in this state, and the proposed installation of an electronic listening device in a Youth Authority chapel raises troublesome questions under a number of these provisions. As I shall explain, however, I find myself in disagreement with the majority’s analysis on a number of points.
I
To begin with, I agree with the majority that Penal Code section 636 does not prohibit only “secret” monitoring of confidential priest-prisoner conversations, but rather guarantees the fundamental right of prisoners to consult confidentially with an attorney, religious advisor or physician. Just as the Youth Authority could not properly preclude a prisoner and his attorney from communicating confidentially even if it posted a large sign outside the attorney conference room notifying the prisoner and attorney that their conversation was being monitored (cf. De Lancie v. Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal.3d 865, 876 [183 Cal.Rptr. 866, 647 P.2d 142]), so it may not, consistent with section 636, effectively preclude confidential conversations between a juvenile ward and his religious advisor through overt monitoring. Although the Youth Authority may take other measures to ensure the security of the correctional facility, section 636, in my view, precludes it from adopting a surveillance procedure that invades the sanctity of the confessional. Thus, if the proposed monitoring system in fact prevented a ward from conversing confidentially with his religious advisor, I agree that the system would violate section 636, even if the ward and priest were fully aware that their conversation was being overheard.
To my mind, the relevant question under section 636 is whether the proposed system at issue here will in fact foreclose or improperly intrude on confidential priest-prisoner conversations. Although it appears from the evidence presented at the hearing that the proposed placement of the microphone would permit security officials to monitor conversations in the sanctuary or foyer, the only evidence presented with respect to conversations *702within the priest’s office suggests that, when the office door is closed, the contents of private conversations within the office cannot be overheard. On this record, I do not believe we could properly find otherwise. Of course, if in the future it is shown that the listening device does, in fact, intrude on confidential conversations, I believe that the device would have to be removed.
The majority concludes, however, that even if the priest’s office is available for confidential, unmonitored conversations, the surveillance system nonetheless violates section 636 because authorities can overhear conversations between a ward or his religious advisor in the public areas of the - chapel. Although the opinion acknowledges that section 636 would not be violated if a conversation between a priest and a ward were overheard by a microphone in other areas of the juvenile facilities (ante, p. 681), it concludes that section 636 prohibits the prison authorities from installing a listening device “in locations traditionally used” for priest-prisoner conversations. (Ante, p. 681.)
The majority cites no authority to support this construction of section 636, and I find it difficult to accept this view of the statute. In the analogous context of attorney-prisoner conversations, I think that it has generally been understood that prison authorities ordinarily retain the authority to decide where confidential conversations may take place; so long as the authorities provide adequate facilities for such confidential conversations, I do not think we would find that section 636 was violated simply because an attorney or prisoner believes that some other locale within the facility would be preferable. For similar reasons, I conclude that section 636 does not prescribe a specific locale for priest-prisoner conversations and so long as the prison or juvenile authorities provide an adequate opportunity and facilities for confidential, unmonitored conversations between a ward and his religious advisor, the surveillance of other areas of the facility does not violate the statute.1
Accordingly, on the present record, I would not find that the proposed monitoring system violates section 636.
II
Even if the challenged security system does not impermissibly infringe on a ward’s opportunity to engage in confidential discussions with his *703religious advisor, the proposed surveillance of “public” religious services or of priest-led group discussions raises questions under a number of additional statutory provisions which (1) assure that wards must be “afforded reasonable opportunities to exercise religious freedom” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 1705) and (2) permit correctional authorities to limit a prisoner’s rights only to the extent “necessary in order to provide for the reasonable security of the institution in which he is confined and for the reasonable protection of the public.” (Pen. Code, § 2600.) As I explain, although I agree with the majority’s reversal of the trial court judgment, the basis of my conclusion differs from that of the majority.
To begin with, there seems little question but that the routine surveillance or bugging of religious services does implicate First Amendment concerns. Outside the prison context, I trust that no one would doubt that a governmental policy of routinely bugging churches or synagogues, or of regularly monitoring the content of sermons or religious group counseling, would be unconstitutional, at least in the absence of the most compelling governmental justification. In White v. Davis (1975) 13 Cal.3d 757 [120 Cal.Rptr. 94, 533 P.2d 222], we held that allegations of routine police surveillance of university classrooms stated a prima facie case of a violation of First Amendment freedoms in light of the potential chilling effect such surveillance would have on freedom of speech. (See also Local 309 v. Gates (N.D.Ind. 1948) 75 F.Supp. 620 [surveillance of union meeting]; Bee See Books Inc. v. Leary (S.D.N.Y. 1968) 291 F.Supp. 622 [surveillance of book store].) It is difficult to see why a similar surveillance operation conducted in a municipality’s churches would not have a comparable chilling effect on freedom of religion. Thus, I agree with the majority that because the proposed surveillance system will have at least some adverse effect on the right of religious freedom, the state bears the burden of demonstrating adequate justification for the adoption of such a measure.
As the majority also recognizes, however, the state obviously has a much greater justification in imposing security measures in a chapel located in a prison or in a Youth Authority facility than it does in a neighborhood church. There are inherent security risks in a correctional institution whenever a group of wards or prisoners assemble, and correctional authorities bear the responsibility of protecting priests, chaplains, or rabbis, as well as other staff members and vulnerable wards, from potential danger. Unfortunately, prison chapels, no less than exercise yards or other common areas, may become the site of violent incidents.
The question thus narrows to whether the proposed security measure impinges on religious freedom “only to the extent necessary in order to provide for the reasonable security of the institution.” The correctional *704authorities in this case do not maintain that in order to provide for the reasonable security of the facility it is necessary routinely to monitor ordinary conversations that occur in the chapel area. As the majority explains, the security system at issue here is designed to operate initially simply as an alarm system, and to serve that purpose the microphone in the chapel vestibule is normally to be set at a threshold level “just above the level of ‘background’ noise so that only ‘loud’ rather than ‘routine’ noises will trigger the control room speaker. ” (Ante, p. 675.) If the system could operate only in this fashion, and if ordinary conversations could be overheard only after some emergency alarm had been triggered, I think that the adverse effect on religious freedom would be so minimal that the validity of the system could easily be sustained.
Problems arise, however, from the fact that the microphone, once in place, is capable of intruding on religious services and counseling to a degree beyond that which the authorities claim is needed for security purposes. Under the proposed system, routine monitoring of ordinary conversations is possible, and the apprehension that such monitoring may be occurring may cast a pall over religious activities in the chapel that is not justified by security concerns. The difficult question posed here is what remedy, if any, is appropriate when the government seeks to use a surveillance device which, on the one hand, can be operated in a manner that will not improperly impinge on individual rights, but, on the other hand, may also be used in an improperly intrusive manner.
In other contexts, courts have concluded that before law enforcement authorities may institute a new enforcement technique that has the potential for unduly impinging on protected rights, the authorities must promulgate regulations directed at confining the use of the technique within proper limits. For example, numerous decisions have required local police departments to establish guidelines for field officers before allowing the departments to set up sobriety checkpoints aimed at apprehending and deterring drunk drivers. (See, e.g., Stark v. Perpich (D.Minn. 1984) 590 F.Supp. 1057, 1059-1060; State ex rel. Ekstrom v. Justice Court (1983) 136 Ariz. 1 [663 P.2d 992, 1000] (Feldman, J., conc.); State v. Olgaard (S.D. 1976) 248 N.W.2d 392, 394-395.) And, in a variety of other situations, courts have similarly compelled a supervisory law enforcement entity to promulgate objective standards in order to constrain the free-ranging discretion of law enforcement officers. (See, e.g., United States v. Bryant (1971) 142 App.D.C. 132 [439 F.2d 642, 652 & fn. 22] [procedures for preservation of evidence gathered in criminal investigation]; Quad-City Community News Service, Inc. v. Jebens (S.D. Iowa 1971) 334 F.Supp. 8, 17-18 [regulations governing issuance of police press passes]; Morales v. Schmidt (7th Cir. 1974) 494 F.2d 85, 87-88 (Stevens, J., conc.), 88-89 (Swygert, J., conc.) *705[emphasizing need for carefully drawn regulations to govern restrictions on prisoner communications].)
These decisions are in line with the views long expressed by a number of distinguished academic commentators, who have repeatedly emphasized the importance of explicit regulations in controlling the potentially broad discretion exercised by police and other law enforcement personnel. (See, e.g., Amsterdam, Perspectives on the Fourth Amendment (1974) 58 Minn.L.Rev. 349, 416-429; McGowan, Rule-Making and the Police (1972) 70 Mich.L.Rev. 659; Davis, Administrative Law of the Seventies (1976 supp.) § 4.00-6, pp. 125-126; 3 LaFave, Search and Seizure (1986 supp.) § 10.8, p. 210; ABA Standards Relating to Electronic Surveillance (Approved Draft 1971) § 5.18, p. 26.) Where, as here, potentially overly intrusive surveillance devices may chill protected religious activity, the promulgation of clearly drawn guidelines to limit the misuse of such surveillance tools seems eminently reasonable and appropriate.2
As the majority notes, however, there is nothing in the present record to suggest that the correctional authorities have adopted any guidelines establishing minimum threshold levels at which the microphone should generally be set or imposing sanctions on personnel who misuse the security system to eavesdrop on ordinary counseling sessions or religious services in the chapel. From all that appears, such regulations would in no way impinge on the facility’s legitimate security interests but would help assure that the system does not unduly intrude on religious freedom.
Under these circumstances, I believe the trial court should properly have enjoined the installation of the listening device, pending the promulgation of adequate regulations limiting the use of the system in a manner that serves the security interest of the facility but that does not unnecessarily intrude on religious services or counseling sessions. Accordingly, I concur in the reversal of the judgment.

I am aware of no case which addresses the question whether section 636 was intended to protect the confidentiality of group counseling sessions by a religious advisor, as contrasted with one-on-one confessions or conversations. In the somewhat analogous context of the priest-penitent privilege, the relevant statute defines the privileged “penitential communication” to mean “a communication made in confidence, in the presence of no third person so far as the penitent is aware.” (Evid. Code, § 1032; cf. Simrin v. Simrin (1965) 233 Cal.App.2d 90 [43 Cal.Rptr. 376].)

Of course, the mere promulgation of regulations does not ensure validity; the guidelines embodied in the regulations must still satisfy the relevant statutory and constitutional standards. Once a valid regulation has been adopted, however, particular conduct by individual law enforcement personnel may readily be measured against the established policy.