Court Opinion

ID: 9474029
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:45:59.635538+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:43:51.908136
License: Public Domain

COFFEY, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur in Judge Jameson’s opinion. I write separately only because I believe it is imperative that we detail the alleged deficiencies in the jail’s structure and operation that allegedly caused the claimed trauma or stress that gave rise to the award of monetary damages. The plaintiffs in this class action are divided into two sub-classes of inmates incarcerated in the Madison County Jail, the first group being those persons residing in the jail between October 19, 1979 and December 18, 1980 and the second group consisting of those persons residing in the jail between December 19, 1980 and Juné 30, 1981. At the trial, the defendants admitted that prior to December 19, 1980, the Madison County Jail did not meet minimum constitutional standards, stating in a signed consent decree of February 15, 1980, that:
“(1) the jail was over crowded approximately fifty percent of the time;
(2) there was no ventilation in any of the cell blocks;
(3) the shower and toilet facilities were often inoperative and that drainage and plumbing was inadequate, often causing back ups in the drains;
(4) the closed-circuit security televisions were inoperable;
(5) many windows were boarded up in an attempt to block out the elements, or were inoperable, thereby allowing the elements to come into the cell block areas;
(6) the physical design of the jail limited the opportunity to segregate inmates;
(7) that the administrative staff in the jail was inadequate to provide proper supervision;
*846(8) there was no recreation or exercise area available to the inmates;
(9) the program for providing healthcare to inmates was inadequate; and
(10) no written policy was enforced governing the administration of the jail.”
The consent decree went on to state that the County would remedy these deficiencies in the jail.1 The County, while admitting that the jail did not meet the minimum constitutional standards during the time persons in the first sub-class were incarcerated in the jail, claimed at trial that funds had been expended to improve the conditions in the jail and that after December 19, 1980 and through June 30,1981 (the second sub-class period), the jail did in fact meet minimal constitutional standards. However, as detailed in Judge Jameson’s opinion, the plaintiffs from the second sub-class period did present evidence that the food was inadequate,2 that the ventilation had not substantially improved,3 and also that proper jail supervision of inmates was still lacking.4 As noted in Judge Jameson’s majority opinion, judgment notwithstanding the verdict may be granted only where the evidence, read in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, is insufficient to support the verdict. See, e.g., Schultz v. Owens-Illinois, 696 F.2d 505, 510-11 (7th Cir.1982).
While the record contains numerous references to the various alleged undesirable conditions existing in the jail, the issue on appeal is whether there is any evidence in the record to support an award of damages on a class-wide basis. It is not the conditions in the jail that properly give rise to an award of damages; rather it is the alleged trauma or stress suffered by the inmates as a result of those conditions that give rise to an award:
“Specifically, it would appear that prisoners may recover for the infringement of three interests: (i) bodily integrity; (ii) peace of mind; and (iii) earning capacity. In otherwords, the plaintiffs are entitled to compensation for any physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotion distress and impairment of their prospects for future employment proximately caused by the defendant’s unconstitutional conduct.”
Doe v. District of Columbia, 697 F.2d 1115, 1124 (D.C.Cir.1983) citing Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247, 98 S.Ct. 1042, 55 L.Ed.2d 252 (1978) (interests of prisoners correspond “reasonably closely to the interests protected by analogous common-law tort rules.”) The jury in this case was instructed that before it could award damages, the class had to establish that it suffered actual harm or injury. The class presented evidence that certain inmates had allegedly suffered injuries from sexual attacks while incarcerated in the jail. However, the only evidence presented of any class-wide injury was the testimony of one Dr. Schuster describing the alleged stressful conditions of inmates in confinement. Prior to testifying, Dr. Schuster, a forensic psychiatrist practicing in Indianapolis, Indiana, reviewed various grand jury reports describing the conditions in the jail during the first sub-class period. Based upon his review of these reports, he testified that the conditions in the jail would “cause stress to anyone.” Tr. VI at 150. However, the record discloses that Dr. Schuster failed to interview any of the inmates much less even visit the very jail structure, its confines or inmates. It is difficult for me to understand how a mere examination of the grand jury report can *847give a forensic psychiatrist the necessary knowledge and data of a particular fact situation to deal in percentages and to make a well-reasoned, logical judgment to a degree of medical certainty that conditions in the jail would cause “stress to anyone,” regardless of the inmate’s period of confinement. Nevertheless, Dr. Schus-ter did couch his alleged findings to a degree when stating that the emotional reaction would vary, depending upon factors such as the individual’s psychological makeup and the duration of the person’s incarceration. Significantly, he admitted that only approximately ten percent of the inmate population would react with a “significant emotional or mental difficulty” to conditions in the jail. While he did state that younger inmates would fear homosexual attack, he went on to note that these fears were common among all young inmates in all prisons. As demonstrated by Dr. Shuster’s testimony, an individual’s reaction to a stressful situation will vary depending upon the length of incarceration, and his emotional stability before and during his confinement in the prison. In this case, the vast majority of the class, approximately 80 percent, were incarcerated for two days or less; given the very short stay (48 hours or less) of the vast majority of the members of the class in the jail, it is doubtful that their exposure to the conditions in the jail caused them any actual injury. Thus, I believe the evidence in this case lacks the necessary quantum of proof to establish that the inmates, as a class, have suffered any actual injury supporting the award of $500,000 in consequential damages. Further, I concur in Judge Jameson’s analysis that, absent a demonstration of actual harm, an award of consequential damages to the entire class is inappropriate. I therefore agree in the award of nominal damages.

. Since the time of this action, the County has completed construction of a new jail facility.

. Robert Jones, the Director of Madison County Health Department, informed the court that the jail's food preparation and storage facility received a low score of 43 just prior to the commencement of the second sub-class time period, December 19, 1980 to June 30, 1981.

. Inmate White testified that during his stay in the jail in March of 1981, it was hot and stuffy.

. Inmate English, who observed a brutal homosexual assault on Glen Adkins, testified that while he was incarcerated during the second sub-class period, prison officials never examined the inmates in the cell block to determine if anyone had been injured and, on weekends, guards rarely checked the cell block.