Hammock ex rel. Hammock v. Keys

93 F.Supp.2d 1222

Virginia Francis HAMMOCK, a minor, By and Through her mother and next friend, Jude HAMMOCK, Plaintiff, v. Larry KEYS, Ernie Rosado, Toni Stanton and Albert Thomas, individually; The Baldwin County Board of Education; Anthony P. Kaiser, Dennis V. Stastka, Don McGriff, Julia A. Summerlin, Ruth S. Underwood, James D. Williams, and Robert A. Wills, as members of the Baldwin County Board of Education; Albert D. Thomas, as Superintendent of the Baldwin County Board of Education; Larry Keys, as Principal of the Gulf Shores High School, Ernie Rosado and Toni Stanton, as Assistant Principals of Gulf Shores High School, Defendants.

No. Civ.A.00-0264-CB-C.

United States District Court, S.D. Alabama, Southern Division.

April 11, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James W. May, Foley, AL, for Virginia Frances Hammock, a minor who sues by her mother and next friend Jude Hammock, plaintiff.

Robert C. Campbell, III, Mobile, AL, Frank G. Taylor, Sintz, Campbell, Duke & Taylor, Mobile, AL, for defendants.

ORDER

BUTLER, Chief Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on a motion for preliminary injunction (Doc. 2).¹ A preliminary injunction hearing was held and evidence was presented on April 5, 2000. Upon review of the evidence and applicable law, the Court finds that the motion for preliminary injunction is due to be, and hereby is, DENIED.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case was brought by Virginia Hammock, a high school senior, by and through her mother Jude Hammock, after she was suspended and subsequently expelled from Gulf Shores High because marijuana fragments were found in her vehicle located on the school parking lot. Plaintiff brings suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and claims that her equal protection and procedural and substantive due process rights were violated and that the regulations adopted by the Baldwin County Board of Education are unconstitutionally vague and ambiguous. Let there be no mistake; the issue before this Court is not whether the decision to suspend or expel the Plaintiff was a correct or an appropriate one in the Court's view. "It is not the role of the federal courts to set aside decisions of school administrators which the court may view as lacking a basis in wisdom or compassion." Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 95 S.Ct. 992, 43 L.Ed.2d 214 (1975).² Instead, this Court must decide whether Plaintiff is likely to succeed on the merits of her claim that the actions taken by the Defendants amounted to a constitutional deprivation, and if so, whether in the absence of an injunction she will suffer irreparable injury because of that deprivation.

II. FACTS

On February 11, 2000, Anthony Grisby, an Orange Beach police and D.A.R.E. officer, and John Hamrick, a Gulf Shores police officer, along with Ernie Rosado, an Assistant Principal, conducted a search with canines in the Gulf Shores High School parking lot. The search was conducted after school officials received numerous reports that there was a "drug problem" in the parking lot. After two different dogs alerted on Hammock's vehicle, Rosado notified Assistant Principal Toni Stanton, who then got the Plaintiff from her classroom. While in the hallway, Rosado explained to the Plaintiff what had occurred in the parking lot. Rosado testified that the Plaintiff was "stunned," and that she reentered the classroom to get her keys to the vehicle. Rosado also testified that while retrieving her keys Plaintiff told another student "Oh, I am going to be expelled." Plaintiff requested that she be permitted to call her parents. She was not permitted to call her parents until after the vehicle was opened and searched.

It is undisputed that marijuana was found in the vehicle.³ A certain quantity of the fragments were field tested on site, the results of which indicated that the material was marijuana. Another quantity was later confirmed to be marijuana by a lab test.⁴ The exact amount of marijuana is unknown. Officer Grisby testified that a "small amount" of the substance was found and that it consisted of a "leafy residue." He would not rule out that it could have come from someone's clothing or shoes, but he also indicated that the amount and type found was consistent with a scenario in which one dropped marijuana when rolling a "joint" or filling a pipe. Officer Hamrick testified that the material was found on both the passenger and driver sides of the floorboard and described the fragments as "seeds, stems, and leaves." Hamrick also testified that the amount of residue led him to believe that marijuana was used in the vehicle more than once.

After the search, Plaintiff was sent to the school office. Rosado indicates that she was given an opportunity to discuss the incident and her parents were notified. (Def.'s Ex. 3). Once Plaintiff's parents arrived, Rosado explained to them what had occurred. The Disciplinary Referral form completed on February 11, 2000, indicates that Plaintiff was suspended for ten days denoting the dates of suspension as February 11, 14-24.⁵ Upon suggestion of her parents, Plaintiff refused to sign the Disciplinary Referral form and she left school. There is some dispute as to whether she left on her own or at her parent's direction, or if she was directed to leave by school officials. However, it is clear that she left at 1:45 p.m. and received credit for the day with the exception of the last period.

On February 14, 2000, Principal Larry Keys sent a letter to Plaintiff's father which confirmed the suspension for "possession of inappropriate material." The letter references the Baldwin County Public School Board Policies on drug possession and indicates that expulsion would be pursued. (Plaintiff's Ex. 4; Def.'s Ex. 2). An "Expulsion Notice" and a police report prepared by officer Hamrick were also presented to the Hammocks on this date. The police report states that "marijuana residue [found in the Plaintiff's vehicle] was field tested and showed positive for THC." The expulsion notice states: "If you desire to discuss the reasons for this action or to request an administrative hearing, you are required to contact Mr. Rosado ... within five (5) days of the date on this notice. Although not required, you and your students have the right to be represented by legal counsel and present witnesses." A hearing was requested as indicated by a February 22 letter by Keys which notifies the Hammocks of the time and place of the hearing and again advises that the Plaintiff could "bring any witness(es) that [she chose]." The letter also instructs the Hammocks to notify the school if they would be represented by counsel.

A hearing was held on February 24, 2000, before Principal Keys and Assistant Principal Rosado. The Plaintiff and her parents were in attendance and were represented by counsel. No evidence was presented to support the expulsion. However, Keys told Plaintiff's attorney that he would hear and consider any facts, evidence, or material that he wished to present. It is unclear whether any evidence was presented by Plaintiff, but it is clear that Plaintiff had the opportunity to present such evidence.

On February 28, 2000, Keys wrote a letter to Plaintiff's parents regarding the February 24th hearing. The letter states that "[i]t is my determination that Miss Hammock be expelled from Gulf Shores High School .... and that she be permitted to attend the Alternative School in Bay Minette." The letter also states that Gulf Shores High School would provide the textbooks and materials necessary to complete Plaintiff's work at the Alternative School and advises Plaintiff of her right to appeal this determination to Dr. Albert D. Thomas, the Superintendent of the Baldwin County Board of Education.

On March 3, 2000, a hearing was held before Superintendent Thomas. Both Plaintiff and the School Board were represented by counsel. The charges were again presented to Plaintiff. According to Thomas, no witnesses were called by the Plaintiff, and Plaintiff's counsel made arguments to suggest that the fragments found in the vehicle were alfalfa fragments. Plaintiff's counsel also presented the package from which the "blue pill" allegedly came. According to testimony elicited at the preliminary injunction hearing, Thomas did not look at the package. Plaintiff also presented a report to Thomas indicating that she had no illegal drugs in her system on February 18, 2000, seven days after the incident.⁶ Thomas questioned the Plaintiff, and she stated that she did not know about the fragments nor had she smoked marijuana in the vehicle. On March 8, 2000, Dr. Thomas wrote a letter to the Hammocks informing them that the expulsion of Plaintiff would be upheld and suggesting that they consider the option of the Alternative School, which the Plaintiff, for reasons not presented in the record, has elected not to attend.

III. PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONS STANDARD

A party seeking a preliminary injunction must establish the following four factors: (1) a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) a threat of irreparable injury, (3) that its own injury would outweigh the injury to the nonmovant, and (4) that the injunction would not disserve the public interest. Tefel v. Reno, 180 F.3d 1286, 1295 (11th Cir.1999); McDonald's Corp. v. Robertson, 147 F.3d 1301, 1306 (11th Cir.1998). The Court should be mindful that a preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy not to be granted unless the movant has clearly satisfied the burden of persuasion as to the four requisites. McDonald's, 147 F.3d at 1306; Northeastern Fl. Chapter of the Ass'n of Gen. Contractors of Am. v. City of Jacksonville, 896 F.2d 1283, 1285 (11th Cir.1990). The first two factors of the preliminary injunction standard are determinative in this case.

IV. SUBSTANTIAL LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS ON THE MERITS

A. Procedural Due Process

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that a State shall not deprive any person of life,...