Hernandez v. Montanez

36 F.Supp.3d 202

Zenaida HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff

v.Maria E. MONTANEZ, Mark A. Verdini, Jonathan W. Thomas, Carlos M. Goden, Jr., and Anthony Mendonsa, Defendants.

Civil No. 12–11062–FDS.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

Signed May 2, 2014.

David Milton, Drew H. Glassroth, Howard Friedman, Law Offices of Howard Friedman, Boston, MA, for Plaintiff.

C. Raye Poole, Department of Correction, Boston, MA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SAYLOR, District Judge.

This is a civil rights action arising out of the strip-search of a prison visitor. Plaintiff Zenaida Hernandez alleges that several corrections officers at the Souza–Baranowski Correctional Center illegally seized and searched her when she visited the prison. The complaint alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ; the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (“MCRA”), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 11I ; and the Massachusetts Privacy Act (“MPA”), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B. The named defendants are Maria E. Montanez, Mark A. Verdini, Jonathan W. Thomas, Carlos M. Goden, Jr., and Anthony Mendonsa.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment, contending that (1) they are entitled to qualified immunity, (2) they did not violate plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights, and (3) they did not violate the MPA. For the following reasons, defendants' motion for summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

The facts summarized below are undisputed or construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.¹

1. The Anonymous Tip

Souza–Baranowski Correctional Center is a state prison in Shirley, Massachusetts. (Pl. SMF ¶ 2). On September 11, 2011, Anthony Mendonsa became the superintendent of SBCC. (Mendonsa Aff. ¶ 1). The smuggling of drugs into the SBCC prison population by visitors is a serious concern for the institution's staff. (Id. ¶ 3).

At that time, SBCC was experiencing an increase in the introduction of the drug suboxone into the institution. (Def. SMF ¶ 1). Suboxone comes in the form of tablets or strips; the tablets can be crushed into a powdery substance that, at the time, was easily concealed and smuggled into SBCC by visitors. (Id. ).

SBCC's Inner Perimeter Security team investigates breaches of security within the institution, including the introduction of drugs by visitors. (Id. ¶ 4). IPS has an unrecorded hotline that can be used by any inmate in the institution to provide confidential or anonymous information. (Id. ).

On Friday, September 16, 2011, IPS Officer Mark Verdini received an anonymous tip on the IPS hotline that Albert Jackson, an inmate in SBCC, was going to receive a large amount of suboxone from a female visitor on Sunday. (Id. ¶ 5). The inmate caller did not identify himself. (Id. ). Verdini did not know the caller's identity, recognize the caller's voice, or know how the caller knew this information. (Pl. SMF ¶ 16).

Jackson had a reputation among other inmates and corrections officers of being involved in drug activity at SBCC. (Def. SMF ¶ 7). Verdini was aware of that reputation. (Id. ).

Verdini confirmed, based on the visiting schedule, that Jackson's next visiting period was that Sunday, September 18. (Pl. SMF ¶ 16). Prison records show that Jackson had many visitors while incarcerated; in 2011, he had more than a dozen different female visitors. (Id. ¶ 18). SBCC inmates receive the most visitors during the week on Sundays, and a majority of those visitors are women. (Id. ¶ 17).

Verdini notified IPS Commander Nestor Cruz about the call. (Def. SMF ¶ 6). Later that day, Verdini, Cruz, and IPS Officer Jonathan Thomas had a discussion about the anonymous telephone call and Jackson's history with drug activity in SBCC. (Id. ¶ 9). They discussed an incident that had occurred 18 months earlier, where one of Jackson's visitors had been found in possession of marijuana during a contact visit. (Pl. SMF ¶ 19). That incident had occurred in the regular visiting room. (Id. ¶ 20). Corrections officers monitoring the visit had observed suspicious activity between Jackson and his visitor and terminated the visit. (Id. ). When the officers questioned the visitor, she turned over a small bag of marijuana. (Id. ).

Although not discussed at the time, Thomas was also aware of an incident where an inmate who owed Jackson money was stabbed. (Def. SMF ¶ 11). When he was asked what the debt was for, he said it involved drugs. (Id. ).

Cruz instructed Verdini and Thomas to report to work on September 18 and stop Jackson's visitor before she entered the secure part of the institution. (Def. SMF ¶ 16).

According to Hernandez, neither Verdini nor Thomas did anything to investigate or corroborate the anonymous tip. (Pl. SMF ¶ 22). Both officers knew that Jackson had enemies in SBCC. (Id. ¶ 23). They also knew that inmates sometimes used the IPS hotline to harass other inmates. (Id. ).

2. The Non–Contact Visiting Room

On September 17, Jackson was involved in a fight in which he was seriously injured. (Def. SMF ¶ 17). As a result, he was transferred to the Health Services Unit. (Id. ). Because he was transferred to the HSU, his visits the next day were to be non-contact visits. (Id. ).

Non-contact visits for HSU inmates are held in the prison's non-contact visiting room. (Id. ). In that room, visitors and prisoners are separated by a glass barrier. (Pl. SMF ¶ 6). A small metal device in the center of the glass allows sound to pass through. (Id. ).

On previous occasions, visitors in non-contact visiting rooms had smuggled drugs to inmates. (Def. SMF ¶ 2). For example, visitors had sometimes removed the rubberized caulking around the windows and slipped drugs through the openings; funneled the drugs through the round metal speaker piece using a straw; or taped the drugs to the bottom of a chair on the visitor's side to be picked up by another inmate. (Id. ). The SBCC staff had taken measures to prevent visitors from using those tactics to deliver drugs to inmates. (Thomas Dep. at 24–26).

There is no surveillance, supervision, or monitoring equipment in the non-contact visiting room. (Pl. SMF ¶ 26). There are no officers stationed in the room to observe the visitors and prisoners during non-contact visits, and there are no video or audio recording devices to monitor communications. (Id. ).

3. Zenaida Hernandez's Visit

Zenaida Hernandez is a resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts. (Pl. SMF ¶ 1). She is originally from Puerto Rico and primarily speaks Spanish. (Id. ).

In 2009, a mutual friend introduced Hernandez to Jackson by showing her a picture of him; they subsequently began corresponding by mail. (Id. ¶ 3). After several months, she agreed to visit Jackson at SBCC. (Id. ). Hernandez visited Jackson several times without incident. (Id. ).

On September 18, 2011, Hernandez arrived at SBCC at around 1:00 p.m. to visit Jackson. (Id. ¶ 2). To enter the prison, she successfully passed through a security checkpoint. (Id. ¶ 4). At the checkpoint, she was required to remove her shoes, empty her pockets, pass through a metal detector, open her mouth for visual inspection, and move her collar, shirt sleeves, pant legs, and feet so they could be inspected. (Id. ). Hernandez was then escorted into the noncontact visiting room on the third floor. (Id. ¶ 5).

The IPS team's plan had been to intercept Hernandez before her meeting with Jackson. (Def. SMF ¶ 18). However, the officers working in the lobby were not told that ISP should be informed if a visitor for Jackson arrived. (Verdini Dep. at 54–56).

Verdini arrived at SBCC sometime around noon. (Id. at 54–55). When he called down to the visitor's center to tell them to let him know if a visitor came for Jackson, the officer at the center told him the visitor had already arrived. (Id. at 55).

When Hernandez arrived at the SMU visiting room, she saw that Jackson was seriously injured. (Pl. SMF ¶ 9). His face appeared swollen and disfigured and he had an intravenous tube taped to his arm. (Id. ). Hernandez had not known Jackson had been injured and became very nervous after seeing him. (Id. ).

Sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m., Verdini, Thomas, and IPS Officer Carlos Goden entered the SMU visiting room. (Def. SMF ¶ 21). They saw Hernandez visiting with Jackson. (Id. ). The officers did not monitor Hernandez to see if she was attempting to pass Jackson contraband. (Pl. SMF ¶ 27). They observed no suspicious behavior when they entered the room. (Id. ¶ 28).

Thomas told Hernandez, in English, that her visit had been terminated. (Def. SMF ¶ 21). He also told her something to the effect of, “Ma'am, we need you to come with us. We need to speak to you.” (Thomas Dep. at 50). The officers then escorted Hernandez out of the visiting room. (Pl. SMF ¶ 12). Prison officials did not search Jackson or the visiting room after Hernandez's visit ended. (Id. ¶ 29).

4. The Interview in the Roll–Call Room

After terminating her visit, Verdini, Thomas, and Goden escorted Hernandez from the visiting room to the lobby. (Def. SMF ¶ 22). During the walk, Hernandez asked the officers, “What's going on?” several times in English. (Id. ). Thomas told her in English that he would discuss the matter later. (Id.; Goden Dep. at 25–26).² After Hernandez repeated herself several times, Goden told her, in Spanish, that they would explain what was happening after they brought her to the prison's roll-call room. (Goden Dep. at 26).

When they reached the lobby, a female corrections officer, Maria Montanez, joined them. (Pl. SMF ¶ 13). Montanez accompanied them to the roll-call room. (Id. ).³

Once inside the roll-call room, Hernandez sat at a table. (Id. ¶ 30). Verdini and Thomas sat across from her at the table. According to Hernandez, Goden and Montanez stood between her and the door. (Id. ).⁴ One of the officers stood at the door, blocking the exit. (Id. ). The door was closed, but not locked. (Id. ).

Verdini and Thomas began asking Hernandez questions, in English, about drugs. (Id. ¶ 31). Goden interpreted...