Tucker v. Tennessee

539 F.3d 526

Odis TUCKER, Vonnie Tucker, and Blake Tucker, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. State of TENNESSEE, Defendant Hardin County, a political subdivision of the State of Tennessee, and Savannah Police Department, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-6208.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: July 25, 2007.

Decided and Filed: August 29, 2008.

ARGUED:

William J. Brown, William J. Brown & Associates, Cleveland, Tennessee, for Appellants. Jon A. York, Pentecost & Glenn, Jackson, Tennessee, Dale Conder, Jr., Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, Jackson, Tennessee, for Appellees.

ON BRIEF:

William J. Brown, William J. Brown & Associates, Cleveland, Tennessee, for Appellants. Jon A. York, Brandon O. Gibson, Pentecost & Glenn, Jackson, Tennessee, Dale Conder, Jr., Rainey, Kizer, Reviere & Bell, Jackson, Tennessee, for Appellees.

Before: KEITH and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges; VAN TATENHOVE, District Judge.^*

VAN TATENHOVE, D.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GRIFFIN, J., joined. KEITH, J. (pp. 542-45), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

OPINION

VAN TATENHOVE, District Judge.

The Appellants challenge the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of two government entities as to their claims for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act at the arrest, post-arrest detention, initial appearance, and dispositional hearing on their charges. Generally, the district court determined that either the actions at issue were not covered by the ADA and/or that the communication provided was as effective as that available to non-disabled persons. Because we find that the Appellants' rights were not violated, we affirm.¹

I.

The Tuckers are all deaf and mute, and are related either by marriage or sanguinity. Lauren and Blake are husband and wife. Vonnie is Blake's mother, and Odis his uncle. On Sunday, February 29, 2004, the City of Savannah Police Department ("City Police") received a call regarding a domestic dispute at the home of Donna Spears, Lauren's mother. Blake had driven to Tennessee from Alabama to pick up his wife, Lauren, and their small child from Donna's home. A disagreement arose as to whether Lauren desired to return to Alabama with Blake, and a neighbor phoned the City Police. When they arrived, it became clear that the Tuckers suffered from a hearing and speech impairment. Consequently, the officers utilized a pen and paper to communicate. After these written discussions with Lauren,² who initially was reluctant to engage the officers, it appeared the matter was resolved and Lauren would leave with Blake.

Although the exact circumstances surrounding their departure are not clear, it appears that Blake got into an altercation with a neighbor, Judy Crotts. One of the officers, Officer Pope, saw Blake strike Ms. Crotts, and push Ms. Spears. Officer Pope then attempted to restrain Blake and place him under arrest. Blake responded by striking Officer Pope. Although Blake disputes that he intentionally assaulted Ms. Crotts, he concedes she fell down and started screaming. As for Officer Pope, Blake admits he struck him, but again disputes that it was intentional. After witnessing two assaults, Officer Pope arrested Blake and charged him with resisting arrest, assault, assault on an officer, and disorderly conduct.

Odis apparently came towards the police officers during Blake's arrest with his fists clenched. Consequently, he was also arrested on charges of interference with an officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

After their arrests, the City Police transported Blake and Odis to the Hardin County Jail. There, Odis and Blake requested a TDD/TTY telephone to make a phone call. Although the jail did not have the requested technology, the jailers allowed Blake and Odis to phone Vonnie, who talked with them by way of a relay operator. To facilitate effective communication for Blake and Odis, the jailers translated on their behalf through relay operators for over forty-five minutes. Blake and Odis were detained overnight until their initial appearance the following morning.

As was typical for the jurisdiction, those individuals entitled to an initial appearance were placed on the criminal docket. In turn, each case, including the Tuckers', was set and called that morning. Judge Smith, who presided over the proceeding, recognized that Odis and Blake suffered from a hearing impairment. He discerned their impairment based on the sounds they were making and their mannerisms while awaiting arraignment. Accordingly, he moved their proceedings to the end of the docket so that he could communicate more effectively with them because a sign language interpreter was not present that morning. Although the Tuckers claim they requested a sign language interpreter while at the jail, Judge Smith testified that the first time he learned that Odis and Blake were hearing impaired was when they appeared at the Monday morning hearing.

Through a court official, Odis and Blake were provided a written card containing their rights, they nodded their understanding, wrote a plea of "not guilty" on a piece of paper, and Judge Smith released them both on their own recognizance pending further hearing. The matter was then set for hearing on March 19. The state court received notification that an attorney, Rusty Larsen, had been retained to represent Odis and Blake. In a letter to Judge Smith, Mr. Larsen advised that a sign language interpreter would be "appreciated" for the March 19 hearing. After learning that an interpreter could not be obtained for that particular date, Judge Smith called Mr. Larsen, as counsel for Odis and Blake, and offered to continue the hearing. The Tuckers do not dispute these facts, nor does the record refute them, although Mr. Larsen does not recall the telephone conversation with Judge Smith. The record, however, contains phone records showing the call made from Judge Smith to Mr. Larsen's office.

Further, in his deposition, Mr. Larsen admits that, after consultation with his clients, Blake and Odis decided not to postpone the March 19 hearing because they anticipated entering a guilty plea to the charges against them. Specifically, he testified that he advised his clients that no interpreter would be available at the March 19 hearing, and they declined to request a continuance; rather, they attended with the anticipation that an agreement could be reached regarding the charges. Mr. Larsen testified that he met with his clients on the morning of March 19, in advance of the hearing where they discussed the potential plea, and made the final, voluntary decision to proceed that morning without an interpreter.

Ultimately, the charges against Odis were dismissed in advance of the hearing. Through his counsel, Blake entered a guilty plea to reduced charges and was placed on a diversionary program. During this proceeding, Vonnie voluntarily acted as a translator between Odis, Blake, Mr. Larsen, and the state court. This request was made by Mr. Larsen. Again, the Tuckers do not dispute Mr. Larsen's testimony or the veracity of the chain of events. Instead, they now claim that they felt that they had no choice but to enter the plea because they did not believe an interpreter would be provided at a subsequent hearing. In addition, they make general allegations of "confusion" regarding the proceedings.

Based on the foregoing, the Tuckers filed this civil rights action against the Appellees. Specifically, Odis and Blake claim that the City Police discriminated against them in violation of the ADA by failing to provide a qualified sign language interpreter or other such reasonable accommodation(s) during their arrest following the domestic disturbance call. Next, Odis and Blake allege that the City Police violated their civil rights by failing to have available and/or provide a TDD/TYY telephone at the jail where Odis and Blake were detained pending an initial appearance. Finally, Odis and Blake claim that Hardin County violated the ADA when the state court judge failed to provide a sign language interpreter at either the initial appearance or the dispositional hearing on the criminal charges asserted against them in state court. Vonnie asserts that the state court judge's use of her services as an interpreter during the dispositional hearing likewise violated her civil rights under the ADA. Both Hardin County and the City Police moved for summary judgment on all claims, and these motions were granted.

The district court concluded that Vonnie's claim against Hardin County failed because she voluntarily served as an interpreter at the dispositional hearing on Odis and Blake's criminal charges. Her service was requested in light of her sign language skills and not for any discriminatory purpose. The lower court disposed of Blake and Odis' claims in accordance with the temporal event upon which they claimed discrimination.

With respect to the arrest, the district court held that the City Police, in arresting Blake and Odis, were not performing a "service, program, or activity" to which the ADA applied, or that even if they were, any denial was not intentionally because of their disabilities. The opinion relied on the rationale of other jurisdictions holding that, in such a context, the "arrest" was not the type of activity covered by the ADA. Although not explicitly held, it appears the court reasoned that, even if the ADA applied to the arrest, there was no intentional discrimination based on their hearing impairment.

By separate order, the district court reached two conclusions regarding the post-arrest detention at the jail. First, the court concluded that the brief detention was not a "service, activity, or program" within the meaning of the ADA. Second, it reasoned that even if the detention was covered by the ADA, Odis and Blake failed to show any injury resulting from the use of the relay operator and that the jail...