Prison Phone Justice

Case 1:06-cv-00715-PLF

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Filed 12/04/2008

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
B~DON

SAMPLE,

~

al. ,

)
)

Plaintiffs,

)
)

v.

) Civil Action No. 06-715 PLF
)

Federal Bureau of Prisons,

~~,

)
)

Defendants.

)

-------------)
STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL
All Parties to this action hereby enter into the following
Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal.

In order to resolve the

matters in dispute in the above-styled action without further
litigation, expense, or delay, Plaintiffs Brandon Sample and
Bernard Shaw and Defendants (collectively, the "Parties")
unconditionally agree to the following terms,
1.

Plaintiffs and Defendants enter into this Stipulation of

Settlement and Dismissal in order to make full and final
settlement of any and all matters that Plaintiffs raised in the
above action.

Plaintiffs agree to accept the terms set forth

herein in full satisfaction of any and all claims, demands,
rights and causes of action of whatever kind and nature based
upon"

or in any way related to ,

Complaint 1 ,

th~

allegations in the

including but not limited to,

the specific claims

'Any reference to the "Complaint" in this Stipulation of
Settlement and Dismissal encompasses each of the pleadings in the
above-styled action, including without limitation the Complaint,

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asserted in the Complaint in the above-styled civil action and
all claims arising out of the factual circumstances that formed
the basis of those claims.
In particular, and without limitation, this settlement
includes all possible claims for damages and equitable relief by
Plaintiffs against Defendants that relate in any way to the
subject matter of the Complaint.

Further, and without

limitation, the settlement memorialized herein includes all
possible claims for attorneys' fees and costs that plaintiffs
incurred or may incur in connection with this litigation and any
other proceeding involving the claims Plaintiffs raised in this

action.
With one exception, which is described in the ensuing
sentence below, Plaintiffs withdraw, with prejUdice, the
above-styled Complaint and all other pending, existing or
putative Causes of action, charges, complaints and appeals
against Defendants in any forum, whether administrative or
judicial, relating to any of the claims before the Court in this
matter.

Plaintiffs withdraw, without prejudice, their claim in

Count Fourteen of the Complaint that relates to "administrative
remedy responses from the BOP's [Bureau of Prisons] various
institutions, Regional Offices/ and Central Office."

However,

Plaintiffs agree not to re-file in this Court, or any other

the

~mended

complaint and the Second Amended Complaint.
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judicial.forum, their claim in count Fourteen that relates to
~administrative remedy responses" for the dura~ion of their

current prison terms.

with the exception of the claim in Count

Fourteen that relates to "administrative remedy responses," all
other claims in Count Fourteen,

including but not limited to, . the

claims that relate to "Disciplinary Hearing Officer reports,"
"Unit Discipline Committee r-eports," I'Segregation Review Official
reports,"

and "written decisions by the Executive Panel," as well

as all other claims in the Complaint, are withdrawn with
prejudice.

In sum, following the filing of this Stipulation of

Settlement and Dismissal, the only claim that Plaintiffs may
bring against either Defendant arising out of events that relate
in any way to the claims in this litigation is the claim asserted
in Count Fourteen of the Complaint that relates to
"administrative remedy responses."

This stipulation of

Settlement and Dismissal constitutes the full,

final and complete

relief that Plaintiffs may have for the conduct alleged in this
action.

Except for ensuring compliance with the terms of this
StipUlation of Settlement and Dismissal as discussed below in
paragraph 2(q}, Plaintiffs agree not to institute or cause to be
insn:.ituted any other actions, charges, complaints, appeals or

other proceedings against Defendants or any of Defendants' past
or present employees, officers, agents or representatives

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concerning any claim that relates in any way to the matters
raised in the above-styled action for the duration of their
prison terms.

Moreover, with the exception of the claim in Count

Fourteen that relates to "administrative remedy responses,"
Plaintiffs agree to never again institute, or cause to be
instituted, any other actions, charges, complaints, appeals or
other proceedings against Defendants or any of Defendants' past,
present or future employees, officers, agents or representatives
concerning any claim that relates in any way to the matters
raised in the above-styled action.

Plaintiffs forever release

Defendants' past and present employees, officers, agents and
representatives concerning all matters related to each and every
claim raised in the above-styled action {except, as discussed
above, matters relating to the claim in Count Fourteen concerning

"administrative remedy responses" ~ ",
2.

In consideration for the promises made herein, the

Par:ies agree to take the following actions:
a} Plaintiff Sample will provide staff at Fcr Texarkana with
a telephone number for the ten government entities identified in
the footnote attached to the end of this sentence, and staff at
FCI Texarkana will assist Plaintiff Sample in contacting those
entities by telephone. 2

Specifically,

Plaintiff Sample will

, The ten government entities are: (1) the Office of
Management and Budget; (2) the Office of Inspector General, U.S.
Department of Justice; (3) the Freedom of Information Act/Privacy
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provide a single telephone number for each of the ten government
provide
entities.
entities.

Alternate numbers may be provided if a previously

provided number fails to result in a completed call.
provided

Those ten

government entities will be the only entities to which the
government
provisions of this Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal may
provisions
apply.
apply.
b) Plaintiff Sample will give prison staff at least two
weeks notice in advance of the date(s) on which he wishes to make
weeks
telephone calls to the ten government entities so that prison
telephone
staff may arrange for appropriate telephone use.
staff
c) Plaintiff Sample's telephone use in accordance with this
Stipulation
Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal will be subject to
reasonable
reasonable limitations to be determined by prison staff aimed at
ensuring
ensuring the safety, security and/or good order of the
institution
institution and/or the public.
d) When it is convenient to do so, and as close to the
date(s)
date(s) on which Plaintiff Sample desires to make the telephone
calls
calls as possible, prison staff will make a call for Plaintiff
Sample
Sample to each of the ten

governm~nt

entities using the telephone

Act
Act Office of the U.S. Postal Service; (4) the Occupational
Safety
Safety and Health Administration; (5) the Environmental
Protection
Protection Agency; (6) the BOP's Freedom of Information Act
Office;
Office; (7) the Office of the Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of
Justice;
Justice; (s) the Centers for Disease Control; (9) the Clerk of
the
the V.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and (10)
the
the Clerk of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Texas.
Texas.
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Case 1:06-cv-00715-PLF

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number(s) that he provides.
number(s)

Filed 12/04/2008

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Prison staff will make a reasonable

effort to reach a live person on the telephone line and will
effort
inform that live person that the call is originating from a
inform
prison, that a prisoner would like to speak with him or her about
prison,
matters relating to government business, and that he or she may
matters
choose to speak with the prisoner or decline the call.
choose

Assuming

that the person called is willing to speak with Plaintiff Sample,
that
Plaintiff Sample will then be given the telephone and permitted
Plaintiff
to speak with the person.
to

Once the call has been completed, the

BOP's obligation to call that particular entity will have been
BOP's
satisfied.
satisfied.

If the person called declines to accept the call,

Plaintiff
Plaintiff Sample will not be given the telephone and the BOP's
obligation
obligation to call that particular entity will have been
satisfied.
satisfied.
e) All calls will be placed on speaker phone and prison
staff
staff will remain in the room for the duration of each call.
f) Prison staff will make only three attempts to contact
each
each of the ten government entities on behalf of Plaintiff Sample
and
and once staff has made contact with a live person at a
particular
particular entity associated with a telephone number provided,
the
the BOP's obligation to call that particUlar entity will have
3
been
been satisfied. 3

If the BOP makes three attempts to call a

ll As stated above,
the general rule is that once the BOP
makes
makes contact with a live person at a particular entity, its
obligation
obligation to call that particular entity will have been

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particular entity on behalf of Plaintiff Sample and those three
attempts are unsuccessful, the BOP's obligation to call that
particular entity will have been satisfied.

Plaintiff Sample may

provide prison staff with alternate telephone numbers if a
previously provided number fails to result in a completed call;
however, prison staff remain limited to three call attempts per
entity.

Plaintiff Sample may not provide prison staff with

alternative government entities to contact.
g) Each telephone call envisioned by this Stipulation of
Settlement and Dismissal will be limited to fifteen minutes in
duration in accordance with BOP Program Statement 5264.08, Inmate
Telephone Regulations.

Plaintiff will be billed at the

prevailing rate for time and charges for each call.
h) Nothing in this Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal
gives Plaintiff Sample a mechanism to receive incoming calls.
i) Plaintiff Sample will be permitted to view electronically
the compact disks currently in his inmate file

(~,

the disks

in his inmate file as of the date of the filing of this
Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal), any updates of those
satisfied. The only exception to that rule is that if the BOP
makes contact with a live person who instructs the BOP to call
back at a later time or using a different telephone number, the
BOP will have an obligation to do so.
In this situation,
however, the initial contact with the live person,will count as
one of the BOP's three attempts to contact the entity, as will
any subsequent calls. The overarching rule that the BOP will
make only three attempts to contact each of the ten entities is
not affected by the aforementioned exception.
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disks that he may receive in the future and any other compact
disks
disks containing responsive FOIA material that the BOP may permit
disks
him to receive/gain access to in the future, consistent with the
him
safety, security and orderly administration of the prison and its
safety,
prisoners and staff, the safety and security of the pUblic and/or
prisoners
any other valid penological interest.
any

However, Plaintiff

Sample's ability to view electronically the aforementioned disks
Sample's
will at all times be contingent upon the availability of prison
will
staff and resources.
staff

Prison staff will make a good faith effort

to accommodate Plaintiff Sample'S requests to view electronically
to
the
the aforementioned disks.

As part of this Stipulation of

Settlement
Settlement and Dismissal, the BOP agrees to provide Plaintiff
Sample
Sample with periodic updates of the disks currently in his inmate
file
file at no cost to Plaintiff Sample.

However, updates of those

disks
disks will not be prOVided automatically.

Plaintiff Sample must

request
request all updates by submitting a request to the BOP Freedom of
Information
Information Act ("FOIA") office.

After Plaintiff Sample receives

an
an updated disk from the BOP, he. must initiate shipment of the
outdated
outdated disk to an address of his choosing, at his expense (the
BOP
BOP will provide an updated disk to Plaintiff Sample at no cost
to
to Plaintiff Sample, but Plaintiff Sample must bear all costs
associated
associated with the removal of the outdated disk from his inmate
inmate

filel
filel .

jl Plaintiff Sample will be permitted to submit FOIA

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requests through the Trustfund Limited Inmate Communications
requests
System (Trulincs).
System

Plaintiff Sample also will be permitted to

submit inquiries regarding preViously-submitted ForA requests
submit
through Trulincs.
through

Plaintiff Sample will not be permitted to

submit ForA requests, or inquiries regarding ForA requests,
submit
either directly or indirectly, on behalf of any other person
either
through Trulincs.
through

Plaintiff Sample must mail a signed request to

the BOP FOrA office to receive any of his own personal
the
information.
information.
k) The BOP will agree to explore the feasability of placing
administrative
administrative remedy responses on the internet (in the BOP's
eleotronic
eleotronic reading room).

The BOP will make a single report of

its
its feasibility findings to Plaintiffs Sample and Shaw within one
year
year of the filing of this Stipulation of Settlement and
bismissal.
bismissal.
1) In the event that Plaintiff Sample is transferred from

Fer Texarkana to another prison camp, the BOP will make a
reasonable
reasonable effort to apply the terms of this settlement that are
unique
unique to Plaintiff Sample to Plaintiff Sample in the prison camp
into
into which he is transferred.

The settlement terms herein unique

to
to Plaintiff Sample may apply only to the extent that Plaintiff
Sample
Sample is incarcerated in a

pris~n

camp; they cannot apply if

Plaintiff
Plaintiff Sample is transferred to a higher security prison.
m) The terms of this Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal
Dismissal

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will not be in effect while Plaintiffs are in transit or
otherwise in holdover status.
n) The BOP's performance of this Stipulation of Settlement
and Dismissal may be suspended while institution staff are
responding to an emergency situation.
0)

In the event Plaintiff Sample is placed in the Special

Housing Unit at Fer Texarkana, prison staff cannot accommodate
his access to a computer.

Staff will, however, make reasonable

efforts to apply the other provisions of this Stipulation of
Settlement and Dismissal while Plaintiff Sample is in the Special
Housing Unit, depending on the availability of resources, space
and staff.
p) Defendants' obligations under this Stipulation of
Settlement and Dismissal are limited to, and in effect for, only
the current term of Plaintiffs' incarcerations.
q) If Plaintiffs believe that the BOP is not in compliance
with any provisions of this Stipulation of Settlement and
Dismissal, they will first avail themselves of the BOP's
administrative remedy prooedures in order to have the matter
reviewed internally.

If, upon completion of that process,

Plaintiffs are not satisfied, they may seek enforcement of the
term{s)

of this Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal with this

Court, which shall retain jurisdiction of this matter solely to
enforce the terms of this Stipulation of Settlement and

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Dismissal, consistent with the security of the institution(s)
where Plaintiffs are housed.
3.

This stipulation for compromise settlement shall not

constitute an admission of liability or fault on the part of
Defendants or their past or present agents, employees,
representatives or officers.

The Parties enter into this

Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal solely for the purpose of
compromisin9 disputed claims and avoiding the expenses and risks
compromising
of litigation.
4.

Plaintiffs each acknowledge that they have read this

entire agreement and that they understand all of its terms and
conditions.

5.

Plaintiffs each acknowledge that they have entered into

this Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal voluntarily.
Further, Plaintiffs each acknowledge that no one has imposed any

undue hardship, duress or coercion in connection with the
execution of this document.
6.

The Parties agree that the terms expressly.recited
expressly recited

herein represent the entire compromise settlement and that the
respective parties will each bear their own costs, fees, expenses
and attorneys I fees.
attorneysl

There are no terms or conditions to this

Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal except those expressly
stated herein.

This agreement may not be altered, modified,

withdrawn, waived, rescinded or supplemented except by a written
withdrawn.

II
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instrument executed by duly authorized representatives of the
Parties or by the Parties themselves.

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WHEREFORE, the above-styled action is hereby dismissed

pursuant to the terms set forth herein, subject only to the Court
sUbject
retaining jurisdiction as necessary to enforce the terms of this
Stipulation of Settlement and Dismissal.
Respectfully submitted,

R, DC Bar
ttorney

~

T ERAS, DC Bar #434122
nited States Attorney

BRA.."JDON
BRlL1'iIDON SAMPLE
Plaintiff

~)
BERNnS'i
Plaintiff

Assistant United States Attorney

SO ORDERED, this _ _ _ _ day of _ _ _ _ _ _ , 2008.
day of

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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