Free Motion for Summary Judgment - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:02-cv-01035-DFM

Document 29-5

Filed 08/23/2004

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT Dana Mozell v. John Armstrong, et al : : : August 17, 2004 PRISONER. 3:02CV1035(RNC)

AFFIDAVIT OF RICHARD BARTHOLOMEW The undersigned, having been duly sworn, hereby deposes and says: 1. 2. I am over the age of 18 and understand and believe in the obligation of an oath. I am a Correctional Counselor Supervisor with the State of Connecticut

Department of Correction. I have been a Correctional employee since 1992. 3. For almost five years, from 1999 until July 22, 2004 I was assigned to Cheshire

Correctional Institution (hereinafter "Cheshire") as a Correctional Counselor Supervisor. In my capacity as a Counselor Supervisor at Cheshire and now at the District Office for the District including Cheshire, I am familiar with the inmate grievance process mandated by State of Connecticut Department of Correction Administrative Directive 9.6. The version of Administrative Directive 9.6 that was in effect in the year 2001 was dated August 16, 1999, see attached. 4. I am familiar with the process in place in Cheshire both currently and in 2001 for

what are called "line" grievances, as opposed to grievances regarding health care issues. A grievance regarding a failure by Correctional staff to protect an inmate from an assault by another inmate would be considered a line grievance.

Case 3:02-cv-01035-DFM

Document 29-5

Filed 08/23/2004

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5.

The grievance process at Cheshire in the year 2001 conformed strictly with

Administrative Directive 9.6 as then in effect. Grievance forms were readily available to inmates. Completed grievance forms were placed personally by an inmate into a grievance box within the housing unit which was locked. 6. Staff other than grievance coordinators do not have access to the locked grievance

box. The only persons who have access to the locked box are persons designated as a grievance coordinator or back-up grievance coordinator. At the time period in question, no Correctional Officers had access to the locked grievance box. 7. Every grievance put in a locked grievance box was logged, and included the date

of the grievance, the name and inmate number of the grievant, the date of the response, and a brief description of the nature of the problem and the disposition. In addition, a file was opened for each grievance, and this file included any documents pertinent to the grievance or the investigation thereof. This system precluded individual staff members from impacting the grievance process. 8. Inmates can ask their Correctional Counselors to make copies of their grievance

forms if they want to maintain a record of whatever grievance has been filed. 9. The grievance system in effect at Cheshire both in 2001 and now is a three-tiered

system. If an inmate does not receive a response to a Level 1 grievance, he can file a Level 2 grievance. Level 2 grievances are likewise confidential, and go to a different grievance coordinator, and are likewise logged. Level 2 grievances are logged separately by a Level 2 grievance reviewer in a separate building. I have personally reviewed the log for Level 2

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Case 3:02-cv-01035-DFM

Document 29-5

Filed 08/23/2004

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grievances filed at Cheshire for the year 2001 as well as early 2002 and the plaintiff in this matter never filed any Level 2 grievances during that time period regarding any issue at all. 10. Both the grievance files and the grievance logs were systematically maintained by

the grievance coordinator, as per the directive. Grievance logs are retained as the official record and for data collection purposes. 11. Since at least 1999, Department of Correction policy has required the following:

1. Grievance File. A grievance file shall be maintained at each level for each grievance. The grievance file shall include a copy of the grievance, each response, and any supporting documents submitted in support of the grievance, presented during investigation, or relied upon in the decision. 2. Grievance Log. The Grievance Log, . . . shall be maintained at each level and shall include the name and number of the grievant, the dates of initial receipt and of the response at that level, a brief description of the problem and the disposition.

12.

The Grievance Coordinator for Cheshire logged grievances filed by inmates and

maintained copies of both the inmate grievances and the responses, as was been the practice within the Department of Correction. Grievances are maintained for a minimum of five years. The same is true of the Level 2 Grievance Reviewer for Cheshire.

__/s/____________________________ Richard A. Bartholomew

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of August 2004.

___/s/___________________________ Commissioner of the Superior Court/ Notary Public My Commission expires____

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