Chief Judge Gary Sharpe
Plaintiffs, convicted sex offenders, were committed to the Central New York Psychiatric Center (CNYPC) under the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act. Their 42 USC §1983 action claimed CNYPC’s bathroom and shower usage policies—initially instituted in May 2010 on an emergency basis following incidents in bathrooms including sexual activity, fights and contraband trafficking—deprived them of life’s necessities and subjected them to inhumane conditions violating their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights. In granting CNYPC judgment the court adopted a magistrate judge’s finding that the bathroom and shower policies only minimally inconvenienced plaintiffs. Discussing Odom v. Keane, Davenport v. DeRobertis and Groves v. New York, the court determined that whether or not they waited five or 40 minutes to use the bathroom, or showered every other day rather than daily, plaintiffs did not plead facts giving rise to an unconstitutional deprivation of due process. Ten hours absent bathroom access, and one shower weekly have been found constitutionally sufficient. Citing Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders of Cnty. of Burlington the court found CNYPC’s reasons for implementing the policies compelling.
