Opposition Brief — Coughlin v. Griffin

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No. 96-372

IN THE

Supreme Court of the United States

October Term, 1996

THOMAS A. COUGHLIN, III, Commissioner, N.Y.S. Department of

Correctional Services; LOUIS F. MANN, Superintendent,

Shawangunk Correctional Facility,

Petitioners,

against

DAVID GRIFFIN,

Respondent

ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED

STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

BRIEF IN OPPOSITION TO PETITION FOR

A WRIT OF CERTIORARI

ROBERT N., ISSEKS

Counsel of Record

37 North Street

Middletown, NY 10940

(914) 344-4322

Attorney for Respondent

Of Counsel:

ALEX SMITH

THE REPORTER CO., INC.-Walton, NY 13856 - 800-252-7181

Syracuse Office, University Building. Syracuse, NY 13202 - 315-426-1235

NYC Office - 30 Vesey St.. New York, NY 10007 - 212-732-6978 - 800-800-4264

(2709 — 1996)

Printed on Recycled Paper

<a 9 ste

QUESTION PRESENTED

May the State coerce participation in the religious exercises

propounded by the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous?

TABLE OF CONTENTS i

Cremtions PRONG a ios is bios b's ehCS Awa os dee ee Ke i |

TUROO GE AEG ona 65955 Ch eh a iv |

Summary of the Argument ........00cccccccccccceces l

ge Ee eer RP Cr nrg 3 |

Reasons for Denying the Writ |

New York's requirement that prisoners participate in the

Twelve Step Program constitutes government mandated

religious practice in violation of the Establishment

Clause of the First Amendment ................... 16 |

iil

INDEX TO APPENDIX

Appendix A Portions of ASAT Program Operations

ER De ek a ee ee la

Appendix B_ Affidavit of Robert Cunningham Sworn to

PE, ROM AL FGbcseddaWdevcceaes 25a

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Page |

Cases: |

Abington v Schempp, 374 U.S. at 216 (1963) ........... 18 ,

Board of Educ. v Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) ......... 26

Board of Education v Grumet, 114 S.Ct. 2497 (1994) .... 27

Boyd v Coughlin, 914 F Supp 828 (N.D.N.Y 1996) ....... 23

Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v Hialeah, 113 S.Ct. 2217

be Se re eer eye ry re ee 17

County of Allegheny v American Civil Liberties Union, 492

CE PERMA POOE. canna vecentckwavawatsees 16, 17, 22

Engel v Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) ............... 24, 28

Gillette v United States, 401 U.S. 437 (1971) ........... 17

Grand Rapids School Dist. v Ball, 473 US 373 (1985) .... 18

Jones v Smid, (4-89-CV-20857) . 0... ee eee 20

Kerr v Farrey, 95 F.3d 472 (7th Cir. 1996) ........... 18, 19

Lee v Weisman 120 L.Ed.2d 467 (1992) ............0005- 3

Eee 6 Welemea 143 GAA. BOGS cnn ccc dctstusccecvces 25

LOO ¥ WOU SES UI BEE CEOPED sav ivceccccsdanvaces 27

aides iiiiiiiiiiiiiaiaiiiaidiaiiadal

Lemon v Kurtzman 403 U.S. 602 (1971) ............4.. 24

Marsh v Chambers 463 U.S. 783 (1983) ............... 27

O'Connor v State of Cal., 855 F.Supp. 303 (C.D.Cal.

SPUR: ik 0s aed ASR Os KEN SC O0s wid h a eek 19, 21

O’Lone v Estate of Shabazz, 482 U.S. 342 (1987) ........ 23

Pell v Procunier, 417 U.S. 817 (1974) ................ 23

Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey,

EAN Bre, eer pe rer ep Eye eee e 25

Robinson v City of Edmond, 68 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir. 1995) 22

Scarpino v Grosshiem, 852 F.Supp. 798 (S.D.lowa 1994) . 21

Stafford v Harrison, 766 F.Supp. 1014 (D.Kan. 1991) .. 19, 20

Turner v Safley, 482 U.S. 78 (1987) ...........eeeeees 23

Ward v Walsh, | F.3d 873, 876 (9th Cir. 1993) cert den 114

8 Bs ae a eee reer es eee eer eT PE er yaa 25

Warner v Orange County Department of Probation, 95 F.3d

RL EEE occ ka kay evince aha oa aden 19

Warner v Orange County Department of Probation, 827 F.

I SEE CRAY PPPS) 65 oko nh 0405 ve vaeenes 21

Miscellaneous:

Bertrand Russell, Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?, in The

Basic Writing of Bertrand Russell, Egner & Dennon,

SG, SOMO Gi TORE, TICE oid vice ks tieiws Tee 24

BRIEF IN OPPOSITION TO THE PETITION

SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

In its Opinion rendered June 11, 1996, the New York Court

of Appeals held that "under the Establishment Clause of the

United States Constitution's First Amendment, an atheist or

agnostic inmate may not be deprived of eligibility for expanded

family visitation privileges for refusing to participate in the sole

alcohol and drug addiction program at his State correctional

facility when the program necessarily entails mandatory

attendance at and participation in a curriculum which adopts in

major part the religious-oriented practices and precepts of

Alcoholics Anonymous (hereinafter A.A.)" Petitioners' Appen-

dix, page 3a.

The New York Court of Appeals held that the "essential

major components, indeed, the heart" of the State prison

program at issue was the "A.A. Twelve Step’ manifesto itself

‘The Twelve Steps Of Alcoholics Anonymous" reads as follows:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had

become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to

sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God

as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact

nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove all of our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make

amends to them all.

(continued...)

and inmate participation in the group sessions conducted by

A.A. and N.A. volunteers utilizing the A.A. modus operandi."

Petitioner's Appendix, pages 8a-9a. The Court below then held

that "a fair reading of the fundamental A.A. doctrinal writings

discloses that their dominant theme is unequivocally

religious . . .[and] reflect[s] the traditional elements common to

most theistic religions." Petitioner's Appendix, page 9a. The

Court below continued, "beyond peradventure that doctrinally

and as actually practiced in the 12-step methodology, adherence

to the A.A. fellowship entails engagement in religious activity

and religious proselytization." Petitioner's Appendix, pages 1 la-

12a. The Court below had no trouble concluding that the use of

the A.A. Twelve Step program by New York's prison system "as

an essential component of an exclusive, compulsory

attendance . . . [p]rogram violates the Establishment Clause."

Petitioner's Appendix, page 16a.

(...continued)

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make

amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to

do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong

promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious

contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His

will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to

carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our

affairs.

(emphasis in original).

Pid

Petitioners, however, want this Court to disregard fundamen-

tal Establishment Clause jurisprudence in order to save New

York State's penology of religious indoctrination. They are

asking this Court to approve a new civic religion’ of secular

spiritualism which demands recognition and acceptance of a

distinction between religious belief in "God", on the one hand,

and secular belief in a spiritual "Higher Power" expressed in

traditional religious terms, on the other.’ Petitioners are essen-

tially arguing that so long as the State (or its adjunct, such as

A.A.) disclaims affiliation with any religion and insists that the

word "God" can mean anything one wants it to mean, the State

is free to exhort its citizens—using traditionally religious

language—to hand their wills over to a spiritual Higher Power,

to acknowledge that they are otherwise powerless, and to pray

every day for the rest of their lives.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Respondent, a prisoner who has declared himself an agnostic

or atheist since 1959, brought this proceeding to be relieved

from the requirement that he attend New York State's Depart-

ment of Correctional Services' (DOCS) Alcohol and Substance

Abuse Treatment (ASAT) program as a condition of his

participation in the State prisons’ Family Reunion Program.

Respondent claimed that DOCS' requirement that he attend a

See, Lee v Weisman,120 L.Ed.2d 467, 482-83 (1992) where Justice

Kennedy, writing for the majority, stated that "(t]he suggestion that govern-

ment may establish an official or civic religion as a means of avoiding the

establishment of a religion with more specific creeds strikes us as a contradic-

tion that cannot be accepted.”

>This is so even though DOCS admitted in the courts below that references

are made to God when they are "necessary to explain the Higher Power

concept.” (Petitioner's Appendix, page 89a)

treatment program based upon the religious Twelve Steps of

Alcoholics Anonymous violates the Establishment Clause of the

First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

It is not disputed that: (1) participation in the ASAT program

was a prerequisite to respondent's participation in the Family

Reunion Program, (2) the entire ASAT curriculum was based

upon the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous which is

spiritual in nature, (3) as of June, 1993, the ASAT program

provided treatment services in 62 New York State correctional

facilities and 11,480 inmates were in treatment, and (4) DOCS

did not provide any secular alternative to the ASAT Twelve Step

program—ASAT was DOCS' exclusive addiction program

throughout the State's prison system.

The religiously indoctrinating nature of the Twelve Step

program is explained in the two basic Alcoholics Anonymous

publications, 7welve Steps and Twelve Traditions, and Alcohol-

ics Anonymous, commonly referred to as the "Big Book".

Although neither of these publications was included in the trial

court's record, petitioners, in their opposing briefs to New

York's Appellate Division and Court of Appeals, acknowledged

both of these books as authoritative by explicitly utilizing

excerpts from them in their arguments. Petitioners continue to

acknowledge the authority of these texts by relying upon them

in their petition to this Court. Petition, pages 12, 13, 14.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ("TSTT") "presents an

explicit view of the principles by which A.A. members recover

and by which their Society functions." (Preface TSTT 15) “It is

hoped," write the authors, "that this volume will afford all who

read it a close-up view of the principles and forces which have

made Alcoholics Anonymous what it is." (Preface TSTT 18)

The book elaborates, chapter by chapter, upon each of the

RP le a a ee

Twelve Steps. The following are some of the statements

contained in these chapters:

Some of us won't believe in God, others can't, and still

others who do believe that God exists have no faith

whatever He will perform this miracle [of removing our

obsession] . . . Let's look first at the case of the one who

says he won't believe—the belligerent one. He is in a

state of mind which can be described only as savage.

(Step Two TSTT 25)

Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can

stand together on . . . Step [Two]. True humility and an

open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting

is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we

rightly relate ourselves to Him. (Step Two TSTT 33)

Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for

affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut

away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of

God—or, if you like, a Higher Power—into our lives.

Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail

nothing. We can have faith, yet keep God out of our

lives. Therefore our problem now becomes just how and

by what specific means shall we be able to let Him in?

Step Three represents our first attempt to do this. In fact,

the effectiveness of the whole A.A. program will rest

upon how well and earnestly we have tried to come to a

‘decision to turn our will and our lives to the care of God

as we understood Him.' (Step Three TSTT 34-35)

All of the Twelve Steps require sustained and personal

exertion to conform to their principles and so, we trust,

to God's will. (Step Three TSTT 40)

It is when we try to make our will conform with God's

that we begin to use it rightly. To all of us, this was a

most wonderful revelation. Our whole trouble had been

the misuse of willpower. We had tried to bombard our

problems with it instead of attempting to bring it into

agreement with God's intention for us. To make this

increasingly possible is the purpose of A.A.'s Twelve

Steps, and Step Three opens the door. (Step Three TSTT

40) Step Five is 'the beginning of a true kinship with

man and God.’ (Step Five TSTT 57)

Many an A.A., once agnostic or atheistic, tells us that it

was during this stage of Step Five that he first actually

felt the presence of God. And even those who had faith

already often become conscious of God as they never

were before. (Step Five TSTT 62)

This feeling of being at one with God and man, this

emerging from isolation through the open and honest

sharing of our terrible burden of guilt, brings us to a

resting place where we may prepare ourselves for the

following Steps toward a full and meaningful sobriety.

Step Five TSTT 62)

Of course, the often disputed question of whether God

can—and will, under certain conditions—remove

defects of character will be answered with a prompt

affirmative by almost any A.A. member. To him, this

proposition will be no theory at all; it will be just about

the largest fact in his life. (Step Six TSTT 63)

[I}n a very complete and literal way, all A.A.'s have

‘become entirely ready' to have God remove the mania

ab et I ita "

a i Al ll, Ain a sn te

for alcohol from their lives. And God has proceeded to

do exactly that. (Step Six TSTT 64)

If we ask, God will certainly forgive our derelictions.

(Step Six TSTT 65)

So Step Six—'Were entirely ready tc have God remove

all these defects of character'—is A.A.'s way of stating

the best possible attitude one can take in order to make

a beginning on this lifetime job. (Step Six TSTT 65)

No matter how far we have progressed, desires will

always be found which oppose the grace of God. (Step

Six TSTT 66)

[T]he difference between ‘the boys and the men! is the

difference between striving for a self-determined objec-

tive and for the perfect objective which is of God. (Step

Six TSTT 68)

The moment we say, "No, never!' our minds close against

the grace of God. Delay is dangerous, and rebellion may

be fatal. This is the exact point at which we abandon

limited objectives, and move toward God's will for us.

(Step Six TSTT 69)

For just so long as we were convinced that we could live

exclusively by our own individual strength and intelli-

gence, for just that long was a working faith in a Higher

Power impossible. This was true even when we believed

that God existed. We could actually have earnest reli-

gious beliefs which remained barren because we were

still trying to play God ourselves. As long as we placed

self-reliance first, a genuine reliance upon a Higher

Power was out of the question. That basic ingredient of

all humility, a desire to seek and do God's will, was

missing. (Step Seven TSTT 73)

Refusing to place God first, we had deprived ourselves

of His help. But now the words 'Of myself I am nothing,

the Father doeth the works’ began to carry bright prom-

ise and meaning. (Step Seven TSTT 75)

The Seventh Step is where we make the change in our

attitude which permits us, with humility as our guide, to

move out from ourselves toward others and toward God.

(Step Seven TSTT 76)

Whenever our pencil falters, we can fortify and cheer

ourselves by remembering what A.A. experience in this

Step has meant to others. It is the beginning of the end

of isolation from our fellows and from God. (Step Eight

TSTT 82)

As an insurance against ‘big-shot-ism' we can often

check ourselves by remembering that we are today sober

only by the grace of God and that any success we may be

having is far more His success than ours. (Step Ten

TSTT 92)

Prayer and meditation are our principal means of con-

scious contact with God. (Step Eleven TSTT 96)

It has been well said that ‘almost the only scoffers at

prayer are those who never tried it enough.’ (Step Eleven

TSTT 97)

We all need the light of God's reality, the nourishment of

His strength, and the atmosphere of His grace. To an

amazing extent the facts of A.A. life confirm this ageless

truth. (Step Eleven TSTT 98)

Now and then we may be granted a glimpse of that

ultimate reality which is God's kingdom. And we will be

comforted and assured that our own destiny in that realm

will be secure for so long as we try, however falteringly,

to find and do the will of our own Creator. (Step Eleven

TSTT 98)

The object of meditation "is always the same: to im-

prove our conscious contact with God, with His grace,

wisdom, and love." (Step Eleven TSTT 100)

Now what of prayer? Prayer is the raising of the heart

and mind to God—and in this sense it includes medita-

tion. How may we go about it? And how does it fit in

with meditation? Prayer, as commonly understood, is a

petition to God. Having opened our channel as best we

can, we try to ask for those right things of which we and

others are in the greatest need. And we think that the ~

whole range of our needs is well defined by that part of

Step Eleven which says: '. . . knowledge of His will for

us and the power to carry that out.’ A request for this fits

in any part of our day. (Step Eleven TSTT 102)

... when making specific requests, it will be well to add

to each one of them this qualification: '. . . if it be Thy

will.' We ask simply that throughout the day God plac«.

in us the best understanding of His will that we can have

for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we

may carry it out. (Step Eleven TSTT 102)

In A.A. we have found that the actual good results of

prayer are beyond question. They are matters of knowl-

edge and experience . .. Almost any experienced A.A.

will tell how his affairs have taken remarkable and

unexpected turns for the better as he tried to improve his

conscious contact with God . . . All of us, without

exception, pass through times when we can pray only

with the greatest exertion of will. Occasionally we go

even further than this. We are seized with a rebellion so

sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things

happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We

should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing

what we know to be good for us. (Step Eleven TSTT

104-105)

We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know

that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us, here

and hereafter. (Step Eleven TSTT 105)

Reviewing the first eleven Steps it is observed that "in

Step Three we turned our will and our lives over to the

care of God as we understood Him. For the time being,

we who were atheist or agnostic discovered that our own

group, or A.A. as a whole, would suffice as a higher

power. . . [P]racticing these Steps, we had a spiritual

awakening about which finally there was no question.

Looking at those who were only beginning and still

doubted themselves, the rest of us were able to see the

change setting in. From great numbers of such experi-

ences, we could predict that the doubter who still

claimed that he hadn't got the ‘spiritual angle,’ and who

still considered his well-loved A.A. group the higher

power, would presently love God and call Him by name.

(Step Twelve TSTT 107-109)

Practically every A.A. member declares that no satisfac-

tion has been deeper and no joy greater than in a Twelfth

Step job well done. To watch the eyes of men and

women open with wonder as they move from darkness

into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose

and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see

the alcoholic outcast received back into his community

in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people

awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives

—these things are the substance of what we receive as

we carry A.A.'s message to the next alcoholic. (Step

Twelve TSTT 110)

When we developed still more, we discovered the best

possible source of emotional stability to be God himself.

We found that dependence upon His perfect justice,

forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would

work where nothing else would. (Step Twelve TSTT

116)

Service, gladly rendered, obligations squarely met,

troubles well accepted or solved with God's help, the

knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are

partners in a common effort, the well-understood fact

that in God's sight all human beings are important, the

proof that love freely given surely brings a full return,

the certainty that we are no longer isolated and alone in

self-constructed prisons, the surety that we need no

longer be square pegs in round holes but can fit and

belong in God's scheme of things—these are the perma-

nent and legitimate satisfactions of right living for which

no amount of pomp and circumstance, no heap of

material possessions, could possibly be substitutes. True

ambition is not what we thought it was. True ambition

is the deep desire to live usefully and walk humbly under

the grace of God. (Step Twelve TSTT 124-125)

With each passing day of our lives, may every one of us

sense more deeply the inner meaning of A.A.'s simple

prayer:

God grant us the serenity to accept the things we

cannot change. Courage to change the things we can,

And wisdom to know the difference." (Step Twelve

TSTT 125)

Alcoholics Anonymous (the "Big Book") is "A.A.'s basic text"

and its "central theme" is the "emphasis on a higher power". As

"an all-purpose guide for anyone having problems working the

Twelve Steps", the Big Book's main object is ‘to enable [the

reader] to find a Power greater than [himself] which will solve

[his] problem," and that it is "spiritual as well as moral." (Big

Book, page 45) Chapter Four of the "Big Book", entitled "We

Agnostics," provides:

... If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot

quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control

over the amount you take, you are probably an alcoholic.

If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness

which only a spiritual experience will conquer.

To one who feels he is an atheist or agnostic such an

experience seems impossible, but to continue as he is

means disaster, especially if he is an alcoholic of the

hopeless variety. To be doomed to an alcoholic death or

to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alterna-

tives to face.

But it isn't so difficult. About half our original fellow-

ship were exactly of that type. At first some of us tried

to avoid the issue, hoping against hope we were not true

alcoholics. But after a while we had to face the fact that

we must find a spiritual basis of life—or else. Perhaps it

is going to be that way with you. But cheer up, some-

thing like half of us thought we were atheists or agnos-

tics. Our experience shows that you need not be discon-

certed.

A preliminary step in the A.A. program requires the partici-

pant to admit the existence "of a Creative Intelligence, a Spirit

of the Universe underlying the totality of things. . ." (Big Book,

page 46). Once this step is taken, the participant is to be

possessed with a new sense of "power and direction." The

program provides that "[a]t the start, this was all [the partici-

pant] needed to commence spiritual growth, to effect [his] first

conscious relation with God as [he] understood Him." (Big

Book, page 47) As soon as the participant can say that "he does

believe, or is willing to believe, . . .[the program] emphatically

assures him that he is on his way" and that a "wonderfully

effective spiritual structure can be built." (Big Book, page 47)

The ASAT Program Operations Manual sets forth in detail the

role that the Twelve Steps plays in the entire ASAT curriculum

administered throughout the State's prison system, including

respondent's prison. The Manual's statement of the ASAT

"philosophy" begins:

The 12-Step approach to recovery is a set of principles

which teach an individual how to build a life based on

sobriety. By working the 12 suggested steps, a person

achieves a clear, honest view of relationships with others

and a realistic understanding of himself/herself. The 12

Steps of A.A. act as a guide which provide the tools to

build a new way of life without the use of alcohol and/or

drugs, one day at a time. An outline of these steps is

provided in the ASAT Curriculum, Attachment E.*

(ASAT Program Operations Manual, page 6—Respondent's

Appendix, page 2a)

Section VIII of the ASAT Manual, entitled, "Program

Concept", describes the "Treatment Services". Under the

subheading, "Alcohol and Drug Education and Counseling",

there appears the following:

ASAT staff will develop a curriculum reflecting week,

topic, and educational information that will be delivered.

Audio/visual material, lectures, and group discussions

will be used. The curriculum will be based on the

"Twelve Step" approach to recovery.

(ASAT Program Operations Manual, page 25—Respondent's

Appendix, page 4a, emphasis added)

DOCS' statement of the ASAT "Goals and Objectives" begins

by setting forth its "Mission Statement" which includes focusing

on the prisoner's continued participation in self-help groups

based on the Twelve-Step approach. (ASAT Program Opera-

tions Manual, page 4—Respondent's Appendix, page 1a) The

Manual states that weekly participation in self-help groups such

as A.A. is mandatory in the formal ASAT program. (ASAT

Program Operations Manual, page 27—-Respondent's Appendix,

“The "ASAT Program Curriculum" ("Attachment E" of the Manual)

outlines all of the Twelve Steps.

page 6a) Under the Manual's "Overview of the Self-Help

Programs" there is a section which reads, "Group counseling

focus: Continued exploration of feelings regarding disease

concept and self-help programs." Under this heading there is a

list which contains, among others, the topics, "Review of the 12

steps", "what it means to work the steps", "Treatment emphasis -

Steps 1, 2, 3", and "Ongoing stepwork - disease concept".

(Attachment "E" of the ASAT Program Operations Manual,

pages 2-3—Respondent's Appendix, pages 9a)

The curriculum portion of the ASAT Manual explains that the

group counseling sessions focus on such topics as "Surrender to

powerlessness", "Seeking and finding your higher power",

"Barriers to faith", "From fear to faith" and "Prayer and medita-

tion". (Attachment "E" of the ASAT Program Operations

Manual, pages 4-17—Respondent's Appendix, pages 10a-24a)

The audio-visual aids and handouts given to ASAT participants

include such titles as "Accepting Powerlessness", "What is

Spirituality?", "Step Two: A Promise of Hope", "The Will of

God" and "Our Father".

Thus the New York Court of Appeals had ample basis for

finding that "[t]he ASAT Manual not only fails to disclaim and

disassociate the prison system's drug and alcohol addiction

treatment program from A.A.'s religious approach to combating

these afflictions, but actually embraces and reinforces worship

in the A.A. mold." Petitioners’ Appendix, page 12a. The ASAT

program itself, and not just the AA self-help groups that the

participating prisoners are required to attend, is grounded in the

Twelve Steps’—a process to sobriety that is explicitly guided by

traditionally religious concepts and explicitly directed toward a

conversion of the participant to a reliance upon God.

REASONS FOR DENYING THE WRIT

NEW YORK'S REQUIREMENT THAT PRISONERS

PARTICIPATE IN THE TWELVE STEP PROGRAM

CONSTITUTES GOVERNMENT MANDATED RELI-

GIOUS PRACTICE IN VIOLATION OF THE ESTAB-

LISHMENT CLAUSE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT

"Whether the key word is ‘endorsement’, ‘favoritism’ or

‘promotion’, the essential principle remains the same. The

Establishment Clause at the very least prohibits government

from appearing to take a position on questions of religious

belief . . ." County of Allegheny v American Civil Liberties

Union, 492 U.S. 573, 593-594 (1989)(emphasis added).

Petitioners’ exclusive employment of its Twelve Step ASAT

program, coupled with their conditioning of prison opportuni-

ties, such as conjugal visits, upon an inmate's participation in

* Petitioners make a perplexing attempt to rewrite the decision below as

though it only pertains to ASAT's requiring inmates to participate in AA self-

help groups. Petition, page 3 n. 2. Whatever "portion of the program" might

be petitioners’ "focus here", and whatever might be their present "periodic

review and revision" of the ASAT program, /d., the fact remains that it was

the ASAT program as it existed, and the fact that it was the State's exclusive

treatment program, which formed the basis of the Court of Appeals’ decision.

that program, makes it appear, "at the very least," that the State

has "take[n] a position on questions of religious belief." Jd.

There is no intellectually honest way to deny this fact.° Indeed,

the New York Court of Appeals observed that the A.A. literature

"demonstrates beyond peradventure that doctrinally and as

actually practiced in the 12-step methodology, adherence to the

A.A. fellowship entail: engagement in religious activity and

religious proselytization." Petitioner's Appendix, 11la-12a. As

long as the State relies exclusively upon religiously proselytiz-

ing language, the objective appearance of government-endorsed

religiosity will be undeniable.

Even if this Court were to go so far as to accept petitioners’

Suggestion that words like "God" and "prayer" and "Him" and

"Higher Power" and "spirituality" can be given a neutral or

secular "spin" (which, of course, they really can't), the Establish-

ment Clause would still be violated. This is because the First

Amendment "forbids" even "subtle departures from neutrality,"

Gillette v United States, 401 U.S. 437, 452 (1971) ..." quoted.

in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v Hialeah, 113 S8.Ct. 2217,

2227 (1993), and there is nothing at all subtle about the State's

departure from neutrality in this record. The religious indoctri-

nation inherent in a departmental policy of using the Twelve

Steps is not erased, or even minimized, simply by labeling it

"spiritual" or "therapeutic".

* Ironically, petitioners’ own counselor, Robert Cunningham, admitted that

a fair reading of the 12-Steps leads to the conclusion that it is religious:

“Based solely on my reading of the 12 Steps as well as the other materials

submitted by Mr. Griffin in support of his grievance, I concluded that the

program had a religious foundation." (Cunningham Affidavit, par. 11

—Respondent's Appendix, page 27a)

Petitioners’ heavy reliance upon A.A.'s conclusory, self-

serving disclaimer that the Twelve Step process is not “reli-

gious",’ not only has been rejected by the New York Court of

Appeals, it is presently being uniformly rejected in the federal

courts.

In Kerr v Farrey, 95 F.3d 472, 497-480 (7th Cir. 1996) the

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which stated its agreement

with the Opinion below, rejected the argument that the "program

escaped the ‘religious’ label because the twelve steps used

phrases like ‘God, as we understood Him,' and because the

warden indicated that the concept of God could include the non-

religious idea of willpower within the individual." The Seventh

Circuit observed that "[a] straightforward reading of the twelve

steps shows clearly that the steps are based on the monotheistic

” Petitioners also suggest that because A.A. purportedly does not embrace

one particular religion it does not violate the First Amendment. But even

assuming that the A.A. requirement does include the principle of non-

affiliation, this still would not remove it from the scope of the Establishment

Clause. In Abington v Schempp, 374 U.S. at 216, the Supreme Court

observed how it "has rejected unequivocally the contention that the Establish-

ment Clause forbids only governmental preference of one religion over

another." Abington, 374 U.S. at 216. See, also, Grand Rapids School Dist.

v Ball, 473 US 373, 382, where this Court observed that the government must

“maintain a course of neutrality among religions, and between religion and

nonreligion. . . "

idea of a single God or Supreme Being."* /d. See, also,

O'Connor v State of Cal., 855 F.Supp. 303, 307-308 (C.D.Cal.

1994) which, prior to Kerr, drew the same conclusion that A.A.,

for purposes of First Amendment analysis, is not only religious,

but specifically "monotheistic" in its basic principles:

Spirituality is a central part of the Alcoholics Anony-

mous philosophy, and the program contains religious

overtones. While A.A. is not a "religion"—various faiths

may all participate without renouncing their religious

convictions—a review of the "Big Book of Alcoholics

Anonymous" reveals that it is founded on monotheistic

principles.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Warner v Orange

County Department of Probation, 95 F.3d 202, 213 (2nd Cir.

1996), as did the Seventh Circuit in Kerr, expressed its agree-

ment with the Opinion below and stated that it had "little

difficulty concluding that the constitutional line was crossed" by

the government's endorsement of, and requirement of participa-

tion in, the Twelve Step program. Addressing the disclaimer

argument now being propounded to this Court by petitioners,

and specifically that argument's reliance upon Stafford v

* The Seventh Circuit went on to point out that the phrase "God, as we

understood Him," stressed by petitioners to show the so-called flexibility of

the "God" concept, really works against the State, since the phrase refers to

God as "Him". Kerr, 95 F.3d at 480. Thus it is no longer true, as petitioners

originally asserted, that no court other than the Court below has held that the

12 Steps method is religious on its face. See, Petition, 8, 10.

Harrison, 766 F.Supp. 1014 (D.Kan. 1991),’ the Second Circuit

in Warner stated that

Stafford involved a mandatory prison-based substance

abuse program, structured around the principles of A.A.

The court upheld the program, arguing that A.A.'s

notions of a "higher power" and "God" were sufficiently

flexible and non-denominational that the program could

not be said to constitute a "religion." This is a misappli-

cation of First Amendment doctrine, which prohibits

coerced participation in religious exercise of any variety

for its favoritism of religion over non-religion. We

decline to follow that case, which has been criticized for

misreading relevant Supreme Court precedent."

*The Stafford Court, pointing to the disclaimer in the "Big Book", held

that "[w]hile the spiritual nature of Alcoholics Anonymous cannot be denied,

the court is not persuaded this program is a religion." 766 F.Supp. at 1016.

The holding in Jones v Smid, (4-89-CV-20857), the unpublished 1993

Southern District of lowa decision also cited in the instant petition, expressly

adopted the reasoning in Stafford.

‘In the Warner District Court decision, the reasoning in Stafford was found

faulty and rejected as follows:

The case upon which Defendant relies for the proposition that A.A. is not

a religious organization, Stafford v Harrison, 766 F.Supp. 1014 (D.Kan.

1991), draws its legal justification from a misapplication of Justice

Douglas’ concurring opinion in U.S. v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163 (1965).

Stafford finds that “the belief in a Supreme Being ‘cannot be sustained as

a distinguishing characteristic of religion." Staffi rd, 766 F.Supp. at 1017.

The passage from Seeger cited by the Stafford court stands not for the

proposition that reference to a Supreme Being does not make something

a ‘religion’, but for the proposition that belief in a Supreme Being is not a

(continued...)

Stafford was also rejected in Scarpino v Grosshiem, 852 F.Supp.

798, 804 (S.D.lowa 1994) which described the reliance upon

A.A.'s disclaimer as "dubious."

Also refusing to follow Stafford and adopt the sort of selec-

tive and misleading references to the A.A. literature that can be

found in the instant petition, the District Court in O'Connor took

the following quote as revealing:

This is the how and why of it. First of all, we had to quit

playing God. It didn't work. Next, we decided that

hereafter in this drama of life, God was going to be our

Director. He is the Principal; we are His agents. He is

the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are

simple, and his concept was the keystone of the new and

triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom...

O'Connor, 855 F.Supp. at 307, n. 6.

Ill

The primary problem with petitioners’ argument is that it

would guarantee the State's ability to circumvent the Establish-

ment Clause in every challenge to state-endorsed religious

(...continued)

prerequisite for a religion. In fact, Douglas specifically notes Hinduism

and Buddhism as religions which do not include a concept of a Supreme

Being. As a result, we base our analysis upon decisions of the Supreme

Court rather than upon Stafford.

Warner v Orange County Department of Probation, 827 F.Supp. at 267.

indoctrination. If States were permitted to use traditionally

religious terms simply on their claim that such terms are not to

be taken literally, but as mere metaphorical tokens, then

accountability under the First Amendment would be impossible.

See, e.g., Robinson v City of Edmond, 68 F.3d 1226 (10th Cir.

1995), which rejected a request to go behind the objective''

significance of a traditionally religious symbol. The Tenth

Circuit rightly observed that an argument which would discard

the objective standard "could always ‘trump’ the Establishment

Clause." /d.

Petitioners' argument, with its proffered interpretation of

"God" and "prayer" as state-of-the-art terms within the treatment

industry, similarly asks that the objective standard be discarded

and that plairily religious language not be taken at face value. At

the very least, however, the First Amendment must forbid

government from using language conventionally understood as

religious as a tool for social engineering. Otherwise, any

governmental entity, such as New York's DOCS, which has

created and now operates a religiously proselytizing program,

always would be able to "trump" the Establishment Clause by

simply saying that when it uses the word "God" it doesn't mean

God, and when it tells people to "pray to God" it really is telling

them to do something non-religious.

"Instead, the Tenth Circuit applied the objective standard enunciated in

County of Allegheny v American Civil Liberties Union (492 U.S. 573) and

looked "only to the average receiver of the government communication or

average observer of the government action." Robinson v City of Edmond,

supra.

This is also why petitioners’ "secular purpose" argument fails.

If this Court were to approve the State's exclusive endorsement

of the Twelve Steps on the theory that working them is good for

certain types of people because "God" has a therapeutic, non-

religious significance, the variety of opportunities to “trump the

Establishment Clause" would be virtually limitless. Nothing

then could stop the State from requiring the working of the

Twelve Steps as a condition of, say, child visitation, or public or

government-regulated employment, or even a student's right <o

remain in public school. As the New York Court of Appeals

correctly observed, "[a]dopting a balancing approach here would

be unprecedented and raise serious implications beyond the

prison context." Petitioner's Appendix, 26a."

Petitioners’ effort to psychologize, and thereby secularize, the

Twelve Steps—by deconstructing the words "God", "Him",

"The Court of Appeals properly refused to follow Boyd v Coughlin, 914

F Supp 828 (N.D.N.Y 1996) which is cited at pages 10 and 11 of the instant

petition. Boyd misused precedent by citing O'Lone v Estate of Shabazz, 482

U.S. 342; Turner v Safley, 482 U.S. 78; and Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817,

822-23. These are not Establishment Clause cases; they involve personal,

rather than public, constitutional rights. In O'Lone, for example, a case

involving a claim under the Free Exercise Clause, the Supreme Court held

that a balancing is permitted between an inmate's personal right to engage in

his religion's rituals and practices and the State's penological and administra-

tive interests. Obviously, there are some religious practices that a prison

simply cannot accommodate for reasons of security, order and economy.

However, such balancing between personal freedoms and penological

objectives has absolutely nothing to do with the Establishment Clause. Under

the Establishment Clause, State institutional objectives may never justify

State religious indoctrination.

"prayer" and "spiritual awakening" as mere metaphors—also has

the effect of degrading’ traditional religious beliefs and

insulting those who hold them. This is because petitioners are

telling this Court (and the citizens of New York) that the word

"God" has no objective referent and that, despite one's religious

convictions, "God" and "prayer" are nothing more than useful

slogans in carrying out the State's therapeutic objectives."

What petitioners are doing is precisely what the Establish-

ment Clause was intended to prevent. They are perverting

religious language to serve the purposes of the State.

The exhortations contained in the Twelve Steps become no

less repugnant to the Establishment Clause simply because the

prisoner might (theoretically) be told that he can interpret them

in non-religious terms. The fact that a person might be able to

maintain his atheism (or his particular form of religious convic-

tion) in the face of indoctrination administered in A.A.'s

anthropomorphic, monotheistic terms does not make his state-

mandated exposure to such indoctrination constitutional. The

Twelve Step requirement still violates the second and third

prongs of the Lemon v Kurtzman (403 U.S. 602) test in that a

"See, Engel v Vitale (370 U.S. 421), where this Court stated that a “union

of government and religion tends to destroy government and degrade

religion.”

'* Compare, Bertrand Russell, Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?, in The

Basic Writing of Bertrand Russell,Egner & Dennon, Eds., Simon & Schuster,

1961, at page 600: "I can respect the men who argue that religion is true and

therefore ought to be believed, but I can only feel profound moral reprobation

for those who say that religion ought to be believed because it is useful, and

that to ask whether it is true is a waste of time."

principal or primary effect of requiring acceptance of the A.A.

doctrine advances religion, and at a minimum fosters an

excessive, and unnecessary,'* entanglement with religion.

Petitioners argue that the specific references to "God" and

"Him" can somehow be ignored and that there is nothing wrong

with the State methodically inducing prisoners to understand

their problems in "spiritual" terms and to surrender their wills to

a spiritual "Higher Power". Apart from the unintelligibility of

their spiritual-but-secular "Higher Power", petitioners are

making the constitutionally erroneous assumption that there is

nothing wrong with the State dictating the terms in which

human existence is to be understood or in asserting the existence

of such entities as "a Spirit of the Universe underlying the

totality of things." As this Court has made clear, matters such as

"one's own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe,

and of the mystery of human life"—matters that "define the

attributes of personhood"—must never be "formed under

compulsion of the State." Planned Parenthood of Southeastern

Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833, 112 S.Ct. 2791, 2807

(1992).'* A prisoner, like any other person,'’ must be permitted

to maintain the integrity of his intellect, for such integrity is

''The religious entanglement is "unnecessary" in the sense that the State

can achieve the goal of alcohol rehabilitation without coercing individuals to

practice religion. There are secular alternatives to A.A.

“See, also, Lee v Weisman, 112 S.Ct. at 2665, stating: "There is no doubt

that attempts to aid religion through government coercion jeopardize freedom

of conscience. Even subtle pressure diminishes the right of each individual

to choose voluntarily what to believe."

‘7 "A human being does not cease to be human because the human being

is a prisoner of the state." Ward v Walsh, | F.3d 873, 876 (9th Cir. 1993) cert

den 114 S.Ct. 1297.

essential to the preservation of human dignity and, thus, a free

society.'*

Petitioners miscast the holding below when they argue that

the record is inadequate in that "[t]he proscription against state

endorsement of religion was never meant to apply to a mere

possibility that a 12-step self-help group might conduct their

meetings with a religious flavor." Petition, page 19. DOCS'

Establishment Clause violation does not occur solely within the

confines of the mandated self-help group meetings. It is the

religious foundation of the entire ASAT program, together with

petitioners’ exclusive endorsement of it and their coercion of

respondent to participate in it, which violates the First Amend-

ment.

As the Court below properly observed, a reading of the ASAT

Manual shows that at "the heart of the [ASAT] program" is "the

A.A. Twelve Step manifesto itself and inmate participation in

the group sessions conducted by A.A. and N.A. volunteers

utilizing the A.A. modus operandi." Petitioner's Appendix, 9a.

The ASAT Manual was created by the State, not A.A. It is the

State, not A.A. volunteers, that has been directing inmates to

attend counseling where the "focus" is "Surrender to powerless-

ness", "Seeking and finding your higher power", "Barriers to

faith", "From fear to faith" and "Prayer and meditation". It is the

State which has inmates listen to audio tapes such as "Excuses,

'* “Freedom of thought, which includes freedom of religious belief, is

basic in a society of free men. * * * It embraces the right to maintain theories

of life and of death and of the hereafter which are rank heresy to the followers

of the orthodox faiths." Board of Educ. v Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 640-642.

Honesty, Humility, Spiritual Side" and "The Will of God", and

to watch video tapes such as "Our Father".

Coerced"’ participation in a program based upon the Twelve

Steps is considerably more than mere "exposure to religious

ideas" (Petition, page 7) or the "mere use of the word ‘God", as

petitioners have chosen to downplay it (Petition, page 7). It is

overt religious indoctrination.”” To analogize it to the Marsh v

Chambers (463 U.S. 783) chaplain's prayer (Petition, page 16),

and to distinguish Lee v Weisman (505 U.S. 577) on the theory

that adult inmates are not "susceptible" children (Petition, page

16), ignores the fact that the very premise of the ASAT program

is that the participant is susceptible. Otherwise, the program

makes no sense at all.

'° ‘The fact that respondent had the option of forgoing participation in the

Family Reunion Program is of no moment. Once the State provides such a

program, it must do so in a manner that does not infringe upon constitutional

rights. See, in addition to the authorities cited in the decision below, Board

of Education v Grumet, 114 S.Ct. at 2497, where Justice Souter, expressing

the view of the majority, stated that the Religion Clauses of the Constitution

“all speak with one voice on this point: Absent the most unusual circum-

stances, one's religion ought not affect one's legal rights or duties or benefits."

2°The insidious nature of the program's method of indoctrination comes to

the fore through ASAT Counselor Cohen's remark that “the resistance

displayed by [respondent] is a typical symptom of addiction, requiring

treatment.” (Petitioners' Appendix, page 91a) Cohen's assumption that

respondent is "an inmate in denial," and her warning that "[w]e must be

careful to prevent inmates from believing they can change the system in order

to avoid changing themselves," provide a vivid picture of what respondent,

and other prisoners, are being subjected to during the A.A. meetings they are

forced to attend.

In Engel v Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962) this Court held that

New York's recommendation to the local school boards that they

adopt the practice of daily prayer" violated the Establishment

Clause: "We think that by using its public school system to

encourage recitation of the Regent's prayer, the State of New

York has adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with the

Establishment Clause." Enge/, 370 U.S. at 424. It is equally

clear that by using its prison system to encourage working the

Twelve Steps, without providing a secular alternative, the State

of New York again adopted a practice wholly inconsistent with

the Establishment Clause.

CONCLUSION

The psychological pressure put upon respondent to accept the

A.A. beliefs is the very sort of direct, overt compulsion to reject

his atheism (or agnosticism) which the drafters of the First

Amendment found to be intolerable. Respondent submits that,

for purposes of finding an Establishment Clause violation, it is

sufficient that the program he is being required to participate in

is built upon a "spiritual" foundation described in theistic terms

—a fact which respondents do not dispute.

The government involvement with religious activity in this

case resulted in state-sponsored and state-mandated religious

exercise. Petitioners used the threat of withholding an institu-

tional program to force inmates to participate in the Twelve Step

program. They attempted to indoctrinate inmates to "[make] a

decision to turn [their] will[s] and [their] lives over to the care

of God", to "admit to God . . . the exact nature of [their]

*! "This daily procedure was adopted on the recommendation of the State

Board of Regents." Engel, 370 U.S. at 422.

wrongs", to be "entirely ready to have God remove all these

defects of character", to [h]umbly [ask] Him to remove all of

their shortcomings, to seek "through prayer and meditation to

improve [their] conscious contact[s] with God", as they

underst[an]d Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for

[them] and the power to carry that out", and "[hJaving had a

spiritual awakening as a result of these steps," to try "to carry

this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all

their affairs." (The Twelve Steps, Steps 3, 5, 6, 7, 11 & 12) All

this was imposed under the threat that if they refused to submit,

they would not receive the benefit of the Family Reunion

Program. This constitutes a glaring, ongoing violation of the

constitutional prohibitions against promoting religion and the

excessive entanglement between church and state.

Accordingly, the petition should be denied.

Dated: Middletown, New York

November 22, 1996

Respectfully submitted by:

Robert N. Isseks, Esq.

(Counsel of Record)

37 North Street

Middletown, New York 10940

(914) 344-4322

Attorney for Respondent

Of Counsel:

Alex Smith, Esq.

41 Dolson Avenue

P.O. Box 578

Middletown, New York 10940

(914) 343-2101

APPENDIX A—Portions of ASAT Program

Operations Manual

New York State Department of Correctional Services

ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT

(ASAT)

PROGRAM OPERATIONS MANUAL

July 1991

(4) Il. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A. Mission Statement

To prepare chemically dependent inmates for return to

the community and to reduce recidivism, the Department

of Correctional Services ASAT Program assists partici-

pants by providing education and counseling focused on

continued abstinence from all mood altering substances

and participation in self-help groups based on the

"Twelve-Step" approach.

B. Performance Goals

1. Identify in reception centers those inmates demonstrat-

ing a need for alcohol and substance abuse treatment

services through a standardized alcohol and substance

abuse classification procedure.

2. Provide orientation to the general inmate population,

sensitizing inmates to the problems of alcohol and

substance abuse.

3. Develop individualized treatment plans through which

the inmate's needs are assessed and treatment goals are

established; regularly evaluate progress in treatment.

4. Provide educational seminars through the use of au-

dio/visual aids, lectures and discussions as well as group

counseling and other appropriate supportive services.

5. Encourage the participant to actively pursue academic,

vocational, and ancillary support services which will

contribute to the development of appropriate skills and

coping mechanisms necessary to maintain a drug-free

lifestyle upon release.

6. Encourage inmate participation in self-help groups

during and after formal ASAT participation.

++?

(6)IV. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

A. Philosophy

1. 12-Step Approach

The 12-Step approach to recovery is a set of principles

which teach an individual how to build a life based on

sobriety. By working the 12 suggested steps, a person

achieves a clear, honest view of relationships with others

and a realistic understanding of himself/herself. The 12

steps of AA act as a guide which provide the tools to

build a new way of life without the use of alcohol and/or

drugs, one day at a time. An outline of these steps is

provided in the ASAT Curriculum, Attachment E.

The basic treatment approach is an integrated program

of education and counseling. This will assist the inmate

in arriving at behavior change leading toward pro-social

coping skills and productive life goals without the need

for mood altering chemicals. This therapeutic approach

is used by individual staff members in the context of

bringing about beneficial behavior change in an inmate

and leading him/her toward positive and productive

goals.

One of the main foundations of the program is the

ongoing building of an appropriate treatment atmosphere

based on trust. A treatment atmosphere involves both

staff and inmates. Communication fosters trust; trust in

turn facilitates communication. The staff as individuals

and as a group serve as role models and function as a

team.

Another foundation of the program is individual respon-

sibility. The individual inmate is basically responsible

for whatever happens to him/her and for dealing with it.

Change comes from within and change is possible. The

program and staff offer conditions which will assist an

inmate in bringing about change; however, the inmate is

the cause of change in his/her own life.

eee

(25) VII. PROGRAM CONTENT

Treatment Services

These activities will focus on providing the information

and therapy necessary for participants to identify their

addiction, understand the recovery process, and develop

skills and coping mechanisms necessary to maintain

commitment to a drug-free lifestyle.

. Alcohol and ucatio li

ASAT staff will develop a curriculum reflecting week,

topic, and educational information that will be delivered.

Audio/video material, lectures, and group discussions

will be used. The curriculum will be based on the

"Twelve Step" approach to recovery.

Attachment E includes an outline of the program curric-

ulum that must be used.

The following educational and counseling activities will

be included:

a. Audio/Video Presentations:

Tapes, films, and videos will be sued on a consistent

basis to introduce the theme for each phase of the

curriculum. These will illustrate various issues regard-

ing addiction and recovery. One hour per week will be

allotted for this activity. The use of audio/video

material must comply with Directive #4555, "Video

Production Programs and Procedure."

Audio tapes, e.g. the Hazelden tapes (Albums 1-12) may

be used. Participants will listen individually or in groups

to particular topics on addiction. They will complete

assignments which will indicate a basic understanding of

the topics explained in each tape.

(27) 2. Family Services

Because the family is an integral part of the treatment

process, family services will be an ongoing focus.

Families will be strongly encouraged to participate in:

a. Orientation sessions which will outline the course of

treatment recommended for the participant, and the

role families or significant others play in the recovery

process.

b. Seminars which sensitize families or significant

others to addiction and the process for recovery.

c. Family counseling groups which will focus on indi-

vidual needs and the dynamics of the interpersonal

interactions which are demonstrated in the partici-

pant's particular family situation.

Times may be arranged at the convenience of the ASAT

staff and the individual family. The Correction Counselor

(Family Services) may assist the ASAT staff in providing

these services.

B. Self-Help Group Participation (AA/NA)

ASAT is an educational and counseling experience which

introduces and prepares inmates to identify chemical

addiction and the process of recovery. It reinforces total

abstinence and the need to participate in self-help groups.

Therefore, weekly participation in self-help groups such as

AA or NA is mandatory in the formal ASAT Program.

One hour of self-help group participation per week will be

credited toward the ASAT Program hours requirement as

noted in Section VIII-B. Self-help groups such as Gamblers

Anonymous, Smokers Anonymous, etc. do not fulfill this

requirement.

It should be noted that self-help groups such as AA and NA

are not part of the formal ASAT Program but are an

important adjunct to it. These groups must be separated

from the ASAT Program and not

***

(1) Attachment E

ASAT PROGRAM CURRICULUM

The following are topics that need to be covered over 26

weeks. Since ASAT is not an educational program but is

therapeutic in nature, the choice of topics should depend on

group make-up and related issues and not necessarily in the

order described below. Segments of certain topics may be re-

discussed in conjunction with new topics. Flexibility is

required to ensure genuine therapy.

ASAT Orientation

ASAT Orientation should be delivered on a weekly basis to all

new participants of the program.

Goal: To ensure a complete understanding of the program; how

it works, expectations regarding behaviors, the treatment

process, discharge criteria. Group process begins.

Group counseling focus: Getting to know each other

Lecture: Group Dynamics

Describe and discuss overall program to include goals,

expectations, physical plant

Review schedule

Review of rules (facility and ASAT); discharge criteria and

process will be clearly defined sign

Review of tools

Review of "chain of command"

Assignment of house jobs

Orientation to group counseling; distribute group rules

Suggested Video: How To Sabotage Your Treatment

Continued Acts of Sabotage

Suggested Handout: How To Get The Most Out Of Group

Therapy—Hazelden

**K

(2) Overview of Addiction

Goal: To assist the inmate to understand and personalize the

disease concept in relation to their personal drug and alcohol

history.

Group counseling focus: Begin personal review of drug and

alcohol history

Lecture: Psychopharmacology—Overview of the physiological

effects of depressants (including alcohol), stimulants, narcotics,

hallucinogens. Emphasis on crack/cocaine.

— Treatment approaches

— Disease concept—need for total abstinence

— Signs and symptoms

— Review of progression

— Cross-addiction, dual addiction, substitution

— Synergy

— Other compulsive behaviors—power-based—sex, an-

orexia, bulimia, exercise, gambling, spending

Suggested Video: Brother Earl's Street Smart Series

"Street Talk"

Suggested Video: My Fifth Superbowl, Carl Eller

The Disease of Alcoholism,

David Ohlmes

Suggested Handout: "CD-The Disease", Jellinek Chart

Alcoholism/Addiction Checklist

A Look at Cross-Addiction

The Promises of Sobriety

Suggested Audio: Action, Alcoholism

Sin or Disease?

Overview of Self-Help Programs

Goal: Both the structure and function of self-help programs and

its relationship to the disease model will be explored.

Group counseling focus: Continued exploration of feelings

regarding disease concept and self-help programs.

(3)— Purpose and function—support, growth, change of

lifestyle and belonging

— Review of various programs and their focus

— Review of the 12 steps

— What it means to work the steps

—— Treatment emphasis—Steps 1,2,3

— Ongoing step work—disease concept

— Can you commit to yourself?

— Program tools—sponsorship, slogan, meetings

— Types of meetings

— "Model meeting" using outside speakers