In Long v. Sugai, published February 5, 2024, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a judgment in favor of correctional officers. The plaintiff, who is a practicing Muslim, alleged the defendants violated his 1st Amendment right to free exercise of religion, and unconstitutionally retaliated against him for engaging in…
In Maney v. Brown, published February 1, 2024, the 9th Circuit reversed an order denying a motion to dismiss a claim brought under 42 U.S.C. section 1983. At the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the defendant governor and the defendant state health officer were responsible for crafting the state's response to the virus. When vaccines first…
In Hampton v. State of California, published October 3, 2023, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's denial of a motion to dismiss a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit brought by the wife of an inmate who died of COVID-19 in San Quentin prison. The case arises out of the same circumstances as…
In Alexander v. Nguyen, published August 25, 2023, the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 case. The plaintiff was a pretrial detainee who was being treated at a state mental hospital until he was competent to stand trial on a criminal charge. While he was there,…
In Nasby v. State of Nevada, published August 18, 2023, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of state prison officials in a prisoner's lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 alleging denial of 1st Amendment rights. The prisoner, convicted of first-degree murder, was housed in a lockdown unit of a state prison…
In Polanco v. Diaz, published August 7, 2023, a split panel of the 9th Circuit affirmed a district court decision denying a motion to dismiss a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 against state prison officials . A few months into the COVID-19 Pandemic, high-evel officers in the state prison system transferred 122 inmates from one prison, where…
In Dupree v. Younger, published May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court reversed a circuit court decision dismissing an appeal. The plaintiff alleged that while he was being held as a pretrial detainee, three corrections officers assaulted him. He sued them in federal court under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for allegedly using excessive force in…
In Malear v. State of California, published March 13, 2023, the First District Court of Appeal, Division 3 reversed the dismissal of a putative class action after demurrer. The plaintiff alleged that the transfer of 194 inmates from one prison to another in May 2020 without testing or isolating inmates who displayed symptoms of COVID-19 led…
In Carillo v. County of Santa Clara, published March 13, 2023, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 4 affirmed dismissal of a medical malpractice suit after demurrer was sustained. The plaintiff alleged that in December 17, 2017, when he was in the custody of the defendant county’s department of corrections, his right foot was…
In Simmons v. Arnett, published August 31, 2022, a divided panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for a prison guard and a prison nurse in a 42 U.S.C. section 1983 lawsuit alleging violation of the 8th Amendment. The plaintiff prisoner was attacked by another inmate. The defendant guard was the only…