Constitutional Law,
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Nov. 25, 2020
Guards immune from suit for waking prisoners to check on them
Many prisoners have claimed the Guard One system used in Pelican Bay State Prison and elsewhere is so loud it keeps them up at night, in violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
A split federal appellate panel has upheld the qualified immunity of prison officials accused in a lawsuit of depriving inmates of sleep through a noisy procedure designed to prevent suicides in cells. But the attorney representing the plaintiff said there are still legal avenues to force the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to change the system to protect prisoners' rights.
Many prisoners have claimed the Guard One syst...
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Rico v. Ducart
Prison officials were entitled to qualified immunity for inmate's claims of sleep deprivation from inherently loud court-ordered suicide-prevention checks.
