United States Eighth Circuit

In an inmate's 42 U.S.C. section 1983 suit against several employees of a correctional center alleging multiple violations of his constitutional rights of due process, access to the courts, and freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, denial of defendants' request for qualified immunity on the Eighth Amendment claim is affirmed in part, but reversed in part where: 1) qualified immunity was properly denied to one officer with respect to death threats and to the labeling of plaintiff as a snitch, and also properly denied as to two other officers regarding another incident; and 2) denial of qualified immunity to three defendants with respect to death threats they made was erroneous as those threats were not objectively credible.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/07/2008
• Published 03/07/2008

Judges

• WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge., Before WOLLMAN and BENTON, Circuit Judges, and DOTY, District Judge.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Kathleen R. Robertson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, argued (Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., Bart A. Matanic, Emily P. Kalmer, Asst. Attys. Gen., on the brief), for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• James W. Erwin, Thompson Coburn, LLP, St. Louis, MO, argued, for appellee.