United States Eighth Circuit

In an action under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 alleging thirteen officials at the Missouri Sexual Offender Treatment Center violated plaintiff's constitutional rights, a denial of summary judgment for defendants based on qualified immunity is affirmed where: 1) it was readily apparent that plaintiff faced an objectively serious risk of harm by being placed in a room with another sex offender; 2) a reasonable jury could find that defendants recklessly disregarded an objectively serious risk of harm to plaintiff by placing him in the same room as the assailant; 3) based on the evidence described by the district court, a jury could conclude plaintiff had a serious medical need and defendant deliberately disregarded the need by failing to provide psychological treatment she prescribed; and 4) the facts found by the district court provided sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that plaintiff's transfer was causally related to his exercise of his right to file the abuse and neglect charge and the grievances.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/07/2010
• Published 05/07/2010

Judges

• BYE, Circuit Judge., Before MURPHY and BYE, Circuit Judges, and STROM,District Judge.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel