(DOWNLOAD) "Walker V. Norris" by United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Walker V. Norris
- Author : United States Court Of Appeals For The Sixth Circuit
- Release Date : January 01, 1990
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 64 KB
Description
In this action involving 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims for eighth and fourteenth amendment substantive due process violations as well as a state law negligence claim stemming from the stabbing death of prison inmate Jerry Fails, the defendants appeal from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of plaintiff Jacqueline Walker, the administratrix of Fails' estate. The plaintiff cross-appeals from an adverse judgment on the section 1983 eighth amendment claim against defendants Steven Norris, Michael Dutton, and Jonathan House and the district court's order directing a verdict in favor of defendants Norris and Dutton on the section 1983 substantive due process claim. On review, we affirm the judgment imposing section 1983 liability upon defendants Donald Ritz and Donald Jordan for violating Fails' eighth amendment rights. With respect to the plaintiff's section 1983 substantive due process claim, we find that such a theory is not available to supplement the plaintiff's eighth amendment claim, and therefore reverse the finding of liability against defendants Ritz, Jordan, and House, and affirm the entry of a directed verdict for defendants Norris and Dutton. We also affirm the district court's entry of a directed verdict in favor of Norris and Dutton on the plaintiff's section 1983 supervisory liability theory. In light of the immunity provided to state officers and employees under Tennessee law, we vacate the judgment against the defendants on the plaintiff's state law negligence claim and remand that cause of action for further consideration. Finally, we affirm the compensatory and punitive damage awards rendered by jury verdict against defendants Ritz and Jordan.