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Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 

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FILED 1s 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALfVnited States Coμrt~f Appan .. Tent.'1 C!rcu1t 

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT 

EDWARD LEE SCOTT; DENISE SCOTT, ) 

individually as parents of DENICE ) 

SCOTT, an unborn but viable child, ) 

now deceased, ) 

) 

Plaintiffs-Appellees, ) 

) 

V • ) 

) 

W.B. "HOPPY" DENISON, ) 

) 

Defendant-Appellant, ) 

) 

and ) 

) 

CITY OF IDABEL, ex rel. IDABEL POLICE ) 

DEPARTMENT, ) 

) 

Defendants. ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

OCT O 2 1991 

ROBERT L. HOECKER 

Clerk 

No. 90-7094 

(D.C. No. 90-219-S) 

( E. D. Okla. ) 

Before ANDERSON, BARRETT, and TACHA, Circuit Judges. 

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel 

has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially 

assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 

34(a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. 

submitted without oral argument. 

* 

The case is therefore ordered 

This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall 

not be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, 

except for purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of 

the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 

36.3. 

Appellate Case: 90-7094 Document: 010110090741 Date Filed: 10/02/1991 Page: 1 
Plaintiffs commenced this action for damages pursuant to 42 

u.s.c. § 1983 in which they alleged that defendant, W.B. "Hoppy" 

Denison, Police Chief for the City of Idabel, exhibited deliberate 

indifference to plaintiff Denise Scott's need for medical 

treatment and proper food such that her unborn baby died due to 

the starvation of Denise Scott while she was detained in the 

Idabel City jail prior to trial. 1 Denison appeals from a minute 

order entered by the district court denying his motion for summary 

judgment on the ground of qualified immunity. We affirm. 

Government officials are generally shielded from liability 

for civil damages if their conduct does not violate "clearly 

established statutory or constitutional rights of which a 

reasonable person would have known." Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 

U.S. 800, 818 (1982). "A constitutional right is 'clearly 

established' if '[t]he contours of the right [are] sufficiently 

clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is 

doing violates that right.'" Hicks v. City of Watonga, 

__ F.2d __ , No. 89-6418, slip op. at 27 (10th Cir. Aug. 19, 

1991)(quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640 (1987)). 

We review a denial of a claim of qualified immunity de novo, 

Hicks, slip op. at 25, employing the following analysis: 

If the plaintiff is successful in showing that the law 

was clearly established and that the defendant's conduct 

violated the law, then the defendant, as the movant for 

summary judgment, must demonstrate that no material 

issues of fact remain as to whether the defendant's 

actions were objectively reasonable in light of the law 

and the information the defendant possessed at the time 

of his actions. 

1 Plaintiffs asserted other claims against Denison and the City 

of Idabel. These claims are not at issue in this appeal. 

2 

Appellate Case: 90-7094 Document: 010110090741 Date Filed: 10/02/1991 Page: 2 
Salmon v. Schwarz, F.2d , No. 88-1850, slip op. at 9 (10th 

Cir. Aug. 27, 1991); see also Martin v. Board of County Comm'rs, 

909 F.2d 402, 405 (10th Cir. 1990). 

We have held that "[p)retrial detainees are entitled under 

the fourteenth amendment's due process clause to the same degree 

of protection regarding medical attention afforded convicted 

inmates under the eighth amendment." Martin, 909 F.2d at 406; 

see also Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520, 545 (1979)("[P)retrial 

detainees, who have not been convicted of any crimes, retain at 

least those constitutional rights that we have held are enjoyed by 

convicted prisoners."); Meade v. Grubbs, 841 F.2d 1512, 1530 (10th 

Cir. 1988)(same). Therefore, Scott's claim of inadequate medical 

care and lack of proper food must be judged under the clearly 

established constitutional standard of "deliberate indifference to 

serious medical needs" as set forth in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 

97, 104 (1976). See Martin, 909 F.2d at 406. Deliberate 

indifference "must involve more than ordinary lack of due care for 

the prisoner's interests or safety." Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 

312, 319 (1986). "[A]n official ... acts with deliberate 

indifference if [his] conduct. disregards a known or obvious 

risk that is very likely to result in the violation of a 

prisoner's constitutional rights." Berry v. City of Muskogee, 900 

F.2d 1489, 1496 (10th Cir. 1990). 

Here, the facts, considered in the light most favorable to 

the plaintiff, see Ewing v. Amoco Oil Co., 823 F.2d 1432, 1437 

(10th Cir. 1987), show that on May 9, 1989, Denise Scott, who was 

3 

Appellate Case: 90-7094 Document: 010110090741 Date Filed: 10/02/1991 Page: 3 
seven months pregnant, was arrested by City of Idabel police 

officers on the basis of outstanding felony warrants out of 

California. As she was being booked into the jail, a loaded .22 

caliber pistol, a bag of marijuana, and rolling papers were found 

in her possession. Additional municipal charges were later filed 

based on these violations. Four hours after being booked, Scott 

requested medical attention claiming that she was spotting and 

vomiting. Appellant's App. at 87. Two days later, Scott again 

requested medical attention claiming she had not eaten for two 

days due to the vomiting, was continuing to spot, and could not 

feel the baby move. Id. at 88. Scott was taken to a hospital. 

There, the doctor determined that the baby was alive and well. 

Scott refused intravenous fluids and was taken back to the jail. 

She was given a prescription for nausea which was not filled. 

Scott continued to vomit and was unable to eat the beans, 

cheese, and cornbread provided as the regular diet for inmates. 

She repeatedly asked to see a doctor. At least once, maybe twice, 

Denison instructed officers to place Scott in the "drunk tank" 

because she 

property. 

was creating a disturbance and destroying city 

Id. at 200. Scott stated she was begging for medical 

attention at the time by screaming to see a doctor and 

toilet paper or parts of her mattress out of her cell. 

throwing 

Id. at 

107. No further medical care was provided Scott after her visit 

to the hospital on May 11. Denison stated that he was solely 

responsible for determining whether an inmate needed medical care 

in nonemergency situations. Id. at 123. Any dispatcher or 

officer could authorize emergency care. Id. at 124. 

4 

Appellate Case: 90-7094 Document: 010110090741 Date Filed: 10/02/1991 Page: 4 
When Scott made her third appearance before a judge on 

May 22, 1989, she was weak and unable to stand. The judge ordered 

that she be taken to the county health department for medical 

care. The health department transferred her to a hospital. When 

she arrived, she had no blood pressure and was having periods of 

apnea (not breathing). Her "life was in danger." Id. at 191. 

Her condition was stabilized and labor was induced. The baby was 

stillborn. It was determined she had died in utero three days 

earlier. The cause of death was given as hypoxia (lack of oxygen) 

due to maternal starvation and renal failure. Id. at 192, 241. 

Two jailors testified by deposition that they were concerned 

about Scott's health and the health of her baby and had told their 

supervisor of their concerns on a daily basis. Id. at 207, 227. 

The supervisor testified that he always told his supervisor or 

Denison about the jailors' concerns. Id. at 233. At one point 

the jailers took the state jail inspector to her cell admittedly 

"more or less in an attempt to cover [their] own tails." Id. at 

214. The inspector reportedly told them they would have "a 

problem if we didn't get her out of there." Id. 

Denison testified by deposition that he was aware Scott was 

not eating, id. at 203, and knew that her failure to eat could 

become a health problem, id. at 271, but thought Scott could go a 

week to ten days without food without endangering the baby because 

it takes two weeks to starve to death, id. at 201. He did not 

remember if he had been told Scott needed medical attention. Id. 

at 203. Denison stated he believed Scott was all right and did 

not believe that her life was in danger although he was concerned 

5 

Appellate Case: 90-7094 Document: 010110090741 Date Filed: 10/02/1991 Page: 5 
about her health and told the jailers to keep watch on her 

condition at least hourly. Id. at 129-131. He testified that he 

believed Scott was intentionally refusing to eat. Id. at 271. 

Scott's allegations, including the failure to have her 

prescription filled, implicate serious medical concerns which 

"cannot be characterized as involving either simple inadvertence 

or a mere difference of professional medical opinion" regarding 

her care. Martin, 909 F.2d at 406. 

The affidavits and depositions submitted by the parties raise 

factual issues as to whether Denison deliberately disregarded the 

information he received regarding Scott's condition. Further, 

Denison has failed to show his actions were objectively reasonable 

in light of the clearly established law as set forth in Gamble. 

Scott clearly has alleged and substantiated a sufficient claim of 

deliberate indifference to her serious medical needs to withstand 

Denison's motion for qualified immunity. 

The judgment of the United States District Court for the 

Eastern District of Oklahoma is AFFIRMED. Denison's "Application 

for Oral Argument" is DENIED. 

Entered for the Court 

Deanell Reece Tacha 

Circuit Judge 

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