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Page Number: 4.0

2 

DUPREE v. YOUNGER 

Opinion of the Court 

after that process, either party can move for summary judg-
ment under Rule 56, which requires a district court to enter
judgment on a claim or defense if there is “no genuine dis-
pute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to 
judgment as a matter of law.”  Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 56(a). 

If the plaintiff ’s claims survive summary judgment, the
case proceeds to trial.  After the presentation of evidence,
but before the case is submitted to the jury, Rule 50(a) au-
thorizes either party to move for judgment as a matter of 
law.1    This  standard  largely  “mirrors”  the  summary-judg-
ment  standard,  the  difference  being  that  district  courts
evaluate Rule 50(a) motions in light of the trial record ra-
ther than the discovery record.  Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 
Inc., 477 U. S. 242, 250–251 (1986).

If the district court does not grant the motion, then the
jury will render a verdict.  After the verdict, Rule 50(b) per-
mits a disappointed party to file a renewed motion for judg-
ment as a matter of law (which may also include a request 
for a new trial under Rule 59).  The next step for a party 
who fails to obtain post-trial relief is an appeal. 

B 
While  Kevin  Younger  was  being  held  as  a  pretrial  de-
tainee in a Maryland state prison, three corrections officers
assaulted him.  Younger believed that Neil Dupree, a for-
mer lieutenant in the prison, had ordered the attack.  He 
sued Dupree and other prison officials for damages under
42  U. S. C.  §1983,  alleging  that  they  had  used  excessive
force in violation of his Fourteenth Amendment due process
rights.

Dupree  moved  for  summary  judgment,  arguing  that 
Younger had failed to exhaust his administrative remedies
as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U. S. C. 

—————— 

1 If the parties waive their rights to a jury or seek relief that does not 
entitle them to a jury, the district court will hold a bench trial, which is 
governed by Rule 52.