Opinion ID: 173408
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: summary of district court disposition

Text: Over the course of three orders, the district court dismissed all of Mr. Christensen’s claims under Rule 12(b)(6). The court held that Nurse Eva’s alleged conduct was insufficient to support a constitutional claim of deliberate indifference under Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976). The court similarly concluded that the allegations specifically involving Sergeant Tony Harrison did not rise to the level of any constitutional violation. Further, the court rejected Mr. Christensen’s access-to-courts claim because the provision of a law library is not the exclusive means of satisfying prisoners’ right of access and, in any event, Mr. Christensen did not allege any actual prejudice as required for an actionable claim under Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 351-55 (1996). Finally, regarding the defendants who did not directly participate in the events recited in the complaint, -5- the county commissioners, Sheriff Blackburn, and Marshal Mackay, the court held that Mr. Christensen’s conclusory allegations of inadequate supervision and training of jail staff, and “ultimate responsibility” for jail conditions and treatment of federal inmates, did not state a claim for derivative liability.2