Opinion ID: 6318463
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: dongarra’s conditions of confinement

Text: WERE CONSTITUTIONAL Under the Eighth Amendment, prisoners must have “the minimal civilized measure of life’s necessities.” Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U.S. 337, 347 (1981). That right covers only “basic human needs,” like food, sanitation, and medical care. Id. at 347–48. Forcing Dongarra to live with a sex-offender T-shirt and ID card did not fall beneath this standard. “While we do not doubt [that] being labeled a sex offender caused [him] stress and anxiety, dubbing him a sex offender,” without more, “does not constitute a deprivation of any basic human need.” Renchenski v. Williams, 622 F.3d 315, 338 (3d Cir. 2010). Because the conditions of Dongarra’s confinement were constitutional, we need not decide if he can sue for damages.