Opinion ID: 3003387
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Officer Shreffler’s State of Mind

Text: As we stated above, only the “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain” violates a prisoner’s rights under the Eighth Amendment. Whitley, 475 U.S. at 319 (quotations omitted). The Constitution is not offended when force is used “in a good-faith effort to maintain or restore discipline.” Hudson, 503 U.S. at 7. Non-de minimis force runs afoul of the Eighth Amendment only when it is intended “maliciously and sadistically to cause harm.” Id. 16 No. 08-2960 The court below could have rested the grant of sum- mary judgment on its finding of de minimis force alone, see id. at 9-10 (excluding from “constitutional recognition” the application of de minimis physical force), but the magistrate judge, as an alternative basis, found that Officer Shreffler used the taser gun “in a good faith effort to maintain discipline and jail security and not to maliciously or sadistically cause harm to Plaintiff.” Resolving, as we must, disputed facts in Lewis’s favor, we cannot agree. Lewis argues that the use of the taser gun was without penological purpose and was therefore per se malicious. See Fillmore v. Page, 358 F.3d 496, 504 (7th Cir. 2004) (noting that the infliction of pain is per se malicious if it is done “ ‘totally without penological justification’ ” (quoting Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 737 (2002))). On the contradictory record before us, we cannot conclude, as a matter of law, that Shreffler’s actions were without penological justification. Such a determination rests upon disputed questions of fact that should be left to the jury to resolve. Jails are dangerous places, and it is without rational dispute that security officials are justified in maintaining decorum and discipline among inmates to minimize risks to themselves and other prisoners. See Bell, 441 U.S. at 546 (“[M]aintaining institutional security and preserving internal order and discipline are essential goals that may require limitation or retraction of the retained constitutional rights of both convicted prisoners and pretrial detainees.”); Soto, 744 F.2d at 1269 (according No. 08-2960 17 prison officials wide-ranging deference to adopt and execute policies “needed to preserve internal order and discipline”). We have previously discussed how important it is that prisoners follow orders: Orders given must be obeyed. Inmates cannot be permitted to decide which orders they will obey, and when they will obey them. . . . Inmates are and must be required to obey orders. When an inmate refuse[s] to obey a proper order, he is attempting to assert his authority over a portion of the institution and its officials. Such refusal and denial of authority places the staff and other inmates in danger. Soto, 744 F.2d at 1267; see also Colon v. Schneider, 899 F.2d 660, 668-69 (7th Cir. 1990). In many circumstances—often when faced with aggression, disruption, or physical threat—compelling compliance with an order is a valid penological justification for use of a taser. See Hickey, 12 F.3d at 759 (recognizing that prison officials “may compel compliance with legitimate prison regulations” through the use of summary physical force). But such justification does not necessarily exist every time an inmate is slow to comply with an order. See Treats v. Morgan, 308 F.3d 868, 873 (8th Cir. 2002) (“Not every instance of inmate resistance justifies the use of force . . . .”). What must be decided in each case, and the issue to which we next turn, is whether the facts surrounding the taser’s deployment—as Lewis portrays them—demonstrated actual malice or sadistic purpose on the part of the user. 18 No. 08-2960 Several factors are relevant in determining whether a defendant applied force in good faith or for purposes of causing harm, including the need for force, the amount of force used, the threat reasonably perceived by the officer, efforts made to temper the severity of the force, and the extent of the injury caused by the force. Fillmore, 358 F.3d at 504; see also Whitley, 475 U.S. at 321. The exact sequence of events leading to the taser’s use in this case is strongly disputed, but we are required to view the facts in the light most favorable to Lewis. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255. Doing so, we conclude that Lewis has raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding Shreffler’s mental state at the time he discharged the taser, thereby precluding summary judgment. In cases upholding the use of taser guns, the victims have been violent, aggressive, confrontational, unruly, or presented an immediate risk of danger to themselves or others. Such behavior certainly increases the need for force and often poses a threat to the security officers. In Jackson v. Thalacker, 999 F.2d 353 (8th Cir. 1993), for example, a prisoner verbally threatened a guard, clenched his fists, and then lunged at the guard. Id. at 354. The Eighth Circuit condoned the use of a taser to subdue the inmate. Id. Similarly, in Caldwell v. Moore, 968 F.2d 595 (6th Cir. 1992), the Sixth Circuit upheld the use of a stun gun against an inmate who became aggressive and confrontational when his requests to be let out of his isolation cell were denied. Id. at 596-97, 602. For seven hours, he shouted at the jailer and kicked the cell door, persisting in this behavior despite warnings that he would be forced to comply if he did not calm down. Id. No. 08-2960 19 at 597. The Tenth Circuit, in an unpublished decision, also approved the use of a taser to force compliance with an order given moments after the prisoner had engaged in a physical altercation with security officers. Hunter v. Young, 238 F. App’x 336, 339 (10th Cir. 2007). Finally, this court has previously upheld the use of a stun gun to calm a prisoner who was banging his head against his concrete bed and struggling against the guards who were attempting to restrain him. Dye v. Lomen, 40 F. App’x 993, 995-96 (7th Cir. 2002). Similar examples of aggressive or threatening behavior are noticeably absent from Lewis’s version of events. At the time he was shot, Lewis asserts that he was merely lying on his bunk, weak and sluggish from more than ten days without food, when Shreffler ordered him to get up. Lewis claims that he said nothing and had time only to turn his head toward the doorway before Shreffler shot him with the taser. In Lewis’s story, he was given a single order that was not repeated or accompanied by any warning that his failure to comply would result in use of the taser. Looking at the sequence of events as alleged by Lewis, we find several facts troubling: the absence of any agitation or threat from Lewis; the short passage of time between Shreffler’s order and the taser shot; Shreffler’s single, unrepeated order; and the dearth of warnings regarding the consequences of Lewis’s failure to comply. We do not intend to mandate a checklist that detention officers must follow before they may constitutionally 20 No. 08-2960 employ a taser. As we have said, we entrust officers with the discretion to act appropriately in light of the circumstances confronting them. In a jail or prison setting, it is not hard to imagine any number of scenarios that would justify the immediate and unadvertised use of summary force, including taser guns. But, based on Lewis’s facts, we cannot say that Shreffler acted in good faith. Nor can we say that he acted maliciously or wantonly. Our only conclusion is that if we accept as true Lewis’s version of the events surrounding the taser shot, he has raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding Officer Shreffler’s state of mind when Shreffler fired the taser gun. That is enough to preclude summary judgment. What he will be able to prove at trial is a different question altogether, but Lewis has presented enough here that if the jury accepted his story, it could find in his favor. That is all we require. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248 (stating that summary judgment is precluded “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party”). 3. Qualified Immunity Shreffler’s only remaining basis to support summary judgment is through the protection of qualified immunity, an argument that he presented in his motion to the magistrate judge. See Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818 (1982). The magistrate judge decided the case on other grounds and did not reach the immunity question. We consider it now and conclude that Officer Shreffler is not immune from potential liability. No. 08-2960 21 To defeat a defense of qualified immunity, Lewis must demonstrate (1) that the guard’s conduct violated his constitutional rights, and (2) that the violated right was clearly established at the time of the alleged misconduct. See Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 232 (1991); see also Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818; Payne v. Pauley, 337 F.3d 767, 775 (7th Cir. 2003). As should be clear from the preceding discussion, the answer to the first part of this test hinges on the resolution of fact questions that are now in the jury’s hands. See Hill v. Shelander, 992 F.2d 714, 717-18 (7th Cir. 1993). Thus, we can dismiss the case on summary judgment only if we find that the right that Shreffler allegedly violated was not clearly established at the time of the purported misconduct. See id. at 718. This is a question of law. Marshall v. Allen, 984 F.2d 787, 793 (7th Cir. 1993) (citing Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 528 (1985)). To remove from Shreffler the shield of qualified immunity, the right that he allegedly violated must be clearly established “ ‘in a particularized sense.’ ” Hill, 992 F.2d at 718 (quoting Juriss v. McGowan, 957 F.2d 345, 350 (7th Cir. 1992)). This does not mean that the “very action in question” must have previously been held unlawful. Juriss, 957 F.2d at 350 (quotations omitted). Instead, we must determine whether, operating under the state of the law as it existed at the time of relevant events, “a reasonable officer would have known that the particular action at issue . . . was unlawful.” Id.; see also Hope, 536 U.S. at 739 (stating that the contours of a constitutional right “must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is 22 No. 08-2960 doing violates that right” (quotations omitted)); Hill, 992 F.2d at 718. We hold that a reasonable officer would understand that employing a taser gun under the version of the facts that Lewis has described would violate the prisoner’s constitutional rights. Our case law makes this clear. In Soto, 744 F.2d 1260, for example, a case the defendants cite at length, we approved the use of chemical agents, including mace and tear gas, “when rea- sonably necessary to prevent riots or escape or to subdue recalcitrant prisoners.” Id. at 1270. We also said that similar means were appropriate in other circumstances, such as compelling compliance with orders, but we cautioned that such force could not be “exaggerated or excessive” and should generally follow “adequate warning[s].” Id. at 1270-71. Similarly, in Dye, 40 F. App’x 993, we upheld a stun gun’s use to subdue a struggling prisoner who was risking injury to himself and others. Id. at 996. Lewis claims that he was prone on his bed, weakened, and docile. He asserts that he was told to rise one time and was not warned that a taser would be used against him if he failed to comply. He states that he was scarcely given enough time to turn his head and did not otherwise respond to Shreffler’s order. If these truly are the facts, no reasonable officer would think that he would be justified in shooting Lewis with a taser gun. Accepting Lewis’s story, we conclude that Officer Shreffler is not entitled to qualified immunity. No. 08-2960 23 C. Fourteenth Amendment Right to a Hearing Before Being Placed in Segregation Lewis’s final argument is that the magistrate judge erred by failing to address his Fourteenth Amendment Due Process claim that arose from his placement in segregation without a hearing. We hold that because the claim was not properly before the magistrate judge, he was correct not to address it, and we decline to address the claim as well. Section 1915A of Title 28 of the United States Code establishes a screening procedure by which a district court evaluates prisoner civil rights claims for purposes of identifying those that have arguable merit. It provides that a district court “shall review . . . a complaint in a civil action in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental . . . officer or employee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). After conducting this review, the court “shall identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion of the complaint, if [it] is frivolous . . . or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” Id. § 1915A(b)(1). In its local rules, the Central District of Illinois has specified the procedure that it uses to conduct the § 1915A screening. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 83(a)(1) (empowering district courts to enact local rules that are consistent with federal law and rules of practice). The relevant local rule provides as follows: If practicable, the Court will conduct a merit review of the complaint before service is ordered, and enter a Case Management Order delineating 24 No. 08-2960 the viable claims stated, if any. . . . [T]he case shall proceed solely on those claims identified in the Case Management Order. Any claims not defined in the Case Management Order will not be included in the case . . . . C.D. Ill. R. 16.3(C) (emphases added). Thus, one method the Central District has established for dismissing unwarranted claims, as required under § 1915A, is to omit them from its case management order. That is what occurred here. On March 19, 2007, the district court conducted a merit review as provided in Local Rule 16.3. The following day, it issued a case management order that defined the issues that Lewis could pursue in his civil action. The order, to which Lewis never objected, made no mention of Lewis’s stay in segregation or the jail’s failure to conduct any related hearings. As set forth in Local Rule 16.3, the absence of any such claim in the case management order resulted in its elimination from the case. When evaluating the defendants’ motion for sum- mary judgment, the magistrate judge adhered to the court’s local rules and considered only those claims approved in the case management order. Lewis could not resurrect that claim then, and he cannot resurrect it now. Were we to now consider its merits, we would be disregarding the integrity of the system established by the district court. This we decline to do. No. 08-2960 25