Opinion ID: 214080
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: O'Bryant's Lack of Causal Connection

Text: With this background, we turn back to O'Bryant's case. Even if O'Bryant's conviction under the DRs does not per se bar a retaliation claim, as suggested by the Eighth Circuit's precedent and now held by this Court above, O'Bryant's claim fails because he has not presented evidence of retaliatory animus on the part of either Defendant Herring or Defendant Baines. See Harris v. Ostrout, 65 F.3d 912, 916 (11th Cir.1995) (affirming summary judgment for defendant Collins because plaintiff produced nothing, beyond his own conclusory allegations, suggesting that Collins' actions in compliance with the strip search regulations were motivated by a retaliatory animus); see also Moton, 631 F.3d at 1341 (To establish causation, the plaintiff must show that the defendant was subjectively motivated to discipline the plaintiff for exercising his First Amendment rights.) (quotation marks omitted). And even assuming arguendo that O'Bryant has shown that Defendants Herring and Baines were subjectively motivated to discipline O'Bryant because of his grievances, the record shows the defendants would have taken the same disciplinary actions in the absence of O'Bryant's protected activity. See Mosley, 532 F.3d at 1278 (stating [i]f the defendant can show that he would have taken the same action in the absence of the protected activity, he ... prevail[s] on ... summary judgment); Moton, 631 F.3d at 1342 (quoting same). The gist of O'Bryant's statements each time reeked of disrespect of, and profanity to, the Defendants, who would have disciplined O'Bryant even without any grievances. Here, O'Bryant was convicted of the disciplinary charges and he would have suffered the same adverse action even if he had not engaged in the grievances. Any possible causal connection between the protected activity (the grievances) and the harm (the disciplinary charges and sanctions) is severed since the harm is not in reaction to any protected activity, but directly due to an improper activity. Stated another way, even if some impermissible reason had entered into Herring and Baines's decision-making process to charge O'Bryant with prison disciplinary infractions, O'Bryant would have been disciplined anyway, as the hearing panels concluded he committed the charged conduct which violated prison rules.