Opinion ID: 2190203
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Federal section 1983 claims

Text: Plaintiff contends that in their conduct toward Darling at the Cumberland County jail the afternoon he committed suicide, Sheriff Joyce and Deputy Sheriff Kerwin demonstrated such a reckless or callous disregard of or [deliberate] indifference to the rights or safety of Mr. Darling as to violate his right against cruel and unusual punishments and his right not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, rights protected respectively under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Plaintiff brought this claim under 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (1981), which provides in part: Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State ... subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress. Plaintiff concedes, as she must, that under section 1983 in order to establish the constitutional violations alleged, she must prove that defendants acted toward Darling with at least recklessness or deliberate indifference. Williams v. City of Boston, 784 F.2d 430, 433-34 (1st Cir.1986). [11] After examining the affidavits of all parties and the depositions of Sheriff Joyce and Deputy Sheriff Kerwin, the Superior Court ordered summary judgment in favor of defendants, concluding that no rational basis exists to support characterizing the actions, or omissions to act, of the defendants... as subjectively intending, or as manifesting reckless or callous indifference to, the occurrence of Darling's suicide. We agree with that statement as to Sheriff Joyce; but we do not as to Deputy Sheriff Kerwin. A court may grant summary judgment only if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that any party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. M.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A court has properly granted summary judgment only if the facts before the court conclusively preclude a party from recovery. Jordan v. H.C. Haynes, Inc., 504 A.2d 618, 619 (Me.1986) (citing Nichols v. Marsden, 483 A.2d 341, 344 (Me. 1984)). The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of establishing the absence of any issue of material fact in his opponent's case. See Nichols v. Marsden, 483 A.2d at 344; 2 Field, McKusick & Wroth, Maine Civil Practice § 56.2a, at 36 (2d ed. 1970). The affidavits and depositions before the motion justice, when read most favorably to plaintiff, against whom the Superior Court granted summary judgment, would support the following findings: On July 4, 1982, while in Cumberland County jail awaiting trial of his insanity defense, Darling refused to eat. Officials at the jail, concerned about Darling's mental status since he had some months earlier been placed on a one-on-one suicide watch, sent him for examination at Maine Medical Center. Once there, Darling refused treatment and the hospital returned him to the jail. On receiving that information, Sheriff Joyce ordered that a medical officer at the jail further examine Darling, that arrangements be made for additional evaluations at Maine Medical Center, and that the guards institute a one-on-one observation of Darling in his cell. Under the jail's one-on-one observation policy, a guard maintains a continuous watch of the suicidal inmate and is not to leave him unless relieved by someone else. A certified paramedic at the jail examined Darling and suggested that he be put in sick bay with all means of self-destruction removed. That suggestion was not relayed to Sheriff Joyce, and Deputy Sheriff Kerwin undertook the one-on-one observation. The one-on-one observation ordered by Sheriff Joyce, if effectively carried out, would have prevented Darling's suicide. By ordering that Darling be continuously watched, Sheriff Joyce ordered a course of conduct fully adequate for dealing with Darling's situation. The depositions and affidavits therefore fail to raise an issue of material fact as to whether Sheriff Joyce acted with deliberate indifference to the risk of Darling's suicide. Deputy Sheriff Kerwin's failure to follow fully the jail's observation procedures, however, does raise sufficiently a fact question whether he acted with deliberate indifference to Darling's needs. Kerwin knew of Darling's suicidal tendencies and knew the purpose of the jail's one-on-one observation policy. Rather than continuously watching Darling as ordered, the deputy sheriff carried out his duties in a way making it impossible for him to keep Darling always in sight. First, Kerwin chose to position his chair at the end of the corridor where his view of Darling's cell was partially obstructed, allowing a view only of Darling's legs and feet. Even when Kerwin walked back and forth in front of the cell he could not fully see inside because of the blanket he allowed Darling to hang where it could block the light from his eyes. Finally, even though Kerwin was assigned no other responsibilities other than to watch Darling, he did at one fatal point undertake to assist other guards in the strip search of another inmate. That task, lasting five to ten minutes, did not take him from the general vicinity of Darling's cell but did prevent him from maintaining a watch of Darling. It was after this strip search that Kerwin discovered Darling had hanged himself. The deputy sheriff did all he could to resuscitate Darling, but to no avail. On the foregoing facts, established by affidavit and deposition, it was error for the Superior Court to grant summary judgment in favor of Deputy Sheriff Kerwin. It was error for the court to conclude that the established facts preclude plaintiff from recovering in her claim that Kerwin's failure in his duty to protect Darling from suicide came from recklessness or deliberate indifference to Darling's safety. The above-recited facts do not compel that conclusion. On the other hand, a jury or other factfinder could rationally reach that conclusion by inference from those facts. In these circumstances the materials before the motion justice left a genuine issue of material fact yet to be decided; namely, the mental state of Kerwin at the critical time of Darling's suicide. We vacate the summary judgment granted Kerwin on the section 1983 claim. The entry is: Vacate the order granting summary judgment in favor of Deputy Sheriff Kerwin on the 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 claim and remand to Superior Court for further proceedings consistent with the opinion herein. Judgments affirmed as to the state law claim against Deputy Sheriff Kerwin and as to all claims against all other parties. All concurring.