Opinion ID: 470377
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Strandbergs' Permissive Appeal.

Text: 24 The district court held the Strandbergs could proceed with their fifth and fourteenth amendment due process claims. The court first stated that a jailer owes a duty to the prisoner to keep him safe and to protect him from unreasonable and unnecessary risk of harm. He went on to state, however, that a jailer would not be liable to a prisoner for injuries resulting from the prisoner's own intentional conduct. Relying on Montana case law, the district court concluded that absent some possible special circumstances, a jailer is under no duty to prevent [a prisoner from] taking his own life. See Pretty On Top v. City of Hardin, 182 Mont. 311, 597 P.2d 58, 60-61 (1979). The court noted that it was not bound by Montana law regarding the duty of the defendants in this case, but it believed state case law in this regard was well reasoned and therefore adopted it. It concluded that whether the special circumstances existed which would impose a duty on the jailer in this case was a question of fact for the jury. 25 The Strandbergs challenge the district court's adoption of Montana state law regarding a jailer's duty. They argue it is improper for the district court to adopt a state law rule when deciding a section 1983 claim. While a federal court ordinarily may resort to state law for guidance in a civil rights action, see, e.g., Hirst v. Gertzen, 676 F.2d 1252, 1263 (9th Cir.1982); Owens v. Haas, 601 F.2d 1242, 1250 (2d Cir.1979), Montana law is no longer relevant to a constitutional claim based on negligent conduct of a jailer. The Supreme Court has recently held that the Due Process Clause is simply not implicated by a negligent act of an official causing unintended loss of or injury to life, liberty, or property. Daniels, 106 S.Ct. at 663. See also Davidson v. Cannon, --- U.S. ----, 106 S.Ct. 668, 670, 88 L.Ed.2d 677 (1986) (due process clause not implicated in the absence of deliberate or callous indifference to [petitioner's] needs).