Opinion ID: 3004561
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Even Without the Handwritten Order, Armato’s

Text: Eighth Amendment Claim Fails as a Matter of Law It is important to note that Littlejohn, Huntley, and Jackson testified that they were relying on the two typed orders, not the handwritten Agreed Order, when determining Armato’s release date. Even without the court’s handwritten order, however, Armato’s constitutional claims must still fail as a matter of law. To defeat summary judgment on his Eighth Amendment claim, Armato needs to prove that the defendants held him beyond the term of his incarceration without penological justification, and that the prolonged detention was the result of the defendants’ “deliberate indifference.” Campbell v. Peters, 256 F.3d 695, 700 (7th Cir. 2001). Deliberate indifference requires more than negligence, rather the defendant “must meet ‘essentially a criminal recklessness standard, that is, ignoring a known risk.’” McGee v. Adams, 721 F.3d 474, 480–81 (quoting Johnson v. Snyder, 444 F.3d 579, 585 (7th Cir. 2006). Armato failed to show that the defendants deliberately held him beyond the term of his incarceration. The defendants were not deliberately ignoring Armato’s detainment without penological justification. Huntley, Jackson, and Littlejohn testified that they believed releasing Armato, a convicted sex offender, without a term of MSR was contrary to state law. In making determinations about a prisoner’s release, prison officials are permitted to rely upon “a reasonable interpretation of a state statute,” even if they are ultimately mistaken. Campbell, 256 F.3d at 701. Littlejohn testified that her concern about Armato’s sentencing orders was that “by Illinois 14 No. 13-1995 statute, you are supposed to have an MSR term, so it is basically against the law to not have an MSR term.” After Littlejohn expressed this concern to her colleagues, an IDOC attorney informed them that he also believed the court “cannot legally sentence this offender without a term of MSR.” The record amply demonstrates that IDOC officials were actively pursuing assistance from the AG’s Office from the moment they discovered that Armato’s release appeared contrary to state law: Huntley testified that he spoke with the AG’s Office on several occasions, Littlejohn repeatedly contacted Jackson and Huntley, and Jackson was continuing to pressure Huntley in efforts to clear up the issue. Huntley testified that he believed he was “on sound legal footing” in holding Armato until the IDOC received a response from the AG’s Office and that he was aware that the AG’s Office had successfully “gone to court a number of times” to alter the conditions of a prisoner’s sentence. As soon as the AG’s Office informed the defendants that it would not be pursuing the matter, the defendants knew they had exhausted the remedies available to them and promptly released Armato without a term of MSR.