Court Opinion

ID: 9478078
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 06:39:40.949137+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:46:13.812461
License: Public Domain

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I concur with the result reached by the majority only because the dismissal is without prejudice to the filing of a new lawsuit. I write separately to emphasize that this dismissal without prejudice extends to the dismissal of defendants Walker, Lockhart, and Norris.
The district court granted the motion of these defendants to dismiss on the ground that the complaint had “failed to allege sufficient involvement or knowledge to state a § 1983 claim against” them. Order of October 6, 1986. In support, the district court cited Glick v. Sargent, 696 F.2d 413 (8th Cir.1983) (per curiam), a section 1983 action alleging constitutional violations in a prison disciplinary action. In that case, this court concluded that no cause of action was stated against the warden because his responsibility for overseeing prison operations did not render him liable for the outcome of disciplinary proceedings in which he played no role. Id. at 414-15.
In contrast to that case, we are not now considering a matter in which these officials have no role or knowledge. The responsibility for making and enforcing policies to prevent the spread of AIDS in the prison setting lies with the highest-level prison officials, in conjunction with their medical advisors. The majority acknowledges the possibility of a colorable claim against these officials, but concludes that, here, Glick has not sufficiently shown a pervasive risk of harm or the absence of a reasonable official response, a conclusion I concur in.
As the majority notes, most of Glick’s allegations concerning the risk of contracting AIDS are unfounded, according to current medical thought. The record, however, suggests a claim that the prison’s policy on housing and transferring “high-risk” inmates exposes him to an unreasonable danger of sexual assault by an AIDS carrier or victim. I believe that such a claim alleged with sufficient specificity in a new lawsuit could withstand a motion to dismiss.