Court Opinion

ID: 9896511
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-13 15:00:46.851983+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:15:06.093926
License: Public Domain

Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2023)            1

                     JACKSON, J., dissenting

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
   MICHAEL JOHNSON v. SUSAN PRENTICE, ET AL.
   ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED
   STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT
            No. 22–693.   Decided November 13, 2023

  The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
  JUSTICE JACKSON, with whom JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR and
JUSTICE KAGAN join, dissenting from the denial of certio-
rari.
  This Court has long held that the test for evaluating an
Eighth Amendment challenge to a prisoner’s conditions of
confinement involves determining whether prison officials
acted with “deliberate indifference” to a substantial risk to
an inmate’s health or safety. Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U. S.
97, 104 (1976). With respect to the Eighth Amendment
claim at issue in this case, the Court of Appeals for the Sev-
enth Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment to
prison officials without applying that well-established
standard. Given this indisputable legal error, I would grant
certiorari and summarily reverse.
                               I
                              A
  For nearly three years, petitioner Michael Johnson—
whom the Illinois Department of Corrections has classified
as “seriously mentally ill” based on his bipolar disorder, se-
vere depression, and other diagnosed conditions—was held
in solitary confinement at Pontiac Correctional Center, a
prison two hours from Chicago. During that time, Johnson
spent nearly every hour of his existence in a windowless,
perpetually lit cell about the size of a parking space. His
cell was poorly ventilated, resulting in unbearable heat and
noxious odors. The space was also unsanitary, often caked
with human waste. And because Pontiac officials would not
2                  JOHNSON v. PRENTICE

                     JACKSON, J., dissenting

provide cleaning supplies to Johnson unless he purchased
them from the commissary, he was frequently forced to
clean that filth with his bare hands. Johnson was allowed
out of his cell to shower only once per week, for 10 brief
minutes.
   As Members of this Court have recognized, the practice
of solitary confinement “exact[s] a terrible price.” Davis v.
Ayala, 576 U. S. 257, 289 (2015) (Kennedy, J., concurring);
see also Apodaca v. Raemisch, 586 U. S. ___, ___–___ (2018)
(statement of SOTOMAYOR, J., respecting denial of certio-
rari) (slip op., at 6–7); Ruiz v. Texas, 580 U. S. 1191, 1192
(2017) (Breyer, J., dissenting from denial of stay of execu-
tion). Indeed, “serious objections” to this form of imprison-
ment have been brought to this Court for more than a cen-
tury. In re Medley, 134 U. S. 160, 168 (1890). In this
regard, Johnson’s case is not unusual.
   But Johnson’s solitary confinement was unusually severe
in another respect. In addition to the typical hardships as-
sociated with solitary confinement, prison officials com-
pletely deprived Johnson of exercise for nearly all of his in-
carceration at Pontiac. In the ordinary course, even when
in solitary confinement, Pontiac inmates are permitted to
have recreation time in the prison yard for at least eight
hours per week. See Ill. Admin. Code, tit. 20, §504.670
(2023). While in the yard, inmates can access a caged out-
door exercise area that has some basic exercise equipment
and enough open space in which to move about.
   In Johnson’s case, however, Pontiac officials refused to
provide even this modest relief. Rather, Johnson was re-
peatedly placed under so-called “yard restrictions” as pun-
ishment for various infractions, most of them minor, which
resulted in the denial of any access to recreation outside his
cell. Each yard restriction was imposed for a period of be-
tween 30 and 90 days, but the restrictions were stacked
such that, in total, Johnson received over three years’ worth
of yard restrictions. The cramped confines of Johnson’s cell
                     Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2023)                    3

                        JACKSON, J., dissenting

prevented him from exercising there. Thus, for three years,
Johnson had no opportunity at all to stretch his limbs or
breathe fresh air.1
   The consequences of such a prolonged period of exercise
deprivation were predictably severe. Most notably, John-
son’s mental state deteriorated rapidly. He suffered from
hallucinations, excoriated his own flesh, urinated and defe-
cated on himself, and smeared feces all over his body and
cell. Johnson became suicidal and sometimes engaged in
misconduct with the hope that prison guards would beat
him to death. His muscles also became prone to spasms and
cramping, and he often complained of overwhelming fa-
tigue. He developed respiratory difficulties, including pain-
ful chest contractions and nosebleeds. Worse still, John-
son’s dire physical condition led to further yard restrictions,
as prison guards faulted him for being disruptive and hav-
ing an unclean cell. This vicious cycle continued month af-
ter month until Johnson was transferred to a specialized
mental-health treatment unit, where his condition im-
proved.
                             B
  Just before his transfer, Johnson filed a lawsuit in the
Northern District of Illinois against the Pontiac officials
who had deprived him of exercise. Proceeding pro se under
Rev. Stat. §1979, 42 U. S. C. §1983, Johnson made various
——————
  1 It appears that Johnson received 16 yard-restriction sanctions begin-

ning in January 2013 and that 10 of those restrictions were imposed for
some variation of “insolence,” “damage or misuse of property,” or “diso-
beying a direct order.” 3 App. in No. 18–3535 (CA7), pp. 575–578 (alter-
ations omitted). Only four—three of which involved spitting on another
inmate, and one that involved throwing liquid at prison staff—could be
characterized as involving any violence. See id., at 576–578. Nor did
any of these infractions involve misconduct that occurred in the yard.
Thus, as one judge noted below, “[m]any, if not most, of the disciplinary
infractions in this case [did] not signify any acute security risk.” 29
F. 4th 895, 913–914 (CA7 2022) (Rovner, J., dissenting).
4                   JOHNSON v. PRENTICE

                     JACKSON, J., dissenting

Eighth Amendment claims, and also repeatedly pleaded for
the District Court to appoint him an attorney, noting that
his mental state made it difficult for him to litigate his case.
His pleas were refused, and Johnson litigated the case on
his own. After the prison officials moved for summary judg-
ment, Johnson mustered only a partially completed, hand-
written opposition brief, which ended with the statement “I
could not finish.” 3 App. in No. 18–3535 (CA7), p. 742. The
District Court granted summary judgment to the Pontiac
officials.
   Over Judge Rovner’s dissent, the Seventh Circuit af-
firmed. As relevant here, the panel pointed to Pearson v.
Ramos, 237 F. 3d 881 (CA7 2001), and restated the two-part
holding of that Circuit precedent: (1) that a single “90-day
period of no yard privileges as a sanction for misconduct
does not inflict cruel and unusual punishment on an inmate
in segregation,” and (2) that “imposing consecutive 90-day
periods of no-yard privileges for separate misconduct viola-
tions does not violate the Eighth Amendment unless the
sanctions were meted out for ‘some utterly trivial infraction
of the prison’s disciplinary rules.’ ” 29 F. 4th 895, 904 (2022)
(quoting Pearson, 237 F. 3d, at 884–885). Applying that le-
gal standard to the facts presented in Johnson’s case, the
panel reasoned that, while “Johnson’s cumulative yard re-
strictions were far longer” than the total one year of yard
restrictions imposed in Pearson, Johnson did not, and could
not, argue “that his misconduct was trivial, either individ-
ually or in the aggregate,” and thus “[s]ummary judgment
for the defendants on this [Eighth Amendment] claim was
appropriate.” 29 F. 4th, at 904–905.
   With five judges dissenting, the entire Court of Appeals
subsequently denied Johnson’s petition for rehearing en
banc, rejecting his request that Pearson’s “utterly trivial in-
fraction” rule be revisited and revised. 47 F. 4th 529 (CA7
2022). Concurring in the rehearing denial, Judge Scudder
characterized Johnson’s case as presenting a “difficult”
                  Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2023)              5

                     JACKSON, J., dissenting

question that Pearson had not adequately addressed inso-
far as Pearson suggested “that the proper Eighth Amend-
ment focus is not on the cumulative effect of disciplinary
infractions . . . but rather on whether each individual in-
stance of misconduct warranted denying that access for
some lesser increment of time.” 47 F. 4th, at 530. Judge
Scudder recognized that Pearson’s rule was “at odds with
the established preference of resolving Eighth Amendment
challenges to prison conditions on their individual facts
with legal guideposts informing the proper inquiry,” and
thus he indicated that “[re]consideration in a future case”
was warranted. 47 F. 4th, at 530 (citing Farmer v. Bren-
nan, 511 U. S. 825 (1994)). But, in Judge Scudder’s view,
Johnson’s case was not the appropriate vehicle to reassess
“the right legal standard,” because Johnson’s pro se status
had led to a record that was “underdeveloped on points of
fact and law.” 47 F. 4th, at 529–530.
                                 II
   The “right legal standard” for evaluating Johnson’s
Eighth Amendment no-yard-access claim is well estab-
lished. As this Court has long explained, the Eighth
Amendment prohibits conditions of confinement that are
attributable to a prison official’s “deliberate indifference” to
an inmate’s health or safety, Estelle, 429 U. S., at 104, for
in such cases, it can be fairly said that “the official has in-
flicted cruel and unusual punishment,” Wilson v. Seiter, 501
U. S. 294, 299 (1991). We have also clarified the meaning
of deliberate indifference, noting that any prison official
who “knows of and disregards an excessive risk to inmate
health or safety” has violated the constitutional rights of an
inmate who is harmed by that condition. Farmer, 511 U. S.,
at 837. And we have further specified that, in order for a
prison official to be liable for unconstitutional deliberate in-
difference, “the official must both be aware of facts from
which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk
6                      JOHNSON v. PRENTICE

                         JACKSON, J., dissenting

of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the infer-
ence.” Ibid.
   In the cumulative no-yard-access context, then, proper
application of the deliberate-indifference standard when
evaluating a prison official’s motion for summary judgment
requires consideration of two factbound factors: first,
whether the exercise deprivation at issue posed a substan-
tial risk to the prisoner’s health or safety, and second,
whether prison officials “knowingly and unreasonably dis-
regard[ed]” that risk of harm. Id., at 845–846. In other
words, the focus of the correct assessment is on the evidence
concerning the risks presented to the inmate and the prison
officials’ knowledge of and response to those risks. And for
summary judgment to be properly awarded to prison-offi-
cial defendants, there cannot be any genuine dispute about
the insufficiency of the prisoner’s showing related to the
risks posed by the complained-of condition or the official’s
knowing and deliberate disregard of them. See id., at 846.
   Pearson’s “utterly trivial infraction” test bears no rela-
tionship to this legal standard. As noted above, its entire
focus is on the reasons the officials imposed the yard re-
strictions, presumably based on the mistaken view that the
Eighth Amendment analysis turns only on a prison official’s
rationale for imposing the purportedly inhumane condition.
The Pearson rule pays no attention whatsoever to the indis-
putable risks to health or safety that a prolonged period of
exercise deprivation can cause.2 Moreover, Pearson’s con-
clusion that the way to evaluate a prisoner’s complaint

——————
   2 Respondents do not contest that a 3-year deprivation of exercise

might implicate the Eighth Amendment insofar as it poses a substantial
risk to an inmate’s health or safety. Nor could they. This Court has
already determined that “deprivation of a single, identifiable human
need such as . . . exercise” can “establish an Eighth Amendment viola-
tion.” Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U. S. 294, 304 (1991); see also Apodaca v.
Raemisch, 586 U. S. ___, ___ (2018) (statement of SOTOMAYOR, J., respect-
ing denial of certiorari) (slip op., at 5) (“[T]o deprive a prisoner of any
                     Cite as: 601 U. S. ____ (2023)                   7

                        JACKSON, J., dissenting

about yard restrictions that cumulatively deprive him of ex-
ercise—by disaggregating the stacked penalties and exam-
ining each one for its unreasonableness relative to what the
prisoner has done to warrant that restriction—is plainly
contrary to the thrust of a legal standard that requires con-
sideration of “the sum total of the deprivation,” as Judge
Scudder rightly observed. 47 F. 4th, at 530 (quoting Wilson,
501 U. S., at 304, for the proposition that “[s]ome conditions
of confinement may establish an Eighth Amendment viola-
tion in combination when each would not do so alone” (em-
phasis deleted; internal quotation marks omitted)).
   The facts and circumstances here further indicate that
the Seventh Circuit’s erroneous application of the Pearson
test in lieu of the deliberate-indifference standard was not
a harmless error in the context of Johnson’s case. The
Court of Appeals rejected Johnson’s claim by focusing only
on the nature and volume of Johnson’s infractions. See 29
F. 4th, at 904–905. It did not consider the impact of cumu-
lative exercise deprivation on Johnson’s physical and men-
tal health, or what was known to prison officials about the
risks of such deprivation. And there was more than enough
evidence to support a reasonable jury finding that the over-
all 3-year deprivation of yard time that Johnson was sub-
jected to was the result of unconstitutional deliberate indif-
ference. The record includes, for example, evidence of
Johnson’s attempts to notify prison staff of the dire impacts
that the yard restrictions had on his health. See, e.g., 1

——————
outdoor exercise for an extended period of time in the absence of an es-
pecially strong basis for doing so is deeply troubling—and has been rec-
ognized as such for many years”). And while the Constitution “does not
mandate comfortable prisons,” Rhodes v. Chapman, 452 U. S. 337, 349
(1981), it is clear beyond cavil that the Eighth Amendment does require
“that inmates be furnished with the basic human needs,” Helling v.
McKinney, 509 U. S. 25, 33 (1993); see also Youngberg v. Romeo, 457
U. S. 307, 315 (1982); DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social
Servs., 489 U. S. 189, 200 (1989).
8                      JOHNSON v. PRENTICE

                        JACKSON, J., dissenting

App. in No. 18–3535 (CA7), at 30 (writing in a prison griev-
ance form: “I am in a cell 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I
am not allowed to go out of my cell for anything except
showers once a week. . . . Due to me not being allowed to
have outdoor exercise I . . . continuously am being injured
physically [and] psychologically”).3
  In short, rather than faulting Johnson for failing to pre-
sent arguments or evidence that established the “trivial”
nature of the behavioral infractions that precipitated the
cumulative yard restrictions, the Seventh Circuit should
have abandoned Pearson’s “utterly trivial infraction” rule
and applied the well-established deliberate-indifference
standard to analyze the state of the evidence concerning
Johnson’s Eighth Amendment cumulative no-yard-access
claim. If it had done so, the Circuit panel would have had
to acknowledge that, at the very least, the deliberate-indif-
ference inquiry presents a genuine issue of material fact for
the jury, under the facts and circumstances presented here,
such that summary judgment was not appropriate.

——————
  3 Other evidence confirms that Pontiac officials were aware of John-

son’s suffering. For example, one mental-health professional at Pontiac
reported that Johnson was “hyperactive,” and that while “on yard re-
striction” he had “no outlet for his mania.” 2 App. in No. 18–3535 (CA7),
at 295. By that Pontiac professional’s own account, Johnson was “re-
stricted in his basic need[s] due to being indigent/manic.” Ibid.