Giraldo

Plaintiff’s appeal presents two questions never before decided in California: (1) whether the relationship between jailer and prisoner is a special relationship giving rise to a duty of care to the prisoner; and (2) whether there is a private right of action for damages for violation of the cruel or unusual punishment clause of the state Constitution, article I, section 17. We answer yes to the first question, no to the second.

Plaintiff Alexis Giraldo, describing herself as a male-to-female transgender person, was an inmate in the California prison system. Plaintiff filed an action against California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and various CDCR personnel (when referred to collectively, defendants) “challenging] prison policies that place transgender inmates, such as [plaintiff], who have the physical appearance of women, in the male inmate population without any meaningful precaution to the obvious risk of sexual assault to them.” The complaint made the specific claim that defendants failed to take action on plaintiff’s repeated complaints that she was being beaten and raped by her cellmate at Folsom State Prison.

Plaintiff’s complaint alleged…