Cherie Harding v. City & County of San Francisco

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Cherie Harding appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment on her constitutional and tort claims in favor of Appellees the City and County of San Francisco and Deputies Elizabeth Young, Carl Morris, and Tiffany Cook. We affirm. ■

We agree that no Appellee was liable to Appellant under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , because Appellant failed to prove that any Appellee violated her constitutional rights. The tip of Appellant’s little finger was severed when a door slammed on it during a routine pat-down search conducted by Deputy Young. Appellant has identified no precedent showing that a jail guard violates a prisoner’s constitutional rights, under any theory, simply by conducting a routine search. Further, Deputy Young did not tell Appellant to place her finger in the door frame, or otherwise direct her hand there; rather, Appellant voluntarily placed her hand on the door frame. In other words, Appellant’s injury was an unfortunate accident, prompted by Appellant’s own placement of her hand. Accidents alone are not constitutional violations. See Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 106 , 97 S.Ct. 285 , 50 L.Ed.2d 251 (1976) (“An accident, although it may produce…