Garrick Harrington v. A. Scribner

This case arises from a lockdown imposed on African American inmates at a California state prison after violent incidents involving inmates and guards. Garrick Harrington brought suit against prison officials under the Eighth Amendment for injuries he suffered related to shower restrictions and under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment for the race-based classification' of the lockdown. A jury found against him on both claims.

We consider the interplay between the Supreme Court’s teaching in Johnson v. California, 543 U.S. 499 , 125 S.Ct. 1141 , 160 L.Ed.2d 949 (2005), that strict scrutiny applies to claims challenging racial classifications in prison, and the line of authorities, such as Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78 , 107 S.Ct. 2254 , 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1987), that instruct courts to give deference to correctional officials with respect to constitutional claims involving prison regulations. We affirm the judgment with respect to the Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference claim. We reverse with respect to the equal protection claim because the jury instructions were inconsistent with the requirements of strict scrutiny. That error, which absolved the…