Michael Chess v. J. Dovey

Appellant Michael Chess brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against eight members of the medical staff at California’s High Desert State Prison, alleging that they denied him constitutionally adequate medical care while he was incarcerated there. Chess represented himself at trial. Two Eighth Amendment claims of deliberate indifference went to trial. As characterized in the final pretrial order, they were (1) that “defendants denied [plaintiff] effective pain medication; specifically, that defendants purportedly discom tinued plaintiffs use of methadone solely because a High Desert State Prison policy prohibited] general-population inmates from receiving that medication”; and (2) that “defendants prescribed plaintiff medication, including Tylenol, aspirin, niacin, and Naprosyn, knowing that those drugs were harmful to his liver.” The jury returned a verdict for defendants on both claims.

Chess makes only one contention on appeal. He contends that the magistrate judge erred in giving a jury instruction that read in pertinent part:

This language is taken from a Ninth Circuit model instruction based on Norwood v. Vance, 591 F.3d 1062 (9th Cir.2010), and is entitled,…