Lawtis Rhoden v. Michael Carona

MEMORANDUM

Lawtis Donald Rhoden appeals the district court’s grant of Sheriff Michael Caro-na’s motion for summary judgment on three of Rhoden’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims challenging the conditions of his civil detention. With respect to his claims which proceeded to trial, Rhoden also appeals the trial court’s decision to allow evidence of his prior convictions and Sexually Violent Predator (“SVP”) status before the jury. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment. Tehama-Colusa Canal Auth. v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, 721 F.3d 1086, 1093 (9th Cir.2013).. We review the district court’s evi-dentiary ruling for abusé of discretion. Freeman v. Allstate Life Ins. Co., 253 F.3d 533, 536 (9th Cir.2001). We affirm.

Rhoden is a convicted state prisoner who was transferred to the Orange County Jail in 2004 to await civil proceedings under the California Sexually Violent Predator Act (“SVPA”) prior to his release. In his § 1983 claims, Rhoden alleged that the prison officials withheld his mail, confiscated his legal documents, and transferred him to a smaller cell in retaliation for filing grievances and a civil…