Lawrence Ricks v. George W. Sumner, Individually and in His Capacity as Warden, San Quentin State Prison

Ricks brought a civil rights action for damages under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 & 1985 claiming that state officials improperly transferred him from San Quentin, where he was serving a California sentence, to Pennsylvania, where criminal charges were pending against him. He alleged inter alia that he was not allowed an opportunity to challenge his removal from California. Ricks was transferred pursuant to the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (IAD) after authorities in Philadelphia presented California officials an outstanding warrant for his arrest. The district court granted Ricks leave to proceed in forma pauperis, but dismissed the action.

After the decision by the District Court, the United States Supreme Court held in Cuyler v. Adams,-U.S.-, 101 S.Ct. 703 , 66 L.Ed.2d 641 (1981) that a prisoner incarcerated in a jurisdiction that has adopted the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act is entitled to the procedural protections of that Act, including the right to a pre-transfer hearing, before being transferred to another jurisdiction pursuant to Article IV of the Detainer Agreement. California has adopted the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act, Cal.Penal Code §§ 1548-1556.2, along with the…