Lamont Shepard v. T. Quillen

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

LAMONT SHEPARD, No. 13-15554 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. v. 1:09-cv-00809-BAM

T. QUILLEN; J. WISE,

Defendants-Appellees. OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California Lawrence J. O’Neill, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted August 12, 2015 San Francisco, California

Filed October 26, 2016

Before: Alex Kozinski and Richard C. Tallman, Circuit Judges, and Douglas L. Rayes,* District Judge.

Opinion by Judge Kozinski; Dissent by Judge Tallman

* The Honorable Douglas L. Rayes, District Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, sitting by designation. SUMMARY**

Prisoner Civil Rights

The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of a California corrections lieutenant in a California state prisoner’s section 1983 action alleging that he was transferred to administrative segregation in retaliation for reporting that a corrections officer used excessive force against him; and, in a memorandum disposition filed…

dissenting:

Running a prison is an “extraordinarily difficult undertaking.” Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 566 , 94 S.Ct. 2963 , 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974). Prison administrators, tasked with managing a “volatile environment,” need flexibility to make on-the-ground judgment calls relating to inmate safety and maintaining order in the institution. Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 482 , 115 S.Ct. 2293 , 132 L.Ed.2d 418 (1995). That includes having in place policies and procedures to address complaints lodged against staff by inmates so that inmates cannot manipulate the system for improper reasons. It comes as no surprise that the Supreme Court has time and again reminded us that courts are “ill equipped” to address the “increasingly urgent problems” facing prisons. Turner v. Safley, 482 *695 U.S. 78, 84 , 107 S.Ct. 2254 , 96 L.Ed.2d 64 (1984) (citation omitted). This case illustrates why we need to be careful before interfering in the way a prison is run.

Today, the majority denies Lieutenant Wise qualified immunity despite his reliance on a legitimate California prison regulation authorizing the . transfer of an inmate into administrative segregation after receiving a complaint…

Dissent by Judge TALLMAN

OPINION

We consider whether a prison official may place an.inmate in administrative segregation for reporting officer misconduct.

FACTS

California Corrections Officer Quillen was doing rounds when recently trans *688 ferred inmate Lamont Shepard refused to identify himself. Quillen and another officer removed Shepard from his cell and escorted him to a holding room. Shepard then told Lieutenant Wise that he needed medical treatment because Quillen roughed him up during the escort. Wise offered to “maybe ... work something out” and suggested Shepard recant his statement against Quillen, but the inmate persisted. Wise replied that Shepard would be plaeed in administrative segregation for reporting Quillen. Shepard decided to go forward with his complaint. That same day, he was transferred to a double cell in the Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU), where he spent about three months.

Shepard filed a section 1983 suit alleging that Wise retaliated against him for reporting Quillen and that Quillen used excessive force while escorting him to the holding cell. Adopting the magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations, the district court granted…