Pierre Hoffman v. Charles Lee

MEMORANDUM

Pierre Hoffman, a prisoner at times relevant to this lawsuit, brought suit against Dr. Charles Lee, the prison health care manager, claiming deliberate indifference to serious medical needs and retaliation against protected speech and alleging violations of the First and Eighth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . The jury returned a verdict in favor of Dr. Lee and the district court entered judgment. It is from that judgment that Hoffman appeals. We have jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . The facts of this case are known to the , parties. We need not repeat them here.

Hoffman argues that it was error for the district court to instruct the jury on his Eighth Amendment claim to give deference to the judgment of prison officials on matters pertaining to discipline and security. “The standard of review on appeal for an alleged error in jury instructions depends on the nature of the claimed error. We review a district court’s formulation of jury instructions in a civil case for abuse of discretion. We review de novo whether the instructions misstated the law.” Dang v. Cross, 422 F.3d 800, 804 (9th Cir.2005) (citations and internal quotation marks…